Misconduct by a City of Margate Commissioner and His Campaign Treasurer in the Handling of Campaign Funds 1-22-14 – Broward Inspector General John W. Scott announced today that the Broward Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has issued a report finding that former City of Margate Vice Mayor and Commissioner David McLean permitted his campaign treasurer, Michael Natale, to improperly receive campaign funds after the 2012 election. We also identified additional violations of Florida campaign finance law by Commissioner McLean and Mr. Natale. These violations include failing to timely comply with reporting requirements; filing Campaign Treasurer’s Reports (CTRs) that contained false, incorrect, and incomplete information; making and accepting a $400 cash contribution to the campaign in the name of Mr. Natale’s sister, without her knowledge and permission; writing campaign account checks on at least three occasions when there were insufficient funds to cover them; and making unrecorded cash payments for various campaign expenses. With regard to Mr. Natale’s personal receipt of money, the investigation determined that he withdrew $905.82 in surplus campaign funds. Although Mr. Natale claimed that during 2012, he personally made four loans to the campaign totaling $1,010, and took the funds as repayment, Commissioner McLean and he were unable to produce any documents evidencing the existence of the loans, or otherwise corroborate Mr. Natale’s version of events. In addition, Mr. Natale admitted that he failed to report the loans on amended CTRs until April 2013, well after he had already withdrawn the funds We also determined that the failure by Commissioner McLean and Mr. Natale to generate and maintain required records was a hallmark of their handling of campaign funds. Despite the fact that Florida law required him to retain accounts for four years after Commissioner McLean’s election in November 2012, Mr. Natale admitted that he did not currently have any campaign finance-related documents: no CTR copy or draft, bank statement, receipt for campaign expenses, note or working paper, copy of a contribution check, invoice, or even the check register for the treasury that was in his trust. The OIG investigation established probable cause to believe that Commissioner McLean and Mr. Natale engaged in numerous acts of campaign finance misconduct. Accordingly, the OIG has referred this matter to the Florida Department of Elections and the Broward State Attorney’s Office for their independent assessment of the application of Florida campaign finance statutes and criminal statutes.
Posted on: Wed, 22 Jan 2014 17:29:35 +0000
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