 In Part 1, we looked at how FEC Tony's (pictured, right) MN GOP couldn't (wouldn't?) accurately report to the FEC how much they owed a vendor to ensure accurate FEC reports. In Part 2, we noted there are now 2 citizen watchdog groups looking into the MN GOP's Cooked Books -- Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington - which nailed 'em last time (the MN GOP got smacked with a near-record $170,000 fine), and Common Cause MN.
Today in Part 3 of the continuing Cooked Books Series, we're going to take a quick look at one thing that got the MN GOP into trouble last time, and how it sure looks like it'll keep them in trouble this time. As CREW's Melanie Sloan noted on Minnesota Public Radio just the other day:
"We seem to be seeing a repeat of the same kind of problems with the Republican Party's finances," said Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington D.C. (More, at MPR.org)
Back in February 2007, long time MN GOP employee Dwight Tostenson sent a memo to the GOP's Executive Committee outling what he thought were - to paraphrase - real bad accounting. REAL bad. One thing Tostenson noted was the Party was taking employee payroll deductions for retirement accounts -- but NOT depositing the deductions into the employee's retirement accounts! That, Ladies and Gentlemen, is a HUGE "no no"! At that time, MN GOP employee retirement accounts were being administered by American Express Financial. American Express Financial was later spun off to become "Ameriprise Financial".
On the December (covering the preceeding month,November) RPM ("Republican Party of Minnesota") FEC Filing, Schedule D lists a debt owed to Ameriprise Financial Services in the amount of $7,636.64. "Nature of Debt" was listed as "Administrative/Salary/Overhead FEA Empl" -- here it is:
(link to above)
This interested me, because in The Tostenson Memo, prepared by former MN GOP Staffer Dwight Tostenson, one of his allegations was that the MN GOP was taking payroll deductions for employee retirement purposes, and not depositing said withholdings into the employee's retirement accounts - administered by Ameriprise American Express.
So I looked in the MN GOP FEC Schedule B Filings - Disbursements - for the month, and found no disbursements to Ameriprise.
Nor was there a disbursement in the preceeding months of October (Filing #753549), September #750371, August #745520, July #742600, June #737692, May #731962, nor April #729605.
But I noticed a funny thing, as I worked back to April - until April's FEC Filing, the debt to Ameriprise never changed - always $7,636.64 on Schedule D (Debts and Obligations)
In April, the MN GOP's Schedule D reported Ameriprise twice - the first time, $3133.85 - same "Nature of Debt" as above.
The second listing for Ameriprise, in the amount of $1,000.62, has "Standard Transfer: FEA Employees IRA Con" as the "Nature of Debt."
Now, I'm not saying that the debt to Ameriprise Financial reported all those months in 2011 ($7,636.64) is in fact payroll deductions for deposits into employee retirement accounts - I'm not saying that at all.
But I will repeat what Mealanie Sloan of CREW said, above:
"We seem to be seeing a repeat of the same kind of problems with the Republican Party's finances," said Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington D.C. (More, at MPR.org)
Yep! Sure seems to be a repeat!
And a willful one at that.
I'm going to continue to dig into the financial disaster brought about by the alleged "Party of Fiscal Responsibility" - that's becoming known as the MN GOP's Cooked Books Scandal.
Hopefully, some one in the law enforcement persuasion will, too.
Because really: Does anyone expect the newly elected MN GOP Chair "ENRON Pat" Shortridge to?
Stay tuned! |
