Former Kinder staffer paid $60,000 more than reports showed

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A former campaign aide to Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder was paid at least $60,000 more than originally reported, according to updated finance records filed by Kinder's gubernatorial campaign.

The additional payments to former campaign manager Logan Thompson are among hundreds of changes Kinder's campaign made to reports dating to 2012. Kinder's campaign says it made the changes after an internal investigation found former independent contractors had prepared incorrect reports to the Missouri Ethics Commission "to conceal unauthorized payments and expenditures."

In a late Friday announcement of the amendments, the campaign did not identify the independent contractors at issue.

U.S. Attorney Richard Callahan has confirmed his office received information from Kinder's campaign. He said the campaign committee itself is not under investigation.

Thompson, who received dozens of bonuses and other payments that were left off earlier reports, joined the campaign in January 2012 and helped Kinder, a Cape Girardeau native, win his third term as lieutenant governor. Thompson continued working for the campaign until January 2014.

"I can tell you that I have not been contacted by any Law Enforcement Agency, other than that I've been advised not to discuss this issue," Thompson said in an email to The Associated Press.

Kinder is among several Republicans seeking replace Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon, who is barred from seeking re-election because of term limits.

The additions to Kinder's finance reports include a number of retainer payments, including four to Thompson in different amounts in November 2013 that totaled $3,500.

Other revisions include a $430 payment to Ameristar Casino in St. Charles on Nov. 25, 2013, that's labeled as an "unauthorized charge by independent contractor." Thompson also received $552 for mileage that day, according to the updated reports.

The casino charge appears to be the only one listed as "unauthorized" in amended filings.

Other previously unreported expenses included utility payments, credit-card interest and hotel costs.

The campaign also made changes to descriptions of some payments to Kinder's longtime campaign consultant David Barklage, though the total amounts paid to Barklage remain about the same.

Barklage said Thompson was responsible for approving Barklage's payments.

The amended records also show the campaign brought in more in donations than previously reported.

An earlier report noted the campaign committee raised about $127,000 between December 2012 and March 2013. The updated report stated the committee actually took in nearly $155,000.

The new records also show the committee sometimes spent more and had less cash on hand than previously reported.

The original filing for the end of 2014, for example, showed the committee had more than $55,000 in cash; the amendments reveal it had only $164.

Kinder's campaign says he hired a certified public accountant to review financial records after the campaign was tipped off to discrepancies after his July announcement he's running for governor.

The Republican primary is in August, with the general election in November.

Other GOP candidates include suburban St. Louis businessman John Brunner, former Navy SEAL officer Eric Greitens and former U.S. Attorney and state House Speaker Catherine Hanaway. Attorney General Chris Koster is the only Democrat who has announced plans to run.