Campaign Finance

Allen West, Tea Party Wünderkind, Funnels Campaign Cash to Two New Nonprofits

He's baaaaaaack! Allen West, the outspoken Palm Beach Gardens Tea Party Republican congressman who lost his reelection bid late last year, has shuffled hundreds of thousands of dollars in leftover campaign money to seed the Allen West Foundation and American Legacy Guardians.

Buying the Vote: Don't Fool Yourself: South Florida's Richest Are Calling the Shots in This Election

Former Broward Teachers Union President Patrick Santeramo Arrested, Faces 200 Years in Prison (UPDATED)

UPDATE, 11:45: Documents show Santeramo allegedly steered BTU funds to the political campaigns of both Hillary Clinton and Alex Sink.Original post, 10:59:Prosecutors announced last November that they were investigating Patrick Santeramo, who was then president of the Broward Teachers Union. Now, the ... More >>

More Complaints Filed Against Connie Mack for Mailers

Last month, MAOS blogger (and new Sunshine Brigade member) Chaz Stevens submitted a complaint to the Federal Election Commission after we questioned whether Rep. Connie Mack's $18,000 postcard "mistake" actually constituted an illegal campaign contribution.Mack, who today announced an endorseme ... More >>

Chaz Stevens Files FEC Complaint Against Connie Mack

MAOS blogger and professional filer-of-complaints Chaz Stevens says he submitted a formal complaint to the Federal Elections Commission yesterday in connection with our coverage of Congressman Connie Mack's illegal campaign mailer incident.

Former Congressman Mark Foley Still Doling Out Campaign Cash

Republican Florida Congressman Mark Foley received his last campaign contribution ever on September 28, 2006 -- a $2,100 check from a Palm City physician. The next day, Foley resigned from Congress, disgraced by a scandal over sexually explicit messages the (sort-of) secretly gay congressman had sen ... More >>

Allen West Campaign Contributions: More Than Half From Outside Florida

Allen West has an interesting fundraising strategy -- while it could be paraphrased as "I said something asinine please give me money," he actually says, "I need you to stand with me against attacks from the liberals and the distortions of the corrupt liberal media.  Everyone who stands wi ... More >>

Why Does Connie Mack Get to Use a Fake Name in Congress?

Florida Congressman Connie Mack hasn't been using his real name. Not in Federal Election Commission filings, not in his Congressional bio, not in federal financial disclosure documents. Even on forms that ask for "Full Name" or "Name of Candidate (in full)," he writes -- and later signs -- "Connie M ... More >>

Scott Rothstein Saga: Marybeth Feiss and William Boockvor Charged With Felonies

​Scott Rothstein's scummy ways have now led to two more people being hit with felony charges, becoming the sixth and seventh of Rothstein's old pals to face felonies.Marybeth Feiss, an administrative assistant at the now-defunct Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler law firm, and William "Uncle Bill" Boockvo ... More >>

Florida Ethics Commission: No Problem With Rick Scott's Cash From Private Prison Firms

​The Teamsters' ethics complaint filed last month against Gov. Rick Scott -- which alleged his million bucks from private prison corporations was somehow affecting the state's decision to enter contracts with the companies -- has been tossed out by the Florida Ethics Commission.Among other things, ... More >>

Merick Lewin, State House Candidate With Ties to 411-PAIN, is Fundraising Leader in District 97

Facebook.comLewin is leading the fundraising pack.​If money determines elections, Davie Republican Merick Lewin is the leading state House candidate to represent western Broward in 2012.Lewin, who has familial and financial ties to the 1-800-411-PAIN Referral Service, has raised far more money tha ... More >>

Allen West's PAC Contributions Include Some Old Favorites: Bank of America and Halliburton

​Rep. Allen West's campaign submitted its quarterly report to the Federal Election Commission at the end of the week, and he scored a few grand from the political action committees of a few companies that think it's a good idea to keep West in office, including Bailout Bank of America and Hall ... More >>

Obama Banking on Florida Fundraisers, Including Eight From Broward and Palm Beach

herrodooky.tumblr.com​President Obama's reelection campaign released its list of 351 volunteer fundraisers who have helped him rake in the big bucks -- more than $50,000 -- with 29 of them coming from Florida and eight of them from either Broward or Palm Beach counties.None of the GOP presidential ... More >>

Patrick Murphy, the Hopeful Challenger to Rep. Allen West, Breaks $1 Million in Fundraising

Patrick Murphy​The campaign of Democrat Patrick Murphy -- who hopes to take on Rep. Allen West in the 2012 election -- announced today that candidate Murphy has raised $1.1 million in his bid for the congressional seat.Murphy, who raised more money in the first two quarters than any other congress ... More >>

