Defunct Democratic campaign committee fined

The Missouri Ethics Commission has handed down a $10,000 fine to a former Missouri House Democratic campaign committee for violating campaign finance laws.

The consent order released Monday by the commission shows the group was charged with two counts, including failure to report certain expenditures and contributions in a timely and accurate manner, and failure to designate a deputy treasurer.

The order also points to more than $60,000 in bad checks the former group issued to Mad Dog Mail, a Florida-based campaign mail service used by the committee in 2012.

The ethics complaint was brought late last year by Eddy Justice, treasurer of the House Republican Campaign Committee. He said he worked with Mad Dog Mail personnel to go over the Democratic committee's finances and reported the discrepancies they found to the ethics commission.

"I filed the ethics complaint because of the continuous and seemingly calloused violations of Missouri's ethics laws by the House Democrat Campaign Committee," he said. "I am pleased that the ethics commission has seen fit to hold them accountable and hope this will cause the House Democrats to begin to take the laws of our state seriously."

The complaint initially was filed against the Missouri House Democratic Campaign Committee, which shut down in July 2013. It then carried over to the group's successor, the House Democratic Victory Committee, which also was later terminated.

The state Democratic Party will pay the fine, according to Associated Press reports. The fine must be paid within 45 days after the order was issued.

srinehart@semissourian.com

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