Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Campaign Panel Investigates California Lawmaker's Spending
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
August 30, 2019

Share

SACRAMENTO — California’s campaign watchdog said Thursday that it’s investigating allegations that a sitting state lawmaker used campaign funds to fly his family to a Boston Red Sox baseball game, among other purported examples of lavish spending.

“I’ve been advised by the FPPC that they have not made any determination about the validity of the allegations made or about the culpability, if any, of any person.” — Assemblyman Bill Brough
The Fair Political Practices Commission released a letter saying it is reviewing allegations that Republican Assemblyman Bill Brough of Dana Point improperly used campaign funds to benefit himself and his family.
The panel’s chief enforcement officer, Galena West, said commissioners have not determined whether the allegations have any merit, something Brough pointed out in a brief statement he released Thursday night to The Associated Press.
“I’ve been advised by the FPPC that they have not made any determination about the validity of the allegations made or about the culpability, if any, of any person” Brough said.
In June Brough separately denied allegations that he made unwanted advances toward four women, calling them politically motivated. Two of those allegations had previously been investigated and found unsubstantiated.
The latest complaint was filed by conservative activist and blogger Aaron Park.

Allegations That Brough Improperly Used His Campaign Fund

He says campaign spending records show Brough “took a two-day pleasure trip” to Boston with his wife and two children in 2017 to take in a Red Sox game before joining other members of the Legislature’s informal “Irish Caucus” in Ireland. He alleges that Brough improperly used his campaign fund to pay more than $2,700 for airfare and a hotel.
Park says campaign records show Brough’s campaign paid more than $13,000 in cellphone bills for himself and his family since 2015 even though he uses his phone for personal as well as campaign business.
He also questioned spending on cigars, a humidor, liquor cabinet, and more than $177,000 for food and drinks since 2015.
The $1,310 humidor and cigars were labeled “office expenses” on an official disclosure form, the complaint alleges.
It says he also used campaign funds to pay for a $1,320 “custom-made, luxury liquor cabinet/bar made from a bourbon barrel,” but that there was no legitimate legislative or political purpose to justify the expense.
Some of the alleged “extravagant restaurant tabs” ran to $300 or more per person, far above the maximum $200 per person guideline set by the commission, Park alleges. He says Brough generally labeled his more than 155 bar and restaurant tabs as strategy meetings.

DON'T MISS

Pope Francis in Critical Condition After Long Respiratory Crisis

DON'T MISS

Musk Gives All Federal Workers 48 Hours to Explain What They Did Last Week

DON'T MISS

Fresno State Suspends 2 Players, Removes Another Amid Gambling Investigation

DON'T MISS

Israel Delays Release of Palestinian Prisoners, Citing ‘Degrading’ Hostage Handovers

DON'T MISS

Officer Killed After Gunman Took Hostages at Pennsylvania Hospital

DON'T MISS

Kash Patel Plans to Move Up to 1,500 Workers Out of Washington

DON'T MISS

Fired Employees Fear Beloved Yosemite National Park Will Lose Its Luster

DON'T MISS

US and Ukraine Nearing Rare Earths Deal That Would Tighten Relationship

DON'T MISS

Trump Fires Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Two Other Military Officers

DON'T MISS

Less Is More: 5 Ingredient Dinners Are Easier Than You Think

UP NEXT

Voletta Wallace, Notorious B.I.G.’s Mother and Keeper of His Legacy, Dies at 78

UP NEXT

Should Fossil Fuel Companies Be Forced to Pay for Los Angeles Wildfire Losses?

UP NEXT

Bullard Teacher Arrested for Inappropriate Behavior With a Minor, Principal Says

UP NEXT

Nearly 1 in 10 U.S. Adults Identifies as LGBTQ+, Survey Finds

UP NEXT

Fed Audit of CA High-Speed Rail Begins. $4B in Funding at Stake.

UP NEXT

California Lawmakers Scramble Again to Fix ‘Lemon’ Vehicle Law

UP NEXT

California Fire Captain Found Stabbed to Death in Home

UP NEXT

Arctic Blast Causes Massive Pileups, Power Outages Across East Coast

UP NEXT

‘A Step Backwards’: How Federal Threats to DEI Impact CA Schools

UP NEXT

Struggling Forever 21 Plans to Close 200 Stores in Possible 2nd Bankruptcy

Israel Delays Release of Palestinian Prisoners, Citing ‘Degrading’ Hostage Handovers

6 hours ago

Officer Killed After Gunman Took Hostages at Pennsylvania Hospital

6 hours ago

Kash Patel Plans to Move Up to 1,500 Workers Out of Washington

12 hours ago

Fired Employees Fear Beloved Yosemite National Park Will Lose Its Luster

12 hours ago

US and Ukraine Nearing Rare Earths Deal That Would Tighten Relationship

12 hours ago

Trump Fires Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Two Other Military Officers

13 hours ago

Less Is More: 5 Ingredient Dinners Are Easier Than You Think

13 hours ago

Trump-Putin Summit Preparations Are Underway, Russia Says

13 hours ago

Warren Buffett Offers Trump Some Advice While Celebrating Berkshire’s Success

13 hours ago

Hungarians Will Decide Whether Ukraine Can Join the European Union, Orbán Says

13 hours ago

Pope Francis in Critical Condition After Long Respiratory Crisis

ROME — Pope Francis was in critical condition Saturday after he suffered a prolonged asthmatic respiratory crisis while being treated for pn...

5 hours ago

5 hours ago

Pope Francis in Critical Condition After Long Respiratory Crisis

6 hours ago

Musk Gives All Federal Workers 48 Hours to Explain What They Did Last Week

6 hours ago

Fresno State Suspends 2 Players, Removes Another Amid Gambling Investigation

6 hours ago

Israel Delays Release of Palestinian Prisoners, Citing ‘Degrading’ Hostage Handovers

6 hours ago

Officer Killed After Gunman Took Hostages at Pennsylvania Hospital

12 hours ago

Kash Patel Plans to Move Up to 1,500 Workers Out of Washington

12 hours ago

Fired Employees Fear Beloved Yosemite National Park Will Lose Its Luster

12 hours ago

US and Ukraine Nearing Rare Earths Deal That Would Tighten Relationship

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend