Friday morning, both the Tampa Bay Times and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported that Tampa real estate developer Timothy F. Mobley plead guilty to making illegal campaign donations to both Sarasota Republican Congressman Vern Buchanan and the Republican Party of Florida.
Mobley admitted to reimbursing $84,300 to Buchanan's campaign and $10,000 to the party.
The Florida Democratic Party is calling for the state GOP to immediately give back the tainted money. Scott Arceneaux, executive director of the Florida Democratic Party, said:
"Given Vern Buchanan's sordid history of financial manipulations and potentially illegal campaign finance schemes, this latest development is hardly a surprise — but it is concerning. It has become abundantly clear that Congressman Buchanan is more concerned with defending his own political career than looking out for the middle class families of Sarasota, and it is sad that Florida families have effectively been robbed of their representation while Buchanan deals with the legal ramifications of his schemes. The Republican Party of Florida should apologize for accepting these tainted funds, immediately refund the donations, and cooperate with federal authorities so that law enforcement can do it's work as they investigate the connection between the RPOF, Buchanan and these guilty individuals."
This article appears in Sep 27 – Oct 3, 2012.