Free Republic

Secretary of State Kevin Shelley received $30,000 in donations to his 2002 campaign from a 62-year-old foster-care provider who said Friday that the money was tied to a home purchase from Julie Lee, the president of a nonprofit who is under fire for a series of questionable political contributions. State records show Eliana Maldonado wrote checks for $10,000 and $20,000 to Shelley on Sept. 27, 2002. Four days later, Maldonado took ownership of a three-bedroom, three-bath house from Lee and her husband, Shing Kit. The San Francisco Chronicle reported Friday that Patrick K. Hsu, a 69-year-old retired state worker, said...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Amid evidence that a local nonprofit organization may have funneled grant money into illegal political campaign contributions, Mayor Gavin Newsom asked the city controller Thursday to conduct an audit to determine how the organization used city grant money. Newsom made his request after a San Francisco Chronicle investigation discovered the Neighborhood Resources Center, a nonprofit founded to assist Asian immigrants, had received nearly $200,000 in city funds to provide multilingual services but that few services had actually been provided. Newsom asked that the city controller and the city attorney's office investigate "the validity of the allegations"...