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Tuesday: Sinsheimer's latest
posted at 2007-08-07 08:59 | Last modified 2007-11-14 10:38
The investigation of former Speaker Jim Black may be moving up the money chain. Noted Black critic Joe Sinsheimer has filed this new complaint with the State Elections Board, asking the panel to look into transactions involving two of Black's less-savory donors - strip club owner Slim Baucom and the state's video poker PAC. Char-O's Mark Johnson and David Ingram broke the story this morning.
Federal investigators say Black admitted to accepting an illegal $2000 cash contribution from Slim Baucom. But Sinsheimer alleges Baucom "washed" even more contributions to Black through the NC Tourism PAC (a group with strong ties to the strip club industry) and the NC Bike PAC.
Both groups received donations from Baucom, then made identical contribution to Black's campaign. Sinsheimer points out that the Tourism PAC already admitted the money came from Baucom.
The complaint also outlines other transactions involving the NC video poker PAC. In 2000, the PAC gave $30K to the national Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, a federal 527 (fundraising) group that moves political money into and out of states.
Black was active in the DLCC at the time, and became national finance chair in 2004-2005. That's when the DLCC funneled some $370K into North Carolina's House Democratic Committee, helping enough House Dems win seats in '04 to ensure that Black could hold onto at least half of the Speakership.
Sinsheimer's contention - and it's an interesting one - is that the video poker folks "washed" illegal corporate money through the DLCC, knowing it would be headed right back where they wanted it - into the NC House, where they were hoping to stop a Senate bill banning video poker. Whether or not the money had anything to do with it, the ban was killed.
I'm betting there's plenty more where this came from. Let's hope the State Elections Board decides to open formal hearings on what they find.
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