A six-figure penalty in elections case
In one of the biggest fines ever levied by the Florida Elections Commission, long-time Democratic fund-raiser Jeff Ryan has agreed to pay $209,000 to settle a case in which the FEC found that a committee he once headed committed 203 violations of the elections code by accepting donations above the $500 limit, plus six additional violations.
The charges stem from Ryan's involvement with Florida House Victory in 2004 and 2005, when former Rep. Chris Smith of Fort Lauderdale was House minority leader. The investigation, prompted by a Miami Herald news account, found the committee routinely accepted donations in excess of the limit which applied to House Victory because it was created to support candidates, not issues.
The first installment of $100,000 was paid last month and the remaining $109,000 is due by June 30. As monstrous as the fine is, it could have been much worse, because the law allows a maximum fine equivalent to triple the amount of the violations. "The potential penalties were probably in excess of $1.5-million," said Ryan's lawyer, Mark Herron. He said it wasn't worth the risk of taking the case through a trial -- and the likelihood of much bigger fines.
January 11, 2008 in Democrats, Florida House, Fundraising, Pinellas | Pe
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