FEC: Reid, Herrera donors broke campaign finance laws (Repubs)

[NVMojo]

Today: March 09, 2006 at 20:37:8 PST

LAS VEGAS (AP) - A prominent Las Vegas-based developer has admitted to illegally funneling a total of $37,000 in campaign contributions to Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and indicted former congressional candidate Dario Herrera during the 2002 election cycle, the Federal Election Commission said Thursday.

Reid and Herrera, both Democrats, were not aware of the campaign contribution scheme at the time, the FEC said in an announcement of an agreement settling a complaint against Las Vegas real estate mogul James Rhodes and his Nevada-based companies, Rhodes Design and Development Corporation, Bravo Inc. and Rhodes Ranch General Partnership.

Two Rhodes employees also were named in the complaint brought by the National Republican Congressional Committee in September 2002. Rhodes Design and Development Corporation Controller Nadine Giudicessi and Chief Financial Officer James A. Bevan each agreed to pay a $5,500 fine for soliciting and collecting the contribution checks, the FEC said.

more...

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nevada/2006/mar/09/030910283.html

[Wilms]

1. Ouch. That can't be good. n/t

[NVMojo]

2. Notice they are REPUKES???!!!!

[Wilms]

5. Now I do. But I'm confused.

What do you think happened here?

[NVMojo]

6. One can only imagine, as noted, it is a Red State.

Reid is from a heavily populated area and I'm not talking about Searchlight. A heavily populated area with lots and lots of new construction all the time and need for lots and lots of newly converted public land provided from the Souhern Nevada Public Lands Act ...

[agincourt]

3. Reid worries me,

Peloshi and Dean I'm OK with. How can you use a guy from a very red state for your minority leader? The knife is always a few inches from his back.

[NVMojo]

4. good point ...pardon the pun.

[Born Free]

7. insurance...

many times these guys contribute to both parties so when they get caught it provides cover

[Toots]

8. But why should we take their filthy money?

That is what is wrong with the whole picture. It isn't that they give the money. That is to be expected as it is in their interests but that our elected leaders take the money and in return pass legislation geared to help these corporate crooks. Virtually every DLC member is guilty of accepting Corporate donations. Kerry is not and has not accepted lobbiest money but he still gets the rap against him.

[Brooklyn Michael]

9. Make it right, Harry...

Give the $$$ back. Now. No questions. I know it's Republicans making the complaint. Doesn't matter. If the contributions were illegal, give them back immediately. Don't give them anything to make this an issue out of.

[PassingFair]

10. Article says that Reid has turned the $$$$ into the FEC.

It was a bundled contribution, with no way to tell.
The headline is VERY misleading and frankly
an outright lie.

[NVMojo]

11. how do you figure? two repukes got in trouble with the FEC for

how they donated to Reid. Doesn't mean Reid did anything wrong. They did.

Here's another version of the tale:

Rhodes settles federal case

Developer made illegal donations

By MOLLY BALL
REVIEW-JOURNAL


Jim Rhodes
Developer paid $148,000 fine in September, his attorney says

Las Vegas developer Jim Rhodes has admitted he illegally funneled contributions to two Democratic candidates through his employees and has paid nearly $150,000 in fines.

Rhodes and two of his executives admitted to violating the Federal Election Campaign Act as part of the settlement.

The Federal Election Commission on Thursday announced the result of its investigation into the 2002 contributions to congressional candidate and then-county Commissioner Dario Herrera and U.S. Sen. Harry Reid.

Rhodes gave $27,000 to Herrera and $10,000 to Reid through 14 employees of his companies and two of the employees' spouses. Herrera and Reid must give those amounts to the federal treasury.


more...

http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Mar-10-Fri-2006/news/6290277.html

[NVMojo]

12. this was interesting...

snip...

Herrera and Reid were cleared by the probe, the FEC said.

"The investigation concluded that the recipients of the contributions were not aware of the actual source of the funds," the federal commission's statement said.

Reid will give the money to the government as ordered, said a spokesman, Jim Manley.

"As the FEC has stated, at the time the contributions were received, the recipients had no reason to believe they were improper," Manley said.

However, when asked whether Reid knew the contributions came from a common source when he accepted them, Manley said, "I don't know the answer to that."

The donations to Reid apparently were not part of the scope of the original complaint, which was filed against Herrera's campaign. Reid was not up for re-election in 2002, but members of Congress constantly collect funds for their war chests.

snip...

[Norquist Nemesis]

13. Absolutely spot on!

Smells like GOP operative got caught trying to put some slime on Reid.