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>Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren indicted in felony campaign finance fraud
Election finance investigations rare; why Lovely Warren's attracted scrutiny
Jane Flasch 8/27/2020
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/election-finance-investigations-rare-why-lovely-warrens-attracted-scrutiny/ar-BB18rhr6
Rochester, N.Y. - A state investigator says there's proof the Warren re-election campaign violated finance laws, and alleges Rochester's mayor was directly involved.
"This has never happened before, and it's never happened before because no one does this. Because it's wrong," said County Legislator Rachel Barnhart, a primary opponent in that 2017 race.
Her comments are in reaction to an exclusive story that aired Wednesday on 13WHAM News.
A 35-page report from the New York Board of Elections has prompted a round of subpoenas in an attempt to build a criminal case to put before a grand jury.
"There's enough smoke here. It makes it pretty clear there may be some fire," said Blair Horner of New York Public Interest Research Group, a watchdog organization.
Such investigations and potential criminal prosecutions are rare. There are many loopholes in campaign finance laws.
Yet, in this case, many financial transactions were made out in the open - raising eyebrows at the time, and potential criminal charges now.
Barnhart was the first to take a deep dive into the issue and sound the alarm. She drove it home in a primary debate pressing Warren, "Why did you travel on the PAC money? The fact is Lovely Warrren had a mirror campaign account she used as a personal piggy bank."
Barnhart and James Sheppard, another primary opponent, each filed complaints over Warren's use of funds from a Political Action Committee (PAC) in addition to a campaign fund in order to finance her run. In that debate, Warren responded, "I believe we know the law and have been in compliance with the law."
A 13WHAM analysis of public filings of both funds suggests the top 20 donors jumped back and forth between the accounts - allowing them to contribute $124,973 more than campaign finance limits would allow. Warren continues to deny any wrongdoing.
Risa Sugarman is the chief enforcer of NY elections law. She has conducted a lengthy investigation into the complaints. Sources shared her findings with 13WHAM News. She cites Warren and "others" including the treasurers of both her PAC and campaign fund.
The report concludes "considerable evidence supports a fund engaged in a scheme to evade contribution limits".
"It was really obvious this PAC was being used as a second campaign account. It was an open secret in town," said Barnhart in a zoom interview Thursday. "I don't believe that there was no intent here. I don't believe that no one knew what they were doing."
Joe Damelio is the attorney for Warren's campaign. Monday, he said his client had not been served a subpoena and had not been contacted by Sugarman or any other official.
"My thoughts are simple: There's no way my client intentionally committed any crimes here," he said.
The Sugarman report indicates there is "considerable evidence" of criminal and civil violations. However, that proof was not shared with 13WHAM.
The report was turned over to the Monroe County District Attorney in March. Grand jury proceedings are secretive by law. A spokesman for the office would not comment or answer questions about the topic.
NYPIRG's Blair Horner says campaign finance issues are important.
"What you don't want in a democracy is that wealthy interests buy up the candidates," he said. "These are very serious allegations, and it's something that's appropriate for the D.A. to review."