Where’s the Line Between Donations and Bribes?
Via Telegraph-Forum
COLUMBUS – The difference between an illegal bribe and a legitimate campaign donation often is a wink and a nod — something state law doesn’t regulate and politicians have little incentive to restrict.
FBI agents are investigating a campaign finance scheme in which red-light camera executive Karen Finley admitted she bribed, or at least tried to bribe, officials in both Cincinnati and Columbus. Finley worked for the Arizona-based firm Redflex, which lobbied to install cameras in Cincinnati between 2005 and 2008, but was unsuccessful. In Columbus, records suggest $20,000 was funneled through the Ohio Democratic Party to mayoral candidate Andrew Ginther.
But proving anyone was involved in quid pro quo – a “something for something” exchange – will be nearly impossible to prove, said Catherine Turcer, policy analyst for the left-leaning government watchdog group Common Cause Ohio. The state’s campaign finance laws have gaping loopholes that allow money to flow through state political parties as long as it’s not too overt, she said.
Back