Dirty Money

Not once, not twice, but three times now, Governor McCrory has given money to charity that his campaign took from people facing criminal charges related to sweepstakes cafes.
 
That’s $18,000 so far, AP reports.
 
Which raises the question: Why did he take all that money in the first place?
 
Surely his campaign knew what the donors wanted: to stop North Carolina from banning and shutting down the parlors.
 
It’s about as scummy as business as there is. The money was dirty, and McCrory’s campaign – as well as Republicans in the legislature and some Democrats – took it.
 
They shouldn’t have, and they should have to explain why they did.
 
Democracy North Carolina spelled out the whole sorry mess:
 
● Chase E. Burns, owner of International Internet Technologies LLC of Anadarko, OK, is the single biggest individual donor to General Assembly candidates in the 2012 election cycle, giving a total of $172,500 to 63 current members of the legislature and four other legislative candidates who lost. In addition, Burns donated $30,000 to the NC Republican House Caucus and $25,000 to the NC Republican Senate Caucus committees within the NC Republican Party. The top legislative recipients of Burns’ donations are Senate leader Phil Berger ($8,000), House Speaker Thom Tillis ($6,500), and 21 legislators who each got $4,000 (19 Republicans and 2 Democrats).
 
● Several of the donations are identified as being delivered or otherwise tied to lobbyists with Moore & Van Allen, the law firm where Gov. Pat McCrory was employed throughout 2012 and the firm Burns retained to lobby for IIT. Burns and his wife, Kristin, each donated $4,000 to McCrory’s campaign, bringing their total donations to $235,500 for NC’s 2012 election.
 
● The variety of ways that Burn’s contributions are identified on disclosure reports by different candidates suggests they were written from a separate bank account which may have included company funds, not just the personal money of Burns or his wife. It is illegal in North Carolina for business funds to be used to make contributions to candidates or political parties.

Giving away the money – after the scandal broke – doesn’t make the stink go away.

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Gary Pearce

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Dirty Money

Not once, not twice, but three times now, Governor McCrory has given money to charity that his campaign took from people facing criminal charges related to sweepstakes cafes.
 
That’s $18,000 so far, AP reports.
 
Which raises the question: Why did he take all that money in the first place?
 
Surely his campaign knew what the donors wanted: to stop North Carolina from banning and shutting down the parlors.
 
It’s about as scummy as business as there is. The money was dirty, and McCrory’s campaign – as well as Republicans in the legislature and some Democrats – took it.
 
They shouldn’t have, and they should have to explain why they did.
 
Democracy North Carolina spelled out the whole sorry mess:
 
● Chase E. Burns, owner of International Internet Technologies LLC of Anadarko, OK, is the single biggest individual donor to General Assembly candidates in the 2012 election cycle, giving a total of $172,500 to 63 current members of the legislature and four other legislative candidates who lost. In addition, Burns donated $30,000 to the NC Republican House Caucus and $25,000 to the NC Republican Senate Caucus committees within the NC Republican Party. The top legislative recipients of Burns’ donations are Senate leader Phil Berger ($8,000), House Speaker Thom Tillis ($6,500), and 21 legislators who each got $4,000 (19 Republicans and 2 Democrats).
 
● Several of the donations are identified as being delivered or otherwise tied to lobbyists with Moore & Van Allen, the law firm where Gov. Pat McCrory was employed throughout 2012 and the firm Burns retained to lobby for IIT. Burns and his wife, Kristin, each donated $4,000 to McCrory’s campaign, bringing their total donations to $235,500 for NC’s 2012 election.
 
● The variety of ways that Burn’s contributions are identified on disclosure reports by different candidates suggests they were written from a separate bank account which may have included company funds, not just the personal money of Burns or his wife. It is illegal in North Carolina for business funds to be used to make contributions to candidates or political parties.

Giving away the money – after the scandal broke – doesn’t make the stink go away.

Avatar photo

Gary Pearce

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