Ex-Missouri gov. Roger Wilson discloses campaign donations

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Former Missouri Gov. Roger Wilson told the state Ethics Commission last week that he wanted to report the origins of campaign contributions that landed him in legal trouble but was asked by federal authorities not to contact state officials.

The former Democratic governor pleaded guilty this month to a misdemeanor federal charge of misusing funds from Missouri Employers Mutual to funnel a campaign donation in 2009 to the state Democratic Party. Prosecutors say the $5,000 donation was hidden in legal bills submitted by a law firm to the insurer. In addition, Wilson reimbursed the law firm for a second $3,000 contribution after the insurance company's general counsel questioned another legal bill. St. Louis lawyer Edward Griesedieck III also pleaded guilty to a similar misdemeanor charge.

The Columbia Daily Tribune on Monday reported that Wilson said in a letter sent last week to the Missouri Ethics Commission that he and Missouri Employers Mutual were the source of the two donations. The state Democratic Party filed amended campaign finance reports.

"It had been my intent to contact your office in May 2011," Wilson wrote in the letter. "However, the United States Attorney's Office asked that there be no contact with your office during its investigation."

One condition for Wilson's release until his sentencing was that he send the letter clearing the record about the campaign contributions.

The Missouri Legislature created Missouri Employers Mutual in 1994 to help businesses get workers' compensation coverage at reasonable rates. Wilson became interim chief executive officer in 2009 and permanent CEO in 2010.

Wilson served 20 years in the Missouri Senate and nearly eight years as lieutenant governor. He served as governor after Mel Carnahan died in a plane crash in October 2000 and before Democrat Bob Holden took office in January 2001.

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Information from: Columbia Daily Tribune, http://www.columbiatribune.com