www.justiceforchandra.com

[jane]

Well, Garagos is a defense lawyer, so his statement (in a recent ModBee article - not the one below) that the Condit children are being sued to the tune of $2.4M for misspending $226,000 is no surprise. In fact, the same misconception is repeated in the first sentence of the article below. They paid themselves $226,000 outright (for imaginary services), but that is not all that they misspent.

fair use

State wants $2.4M from Condit's children
Commission claims two misspent campaign funds
By ADAM ASHTON
BEE STAFF WRITER

Last Updated: January 15, 2006, 04:52:43 AM PST

A state agency is suing former Rep. Gary Condit's children for $2.4 million because they allegedly misspent $226,000 in funds the congressman originally raised to advance his career.

The Fair Political Practices Commission filed suit against Chad and Cadee Condit this week in Sacramento County Superior Court. The lawsuit says they enriched themselves with political action committee funds that should have been used for political, legislative or government purposes.

The agency alleges they paid themselves $226,000 for work they were not qualified to undertake. It also says the two did not produce the services for which they paid themselves....

The complaint stems from how Chad and Cadee Condit spent money in their father's Keep California Golden committee, a fund-raising venture he created in late 1999 to pursue a run at statewide office. It had a balance of $270,793 as of early February 2002.

Chad Condit took over as the committee's treasurer in March 2002....

Chad Condit paid himself $126,500 in committee funds to research a documentary on how the media covered his father, and to serve as a political consultant, campaign finance records show. Chad Condit changed the committee's name to Justice PAC when he took a greater role in its administration.

He paid his sister $99,500 for political consulting.

The rest of the committee's money mostly went to various campaign and legal consultants. It also made a few donations to local government candidates and a victims rights charity, state records show.

Its money largely came from corporations and other PACs.

Both Condits had worked in politics previously for then-Gov. Davis. They told TV broadcaster Larry King in February 2005 they left the governor's office because Davis did not support their father.

They also told King they studied media coverage as part of their work on the committee.

Alleged violation of state law

In 2003, filmmaker Kristina Holland released a documentary about Condit's last campaign. Records show the PAC paid Holland $2,500 in 2002 as a "campaign consultant" and $1,000 for the documentary, but her work is not part of the lawsuit.

The state's lawsuit against the Condits says they "had no qualifications to perform the services for the committee for which (they were) compensated, did not produce any discernible work product in relation to expenditures made to (them), and did not provide compensable goods and services" to the committee.

It says they took the money for personal use, a violation of state law governing the spending of money donated for political causes.

The money sought by the state breaks down into three main charges. The commission wants:

$892,554 from Chad Condit for illegally taking money from a political action committee;

$328,500 from Cadee Condit for the same charge; and

$1.2 million from the Justice PAC and Chad Condit for illegally spending political donations.

Theis Finlev, policy advocate for campaign finance watchdog California Common Cause, said making a movie is an unusual use of political funds. Normally, he said, outgoing lawmakers roll their remaining funds into accounts for other political endeavors.

Robert Benedetti, a political science professor at the University of the Pacific, said politicians usually try to keep their fund-raising money away from their families.

"Part of that is that is a question of appearance," he said. "People don't want to involve their family or friends into any questionable activities."

Instead, Benedetti said, politicians give excess money they raise to other causes as a way of saying, "Look, it was raised here, but it wasn't needed here so we're transferring it to another cause I believe in."

Bee staff writer Adam Ashton can be reached at 578-2366 or aashton@modbee.com.

[rd]

and there's been more since then, jane. California has been unable to serve the $2.4 suit papers on Chad. He's MIA as a franchisee for Baskin-Robbins too.

Last quote I read was someone working the ice cream store saying they didn't see much of him.

Like father, like son.

rd
_________________
ralph@ee.net

[peripeteia]

Perhaps the state should sue Condit for misappropriating funds to spend on legal fees, of to which he was his own author of the fact that he needed legal council in Chandra's disappearance. He is the author of the suspicions surrounding himself in Chandra's disappearance.Yet, he has not appeared before the Grand Jury in Chandra's disappearance after spending huge sums of his office budget and campaign money on legal council...

Perhaps they can give back some of the money they obtained by suing others, what goes around, comes around......

Karma! Let it begin!!!!!
_________________
A vision sent me on the path of seeking justice for Chandra, nothing I've seen in print to date has diminished the vividness but only served to reaffirm the validity of this vision.