Man to Plead Guilty in Campaign Finance Case
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WASHINGTON — A New Jersey businessman who agreed to plead guilty to funneling illegal donations to the Clinton-Gore campaign and the election of Sen. Robert Torricelli (D-N.J.) became the 19th person charged in the investigation of fund-raising abuses, the Justice Department announced Wednesday.
Lawrence Penna, the former president of the Investors Associates securities firm in Hackensack, is accused of conspiring to reimburse employees for $12,000 in illegal donations to Clinton-Gore and about $20,000 to the Torricelli campaign, the department said.
Penna faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Court papers say Penna used his own money to reimburse employees who agreed to write personal checks to Clinton-Gore.
Penna had made a commitment to the Clinton-Gore campaign in 1995 that he would co-sponsor a fund-raising event. He reimbursed employees after finding it difficult to raise contributions, according to the court filing.
The court papers say Penna promised in 1996 to raise $100,000 for Torricelli’s campaign.
Subsequently, Penna and the manager of his company’s office in Melville, N.Y., arranged to contribute funds to Torricelli’s campaign in the names of various employees.
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