Posted on 12/10/2008 7:44:23 PM PST by SmithL
Contributors to Don Perata's political action committee this year might have thought their money would bankroll the attempted recall of state Sen. Jeff Denham or opposition to a legislative redistricting reform measure.
But a day after the Nov. 4 election, and with only a few weeks left as state Senate President Pro Tem, the Oakland Democrat moved $1.5 million from Leadership California into his own legal defense fund, formed to counter a years-long FBI corruption probe.
This sum dwarfs the California Democratic Party's $450,000 contribution to Perata's legal fund over the past year, which had caused an outcry from some party activists. It also towers above the $555,000 Perata had moved from his Taxpayers for Perata committee — ostensibly created for a 2010 Board of Equalization run — into his legal defense fund in several chunks since 2005.
The transferred amount is more than the entire $1.4 million the committee had raised in this year's first nine months, and more than half of the $2.7 million it had on hand as of Sept. 30.
"This was a general-purpose ballot measure account — not tied to any specific measure," Perata spokesman Jason Kinney said Wednesday. "The use of any remaining funds for legal defense activities is perfectly legal, appropriate and commonplace. In fact, the Political Reform Act explicitly allows for it."
Coincidentally, the state Fair Political Practices Commission today will consider a proposed regulation that might bar transfers such as this in the future.
(Excerpt) Read more at insidebayarea.com ...
Thanx chumps!
Hahahahahaha!
Fools and their money...
The ole Culture of Corruption
The woes of Pistol Packin’ Don.
Maybe he thinks a trial is kind of like an election campaign.
I hope for the day when Mr. P. reports to stony lonesome for a long, long time.
Perfectly legal.
What a country.
Perata has been trying to ban guns in CA for years.
Of course, he has one of the few CC permits in the state.
Hypocrite.
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