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Politics : Liberalism: Do You Agree We've Had Enough of It? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: tonto who wrote (102614)	4/11/2011 11:33:03 AM
From: TideGlider	2 Recommendations Respond to of 224757

Yes, mostly out of staters as you defined them. They are very unhappy. Especially since they ignored Ohio and let even tougher Bills pass.

To: tonto who wrote (102614)	4/11/2011 11:33:27 AM
From: tonto	2 Recommendations Respond to of 224757

Railroad executive charged with campaign law violations By Daniel Bice of the Journal Sentinel Updated: April 11, 2011 10:26 a.m. \|(108) Comments Railroad executive William E. Gardner was charged Monday morning with two felony counts of violating campaign finance laws for reimbursing his employees for making donations in political contests, including to Gov. Scott Walker in last year's governor's race. Gardner was charged with one count of exceeding the campaign contribution limits, which is $10,000 per person in the gubernatorial contest. The other felony is for giving money to other individuals so they could make campaign contributions. Both are Class I felonies, which carry a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. The charges were filed Monday morning in Washington County, where Gardner lives. Gardner is being charged under a state law that prohibits anyone from giving money to someone else so they may make a political donation. The violation is a Class I felony, which has a maximum punishment of 3.5 years in prison and a $10,000 fine, according to the complaint. Gardner, president and chief executive officer of Wisconsin & Southern Railroad Co., told state regulators last year that he used railroad receipts to reimburse workers who had given to Scott Walker, who later defeated Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, a Democrat, for governor. In response, Walker returned more than $43,000 in donations to Gardner and a handful of his company workers. The Assembly Democratic Campaign Committee also has forfeited $3,500 in donations from Gardner. It's illegal in Wisconsin to give corporate money to political candidates. Assistant Milwaukee County District Attorney Bruce Landgraf, who oversaw the investigation, said prosecutors reached a plea deal with Gardner. "Because he was cooperative and accepted responsibility at the outset - providing much of the evidence against himself - we are not recommending jail time," said Landgraf, who investigates election and campaign matters. In addition, the state Government Accountability Board will be announcing that the employees who were reimbursed for their donations will be fined $250 each and the corporation is being hit with a civil forfeiture of about $166,000. Gardner's attorney, Robert Friebert, declined to discuss the matter late Sunday. "I've said it before and I'll say it again - I have no comment," Friebert said. One election lawyer said he is not surprised that Gardner is getting off with such a light penalty. "Although these are serious criminal allegations, the mitigating factor that might preclude jail time is the fact the Gardner notified the GAB of his crimes before he was caught," said Michael Maistelman, who is representing a former county aide to Walker who is the subject of another John Doe probe. Milwaukee County prosecutors have been conducting a John Doe probe into the allegations against Gardner. A press conference on this matter will be held at 2 p.m. in Madison. The Journal Sentinel first reported the illegal donations last summer and the John Doe probe late last year. Gardner was charged under an unusual provision of the law that requires campaign finance cases to be filed in the county where defendants live. Most crimes are charged in the county where they occur. Gardner is one of the first people to be charged in the way the 2007 law was envisioned, though former Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen invoked the law to successfully move his case to his home county. The Republican former lawmaker had been charged in 2002 in Dane County, but after the law was changed he sought to have his trial moved to Waukesha County, where he lives. The state Supreme Court allowed that, and Jensen then reached a plea deal in December on accusations he illegally used state workers to campaign.