Allegations of Embezzlement at the GOP Congressional Committee
March 13, 2008 2:27 PM
blogs.abcnews.com
In what had to be a painful press release to write, the National Republican Congressional Committee -- representing the party taking some hits in recent years for its record on fiscal management and competence -- acknowledged today that Chris Ward, a longtime employee and NRCC treasurer since 2003, had been fabricating financial statements to the bank and handing in "bogus audit reports" from 2002 through 2006.
This story broke last month …but this latest news is grim.
NRCC chairman Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla, said that "evidence we have today indicates we have been deceived and betrayed for a number of years by a highly respected and trusted individual. From the moment we learned that bogus financial statements had been submitted to the bank on our behalf, we took decisive and speedy action by contacting the FBI, which opened a criminal investigation."
Cole said that an external review found that at the end of 2006, "the NRCC’s actual cash on hand was approximately $990,000 less than the amount reported to the FEC. The actual cash on hand as of the NRCC’s most recent FEC report for January 31, 2008 (filed on February 20, 2008) was $740,000 less than the amount reported to the FEC."
As if things weren't bleak enough for the Republicans!
-- jpt |