Lois Frankel Outraises Patrick Murphy During Last Quarter in Bid to Take On Allen West

Lois Frankel​Shortly after we posted the announcement from the Patrick Murphy campaign about the hopeful Democratic challenger raising $313,000 last quarter -- $1.1 million total -- we got word from the camp of Lois Frankel, the other Democrat in the race, striking back.Frankel's campaign announce ... More >>

Rick Scott and Private Prisons Engaging in "Pay to Play" Politics, Teamsters Complaint Alleges

​Florida politicians received nearly $1 million in campaign contributions from two private prison corporations last election cycle -- GEO Group and Corrections Corporation of America -- and an ethics complaint filed by the Teamsters union yesterday claims $30,000 of those contributions that went t ... More >>

Patrick Murphy Also Contributed to Charlie Crist's U.S. Senate Campaign

Murphy for CongressPatrick Murphy​After yesterday's story that 2012 congressional candidate Patrick Murphy was the only recipient of campaign contributions from former Gov. Charlie Crist for this election cycle, we've discovered that Murphy also donated to Crist's failed U.S. Senate bid.According ... More >>

Where's Broward Sheriff Al Lamberti's Campaign Contribution Information?

Update 10:20 a.m.: Dolly Gibson from the Supervisor of Elections called to tell us the information has now appeared online. Enjoy! ​Nearly every candidate* who was elected to Broward County government office in the November 2008 election has an itemized list of campaign contributors available onli ... More >>

Steve Gonot Sentenced to One Year in Jail, Appeal Under Way

Steve Gonot​Steve Gonot, the former Deerfield Beach commissioner convicted in May of stealing campaign funds and of misconduct charges, was sentenced today to one year in jail.Gonot will be posting $20,000 bond to stay out of jail while the appeals process plays out. He was also sentenced to five ... More >>

Allen West a Hypocrite for Calling President Obama a Hypocrite, Thanks to Sarah Palin

Rep. Allen West: Hypocrite.​President Barack Obama raised a record-setting amount of cash for his reelection campaign last quarter -- $86 million.Rep. Allen West decided to call out Obama on Twitter, saying, "Congratulations to our POTUS on his record setting fundraising- but I must know, how ... More >>

Florida Judge Kills Matching Funds; Money is Considered Free Speech in Political Campaigns

illinoisstate.edu​Just days after the U.S. Supreme Court found Arizona's matching-funds campaign law unconstitutional, a Florida federal court judge halted a similar provision in this state.The issue, unsurprisingly, was brought up in a lawsuit by then-candidate Rick Scott, who said his right ... More >>

Florida CFO Jeff Atwater's Call to Rothstein

Atwater and Bogdanoff​When it comes to big-time politicians known to have seriously cottoned to flamboyant Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein, Florida's new chief financial officer escaped notice almost entirely. Jeff Atwater, who was elected to the state cabinet position in November ... More >>

A Ritter Campaign Lie, Illustrated

Florida Elections Commission ​    Above you see a check written by Broward County Commissioner Stacy Ritter's 2008 campaign to the Tamarac Cafe Diner for a cool grand. Notice that it was supposed to be for a "campaign event." That notation on the check is the first sign ... More >>

Mendelsohn Singles Out Klenet During Guilty Plea

The illicit payments made to former legislator Mandy Dawson had been widely reported, but it is interesting that seedy lobbyist and political fundraiser Alan Mendelsohn, an eye doctor by trade, singled out Russell Klenet in federal court today. When Mendelsohn pleaded guilty to a fed ... More >>

State Finds Apparently Bogus Ritter Campaign Donations

​When disposing of all the campaign cash she and her husband didn't spend on dinners, family phone bills, and other luxuries, Broward County Commissioner Stacy Ritter decided to do the Florida Democratic Party a favor: As seen above, she contributed $5,000 to party coffers. â ... More >>

Report: Ritter Used Campaign Cash To Pay For Russ's Lobbyist Phone

Up a creek​Well, we already had thousands in lavish dinners reimbursed to her lobbyist husband and an unexplained $1600 check to AT&T. Now we know that the Florida Election Commission found that more than $6,000 in phone bill charged to Ritter's 2008 campaign were ... More >>

Stacy Ritter Received Thousands in Dubious Campaign Reimbursements Too

Here's what I don't understand about the Florida Elections Commission investigation of Stacy Ritter: Why weren't there more charges? As I reported yesterday, four of the charges against Ritter pertain to reimbursements made by her 2008 campaign to her lobbyist husband, Russ Klenet, for expensi ... More >>

