Associated Press
ST. PAUL - Shortly after the Legislature convened this year, some GOP House members got an unwanted surprise: envelopes with bundles of checks from contributors linked to Caesars Entertainment of Las Vegas.
Top Republican House leaders said they were startled because the checks appeared to violate two state laws - one that prohibits "bundling" campaign checks and another that bars contributions during the session from lobbyists or principals with matters pending before the Legislature, the Star Tribune of Minneapolis reported Wednesday.
House Speaker Steve Sviggum and Rep. Jim Rhodes, the chairman of the Governmental Operations and Veterans Affairs Policy Committee, both said the contributions "didn't pass the smell test."
Sviggum said he immediately returned his own envelope of seven checks totaling $1,425. He sent a written warning to caucus members to do the same.
"It didn't feel right," Sviggum told the newspaper. Although the checks were dated before the session began, he said "what I have told members is that they have to have checks in their hand before the session begins; it's too easy to predate the checks."
Checks totaling about $11,000 sent to eight GOP legislators - most of them members of a key committee that oversees gambling issues - were returned, and apparently no laws were broken.
Jeanne Olson, the executive director of the Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board, said state law specifies civil penalties of as much as $1,000 for legislators who "solicit or accept" in-session contributions. The sanction also applies to lobbyists who make contributions during the session.
Others share Sviggum's queasiness about the potential for corruption, or at least the appearance of corruption, as a major expansion of gambling is debated at the Legislature.
"Minnesota has been relatively free of scandal and political graft. More casinos will deliver boatloads of cash into the political process to ensure that gambling only grows," warned Brian Rusche, executive director of the Joint Religious Legislative Coalition, at a morning news conference at the State Office Building.
Rusche's group, a liberal coalition of religious and social justice groups, has joined forces with a powerful conservative group, the Taxpayers League of Minnesota, in a campaign against proposals to expand non-Indian gambling Sin order to balance the budget.
House and Senate Republican leaders favor at least some expansion of gambling, such as a "racino" at Canterbury Downs, to help reduce continuing budget shortfalls. Several other non-Indian plans, including a Caesars Entertainment proposal for a casino at the Mall of America or some other site, are under serious consideration.
Angela Wozniak, the Minnesota lobbyist whose firm, the W Group, sent the checks, concedes that the bundling and timing of the donations was "inappropriate and a mistake, and my firm takes responsibility for that."
The checks were collected and put in bundles by an intern by mistake, Wozniak said.
Seven of the bundles were sent in the mail and an eighth was hand-delivered to Rep. Lynda Boudreau, R-Faribault, the author of the bill that would establish the casino at the Mall of America. There were seven checks in each envelope. Two came from two senior Caesars executives, three from a group associated with Caesars in Indiana, one from a Washington, D.C., lobbyist and one from Wozniak.
Caesars fired Wozniak's firm two months ago. She said she initially wanted to deliver the checks at a pre-session fundraiser that never occurred. Since the checks were dated before the session began, Wozniak said she thought it might be legal for the legislators to accept them but that in retrospect she thinks that was wrong.
Boudreau was incensed at the timing of the checks and called Caesars to complain, telling them she would no longer deal with Wozniak's company.
"It was putting me in jeopardy of damaging my credibility. It was not a professional act," Boudreau said.
Caesars senior vice president for communications, Robert Stewart, said a group of top executives intended to make small contributions to some key legislators and believed Wozniak would handle the contributions appropriately. Recognizing the legal problems surrounding the mistake, Caesars acted quickly to dismiss the W Group.
"There were some checks that were written, and they were sent to our lobbyist at the time with the understanding that they would be appropriately, lawfully distributed in accordance with any legal requirements," Stewart said. "They were distributed late in a manner that upset some legislators, and rightfully so."
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Information from: Star Tribune
ST. PAUL - Shortly after the Legislature convened this year, some GOP House members got an unwanted surprise: envelopes with bundles of checks from contributors linked to Caesars Entertainment of Las Vegas.
Top Republican House leaders said they were startled because the checks appeared to violate two state laws - one that prohibits "bundling" campaign checks and another that bars contributions during the session from lobbyists or principals with matters pending before the Legislature, the Star Tribune of Minneapolis reported Wednesday.
House Speaker Steve Sviggum and Rep. Jim Rhodes, the chairman of the Governmental Operations and Veterans Affairs Policy Committee, both said the contributions "didn't pass the smell test."
Sviggum said he immediately returned his own envelope of seven checks totaling $1,425. He sent a written warning to caucus members to do the same.
"It didn't feel right," Sviggum told the newspaper. Although the checks were dated before the session began, he said "what I have told members is that they have to have checks in their hand before the session begins; it's too easy to predate the checks."
Checks totaling about $11,000 sent to eight GOP legislators - most of them members of a key committee that oversees gambling issues - were returned, and apparently no laws were broken.
Jeanne Olson, the executive director of the Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board, said state law specifies civil penalties of as much as $1,000 for legislators who "solicit or accept" in-session contributions. The sanction also applies to lobbyists who make contributions during the session.
Others share Sviggum's queasiness about the potential for corruption, or at least the appearance of corruption, as a major expansion of gambling is debated at the Legislature.
"Minnesota has been relatively free of scandal and political graft. More casinos will deliver boatloads of cash into the political process to ensure that gambling only grows," warned Brian Rusche, executive director of the Joint Religious Legislative Coalition, at a morning news conference at the State Office Building.
Rusche's group, a liberal coalition of religious and social justice groups, has joined forces with a powerful conservative group, the Taxpayers League of Minnesota, in a campaign against proposals to expand non-Indian gambling Sin order to balance the budget.
House and Senate Republican leaders favor at least some expansion of gambling, such as a "racino" at Canterbury Downs, to help reduce continuing budget shortfalls. Several other non-Indian plans, including a Caesars Entertainment proposal for a casino at the Mall of America or some other site, are under serious consideration.
Angela Wozniak, the Minnesota lobbyist whose firm, the W Group, sent the checks, concedes that the bundling and timing of the donations was "inappropriate and a mistake, and my firm takes responsibility for that."
The checks were collected and put in bundles by an intern by mistake, Wozniak said.
Seven of the bundles were sent in the mail and an eighth was hand-delivered to Rep. Lynda Boudreau, R-Faribault, the author of the bill that would establish the casino at the Mall of America. There were seven checks in each envelope. Two came from two senior Caesars executives, three from a group associated with Caesars in Indiana, one from a Washington, D.C., lobbyist and one from Wozniak.
Caesars fired Wozniak's firm two months ago. She said she initially wanted to deliver the checks at a pre-session fundraiser that never occurred. Since the checks were dated before the session began, Wozniak said she thought it might be legal for the legislators to accept them but that in retrospect she thinks that was wrong.
Boudreau was incensed at the timing of the checks and called Caesars to complain, telling them she would no longer deal with Wozniak's company.
"It was putting me in jeopardy of damaging my credibility. It was not a professional act," Boudreau said.
Caesars senior vice president for communications, Robert Stewart, said a group of top executives intended to make small contributions to some key legislators and believed Wozniak would handle the contributions appropriately. Recognizing the legal problems surrounding the mistake, Caesars acted quickly to dismiss the W Group.
"There were some checks that were written, and they were sent to our lobbyist at the time with the understanding that they would be appropriately, lawfully distributed in accordance with any legal requirements," Stewart said. "They were distributed late in a manner that upset some legislators, and rightfully so."
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Information from: Star Tribune
