PMA Group Founder Indicted For Fraud, FEC Hits PAC With Hefty Fine and More in Capital Eye Opener: August 6

By Summer Lollie
Your daily dose of news and tidbits from the world of money in politics:

PMA GROUP FOUNDER INDICTED: Congressional aide-turned-lobbyist Paul Magliocchetti was once one of Washington’s most powerful lobbyists and founder of the PMA Group, a defense lobbying firm. On Thursday, Magliocchetti, a former staffer to the late Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, stood accused by federal prosecutors of massive campaign finance fraud. PMA’s success in securing funding for often-obscure defense contractors spawned the criminal probe and a recently completed House ethics inquiry. Magliocchetti was charged with three counts of making false statements and eight counts of illegal campaign contributions, allegedly reimbursing employees, family members and friends who made contributions. He is accused of funneling hundreds of thousands of dollars to Congressmen to enhance his firm's stature and future business prospects. The PMA group went out of business in 2009, after federal agents raided the office. Some of OpenSecrets Blog's previous reporting on this hot topic can be found here, here, here and here.

PMA's clients gained more than $200 million in federal earmarks from a roster of lawmakers, who received hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions from the lobbyist, his family and associates. In fiscal year 2008 alone, seven Appropriations Committee members raked in more than $350,000 in PMA-related contributions, and PMA’s clients received more than $110 million in earmarks, according to a Washington Post analysis.

FEC HANDS PAC HEFTY FINE: The Federal Election Committee closed a three-year investigation after handing the American Resort Development Association a $300,000 fine for violating campaign laws prohibiting corporate contributions and donations from foreign nationals, CQ-Roll Call reports. In a statement released by the FEC, the agency accused the political action committee's treasurer, Sandra Yartin DePoy, of "misstating financial activity" and "improperly soliciting contributions.” In addition to the $300,000 penalty, the PAC agreed transfer $560,000 to its member homeowners associations. This is the largest penalty the FEC has handed out since 2007.

THE CENTER FOR RESPONSIVE POLITICS IN THE NEWS:  Sean Miller of The Hill used the Center’s campaign expenditures data in his story about Stephen Fincher’s win the GOP primary for Tennessee’s 8th Congressional District. Greg Gordon and Shashank Bengali of McClatchy Newspapers used the Center’s lobbying data in their report about PMA Group founder Paul Magliocchetti’s trial. David Morgan and Maria Aspan of Reuters used CRP data concerning the securities and investments industry in their report about PAC donations to Wall Street. USA Today used a report by OpenSecrets Blog reporter Andrew Kreighbaum in an article about the House Tea Party caucus. Tim Sahd of the National Journal used the Center’s data in his report about the costs of Tennessee congressional races. Heather Taylor-Miesle used the Center’s data in her report about the coal industry and the climate change debate.