Bombshell: Stacy Ritter's Campaign Fund Fed Hubby's High Life

Klenet and Ritter​A recently released report from the Florida Elections Commission shows that Broward County Commissioner Stacy Ritter's 2008 campaign was an utter mess, replete with bookkeeping errors, acceptance of excessive contributions from special interests, failure to report contribu ... More >>

[CORRECTED] Allen West Continues Torrid Fundraising Pace

FlickrAllen West​The race between incumbent Congressman Ron Klein and challenger Allen West keeps narrowing, with the West campaign claiming to have raised nearly twice the amount of campaign money as Klein during the first quarter of 2010.West reports $838,449 in fundraising totals between Januar ... More >>

Payton's Place Is Commonplace for South Florida City Managers

Photo: City of MiramarRobert Payton​A city commissioner has a buddy who wants a meeting about getting a city contract: Is there a city manager who hasn't been there, as Miramar's Robert Payton was?There's no evidence that Payton knew the agent posing as a contractor had bribed Salesman. But the mo ... More >>

[UPDATED] On Morocco Eve, Rothstein Met Obama?!?

Flickr: The White HouseObama speaking at the Fontainebleau in Miami Beach last October.​That's what former Rothstein business partner Roger Stone is reporting on his blog this morning. He says that former Heat center Alonzo Mourning played matchmaker in an encounter that took place in Miami Beach ... More >>

Should Politicians Have Known to Steer Clear of Rothstein?

Flickr​In his interview yesterday with the Sun-Sentinel, Charlie Crist said that he considered Scott Rothstein a "friend." He said that until Rothstein's Ponzi scheme was discovered, Crist gave the Fort Lauderdale attorney the "benefit of the doubt." It appears Rothstein enjoyed the same status wi ... More >>

If Money-Bundlers Are Going to Jail, We're Gonna Need More Jails

Flickr: Jeremy JohnstoneFor campaigning politicians, cash is better by the bundle.​As word spread that Scott Rothstein's associates might be charged in the federal investigation for circumventing campaign finance laws, it must have made a whole lot of Broward folks anxious. If you work for a devel ... More >>

Crist's "Culture of Corruption" is an Old Story

In Florida, you gotta pay to play​With Broward politicians and contractors in hot water over bribery allegations today, it's not surprising that Governor Crist has called for a statewide corruption Grand Jury. According to the Sun-Sentinel: Citing an apparent "culture of corruption" taking root i ... More >>

Broward Mayor Stacy Ritter and Sheriff Al Lamberti Face Campaign Finance Investigations

Joel Steinger and Mutual Benefits Corp. Stole a Billion Dollars by Peddling Bogus Life Insurance Policies

A Secretive Slush Fund Has Big Plans in Sunrise

Steve Geller, You Dog

Former state Sen. Steven Geller is currently running for a seat on the Broward County Commission against incumbent Sue Gunzburger.           I just want to tell him to save his breath. He should quietly exit local politics stage left. Now. If he doesn't, the count ... More >>

Lobbyists a Wedge Issue in Hollywood

O'Sheehan voted to restrict lobbying in Hollywood.Maybe Hollywood Commissioner Beam Furr is right that an ordinance to ban private commissioner meetings with lobbyists is "unconstitutional." But it's still a shrewd move by Mayor Peter Bober and Commissioner Heidi O'Sheehan to champion the legislatio ... More >>

Ellyn Bogdanoff Mutually Benefited From Fraud Too

One thing about the $1 billion Ponzi scheme that was Mutual Benefits Corp.: It loved to throw money at politicians. And boy did our fearless leaders lap up the cash. It gave hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions to elected officials, but nobody benefitted more from Mu ... More >>

Commissioner Steve Gonot Booked; Is Capellini Next?

Well, my timing was exquisite but I focused on the wrong politician. Steve Gonot, according to the Deerfield Advocate blog, has resigned his office this morning, apparently as part of a plea deal with the State Attorney's Office. NEW: He has been booked into jail (mugshot at right).  ... More >>

Local Reporters' Political Tribs

If Waldman's a Dem, What's With the GOP Cash?

Another in the long tradition of Broward elephants posing as donkeys.

Tailpipe

Hustle and Fame

Deutsch Marks

He's raised a lot of money in his bid for the Senate, but from whom?

Hawking for Israel

South Florida reps push for war. But who are they pushing for?

Feud For Thought

Real estate squabble puts Broward school board member in a snit

The Real McCain

The candidate poses as a campaign-finance reformer as he accepts cash from special interests

Face Off

John Coleman and his fellow reform candidates in Hollywood face an uphill battle against mayor Mara and Co.