Company Agrees To Cooperate In TRMPAC Investigation
By Vince Leibowitz
Ahhhh Haaaaa! The dominoes have started to fall:
One of eight out-of-state corporations indicted for making illegal political contrubutions agreed to cooperate with the Travis County District Attorney's Office in connection with its mammoth investigation of fund-raising and political activities by Texans for a Republican Majority.
In exchange for its cooperation, a third-degree felony charge against Diversified Collection Services Inc.--a debt collection firm in San Leandro, Calif.--was dropped
Though the firm did not acknowledge guilt, it agree to enact an "internal compliance plan to prevent the making of illegal corporate political contributions," according to the San Antonio Express News. It also agreed to cooperate with DA Ronnie Earle's office in its ongoing investigation into the way corporate money flowed into the DeLay supported Republican political action committee that helped elect dozens of GOP Texas House members in 2002--giving the party the majority and paving the way for a DeLay-encouraged redistricting plan being spearheaded through the legislature.
The investigation yielded a 44-count indictment of the eight firms, along with three DeLay associates.
Texas law makes it a felony for corporations and labor unions to donate to political campaigns.
A corporation convicted of violating the law could face a fine of up to $20,000 — or more, if a judge determines the company profited from the donation.
The ban on accepting corporate contributions requires prosecutors to show the defendants knew their actions were illegal.
The eight firms were indicted for giving a total of $270,000 to TRMPAC.
Still charged are Westar Energy Inc.; the Williams Companies Inc.; Questerra Corp.; Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc.; Bacardi USA Inc.; Sears, Roebuck and Co.; and the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care Inc.
Posted by Vince Leibowitz at December 10, 2004 01:02 AM
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