State campaigns must repay disguised corporate donations
Massachusetts candidates and officeholders who received disguised contributions that are banned under state law were not aware that the donations were made with corporate funds until recently notified and must disgorge the banned contributions, according to state campaign finance law regulators.
The Office of Campaign and Political Finance (OCPF) last week reported that the owners of Capitol Waste Services of East Boston agreed to make a $44,000 payment to the state's General Fund and payments of $34,000 to Boston, $24,000 to Revere, $12,000 to Everett and $6,000 to Weymouth in connection with efforts to steer cash proceeds from salvaged scrap metal to support candidates for public office.
OCPF said Capitol Waste President Joseph Ricupero and Treasurer Michael Merullo provided cash to employees who made contributions totaling $38,000 to ten 10 candidates. OCPF said the candidates were not aware that the "disguised contributions" were made with corporate funds until they were notified prior to the signing of a June 30 disposition agreement by Ricupero and Merullo.
The agreement said Merullo and Ricupero requested that Capitol employees support candidates in communities serviced by the company, and provided cash with the intention that it be used for donations.
The donations in question, which were drawn from the donors' personal checking accounts, were made to the Rob Consalvo Committee, the Carlo DeMaria Committee, the Sue Kay Committee, the Salvatore LaMattina Committee, the Adrian Madaro Committee, the Thomas Menino Committee, the Daniel Rizzo Committee, the Joseph Ruggiero III Committee, the Daniel Ryan Committee and the Robert Van Campen Committee.
Still-active campaign committees are disgorging funds as follows: $3,500 by Consalvo, $5,000 by DeMaria, $3,000 by Kay, $2,500 by LaMattina, $1,500 by Madaro, $12,000 by Rizzo, $2,000 by Ruggiero, $2,000 by Ryan and $1,000 by Van Campen. OCPF officials say disgorged funds may go to the state General Fund, the general funds of cities or towns, a charity, a scholarship fund or a religious entity.
OCPF reported that both men cooperated with their investigation but dispute certain "characterizations and conclusions" of the agency.
A section of the OCPF agreement summarizes the position of Merullo and Ricupero. "Metal that is scrapped belongs to nobody. The salvaging of scrap involved in this matter involved many individuals working for different entities. The salvaged proceeds are not properly characterized as corporate or business funds of Capitol. Allocating portions of the money recovered by the collective salvaging effort to individuals who in turn made voluntary contributions to political candidates in municipalities serviced by those entities violated none of the state's campaign finance laws."
Under the agreement, Merullo and Ricupero agree not to solicit contributions for any Massachusetts candidate or political committee from any employee of Capitol for three years.
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