HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – The FBI and federal prosecutors have contacted U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman’s office about at least $14,000 in contributions to his 2004 presidential campaign made by a now-indicted Danbury-area businessman and his associates, a spokesman for the senator has confirmed.
James Galante, 54, of New Fairfield, his associates and their relatives donated to Lieberman’s presidential campaign in the fall of 2003, the Hartford Courant reported Sunday, citing federal campaign records.
Galante and 28 other people were indicted last year in a federal investigation of the mob’s alleged influence on the trash hauling industry in western Connecticut and upstate New York. Galante, who owns several trash businesses, has pleaded not guilty to 93 federal counts including racketeering, extortion and fraud.
State authorities have also charged Galante with making illegal campaign contributions to other politicians. Galante’s lawyer, Hugh Keefe, said his client is accused of making about $38,000 on donations to three political action committees through straw donors.
Galante is awaiting trial on the federal charges related to the garbage hauling investigation. Through a spokesman, he said he would not comment on the campaign money.
No charges have been filed in connection with the donations to Lieberman’s presidential campaign.
Rob Sawicki, Lieberman’s press secretary, said federal authorities have asked the senator’s office about the circumstances surrounding the contributions. He said no one in the campaign knew about any impropriety involved with the donations made through Galante.
Lieberman will donate that money to a charity if federal authorities determine that the donations were illegal, Sawicki said.
“Those donations would never have been accepted had the campaign been aware of any wrongdoing in the bundling of those donations,” he said.
The state campaign finance charges against Galante were filed on Oct. 13. He is accused of making suspect $1,000 contributions in 2002 and 2003 to the political action committees. Those committees were controlled by state Sen. Louis DeLuca, R-Woodbury, state Sen. David Cappiello, R-Danbury, and Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton, the Courant reported.
It is not illegal to “bundle” contributions from several people and give them to a candidate at one time. But it is against the law to use bundling to exceed campaign contribution limits by funneling money through third parties who write checks within the limits.
DeLuca, Cappiello and Boughton are also not targets of the federal investigation. All three have said that they believed the contributions from Galante and his associates were legitimate. Cappiello, who is running for Congress in the 5th District, said he has donated the contributions in question to charity.
Several of Galante’s employees, friends and relatives who state authorities say donated to the three PACs also gave a total of $10,000 to Lieberman’s presidential campaign in November 2003, the federal campaign finance records show.
Galante himself gave Lieberman’s campaign another $2,000 in September 2003, and a lobbyist for Galante donated $2,000 that year, the records show.
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