UPDATE 10 October, 10:58 PM: TIS has learned that Transfund PAC falsely claimed multi-candidate PAC status which enabled them to contribute larger sums to Federal candidates in excess of the $2300.00 limit per election.
Updates are in bold green font.
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Beyond the flutter of an Obama cash giveaway to only a few of Detroit’s finest lies a far more important story than that of able bodied citizens chanting “Obama” while proclaiming “This is why we voted for him” as they stood in line bumming pens to fill out cash giveaway forms. This isn’t a slam on the 50,000 people that showed up for a scarce chance at 3400 handouts, with 6% odds of landing some free cash. It’s more of a sad commentary on the week before when a whopping 250 people stood in line for a Detroit Pub hiring 150 Workers braving a 60% chance of landing a job. Lets see… stand in line with 50,000 people for a 6% chance at winning free Obama money while pushing and shoving… or stand in line with 250 people for a 60% chance at working for money. More than just a bit off kilter. Interesting side note, but that wasn’t the story Detroit missed.
Beyond the 100,000 legs standing in the Obama-line…. this story stands out;
- HIGHLAND PARK, (WXYZ) - The former Emergency Financial Manager for Highland Park was arraigned on embezzlement charges of over $100,000.00.
Detroit News Article: Arthur Blackwell II, a former Wayne County commissioner, is charged with two counts of embezzlement, official misconduct, being a public official and refusing to turn over books or money, and taking public money for his own use.
Rather benign considering the appeal of a free money march whereby the marchers themselves can’t explain who is paying for their handout. That level of Detroit intelligence would be enough to negate any further investigation here… but only in Detroit. TIS is about to reveal a slew full of ignored political corruption seething beneath the surface of Detroit benignity.
As it turns out, former Emergency Manager, Arthur Blackwell II, was appointed to the post in 2005 and agreed to work for an annual salary of $1.00. During this time Blackwell made 2008 political campaign contributions totaling $9800, $6500 of which went to Transfund PAC / Rep. Kilpatrick. Not bad for a guy making $1.00 a year. Do you think anyone in the Detroit media is bothering to check if Blackwell used embezzled funds for political campaign contributions? Lets hope so.
Although serious if proven true, there is far greater corruption beyond the illegal doings of Mr. Blackwell. It can be found in Rep. Kilpatrick (D-MI) who directs Transfund PAC.
Transfund PAC is a special interest group for the democratic party. They operate as a Leadership PAC affiliated with Rep. Carolyn Kilpatrick. Leadership PAC’s can contribute to the affiliate sponsor under contribution limits for multi and non-multi campaign PAC’s. At issue are two seemingly large contributions made to KILPATRICK FOR CONGRESS totaling $10,000 for the 2008 Primary and General elections. The non-multi campaign PAC limit is $2300 per campaign, per election cycle. (Two $5,000 campaign contribution were made to Kilpatrick on 7-16-2008)
That isn’t all. Transfund Pac violated FEC regulations by illegally operating as a multi-candidate PAC . A multi-candidate PAC is defined as a political committee with more than 50 contributors which has been registered for at least 6 months and, with the exception of state party committees, has made contributions to 5 or more candidates for federal office. TIS reviewed all FEC reports (Form 3X Schedule A Itemized Receipts) submitted by Transfund PAC to the FEC identifying a total of 50 persons or groups, 1 short of what is required to declare multi-candidate status.
Schedule A reports can be found here: (Record of FEC – Transfund PAC correspondence)
According to Title 11, Chapter I, section 100.5 (e) (3) (ii): Definition of a multi candidate PAC includes one that has “contributions for Federal elections from more than 50 persons”
This is where Transfund PAC fudged the math: Two individual donors (Gildon, Derek and Robinson, Ruthie) contributed six times. Transfund counted each contribution as a ‘person’. Transfund took these two donors and turned them into six persons to claim eligibility. That is illegal under Title 11. Regardless of how many times a person contributes they are only one person. FEC definition of a person.
The FEC denied Multi-candidate status for obvious clerical errors without digging into actual number of persons;
In July 2008, Transfund PAC claimed multi-candidate status which was **rejected in August by the FEC for numerous discrepancies. One area in question was the actual date Transfund received its 51st contributor. The date they give, 6-30-08, matches one contributor: Clear Channel PAC. This contribution was reported by Transfund as the 51st donor, when in fact it was the 47th donor. Transfund PAC never attained 51 reportable persons or groups during the 2008 election cycle.
The only reason for Transfund PAC to fudge the paperwork in order to claim multi candidate status would have been to make larger contributions to KILPATRICK and SEALS. After a thorough examination of FEC forms (Schedule B), two campaigns received excess contributions for 2008; Dan Seals for Congress and Kilpatrick for congress.
The FEC also had difficulty with Transfund on sloppy reporting practices. In September, the FEC issued a notice to Transfund PAC to fully disclose its Federal Election campaign finances, stating “Failure to adequately respond by 10 October 2008 could result in an audit or enforcement action”. No response was filed before the required due date.
Additionally, in October the FEC issued a second notice questioning contributions that appeared to exceed the $2300 limit to candidates;
– (See FEC campaign contribution caps for PACs)
Exactly how many FEC laws have been broken remain unclear. TIS will direct these questions to the FEC within the next few days in an attempt to discover pending FEC determinations of wrongdoing on the part of Transfund PAC.
As for the story Detroit missed, maybe they could slip away from the Obama Lottery long enough to investigate the shady dealings of Arthur Blackwell II to determine if the money he embezzled was used to pay for his campaign contributions on a $1.00 annual salary. They can start by looking into his campaign receipts and bank statements. And they might want to look into his total contributions to Kilpatrick’s 2008 election. That is when and if they have the time.
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Whew! We have our own Glenn Beck at TIS! I was going to compliment you and say I love the way this builds but then I realized that there really wasn’t anything to love about this. Detroit is a disaster, unemployment in the 30s, population down by hundreds of thousands, businesses moving out in droves despite the industrial infrastructure in Detroit.
I always thought that California was the epitome of leftwing politics but the fact that Detroit has been running almost entirely by Democrats for the past 40 years says it all. You mock the people standing in line for free Obamadollars but let’s look it the whole picture: these are the people who keep Democrats in power despite the absolutely disastrous results. It’s like feeding a bear by hand who keeps eating your fingers, right up to the elbows.
How can the Republicans NOT take Detroit? Is it the corruption? Do these extra ill-gave thousands make that much of a difference for the political layout?
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I don’t think Republicans will ever take Detroit based on 250 people willing to stand in line for a job compared to 50,000 standing in line for an Obama handout. Even though the majority of freeloaders won’t see a dime… they will still vote for democrats based on “hope’. I’m afraid there aren’t any ‘Eureka’ moments with drones.
But you’re exactly right. This is what democrats do. They drive out businesses, except for Bars. Motor City was driven into the ground long before GM and Chrysler croaked.
I hope the article doesn’t sound as if I am slamming the 50,000 who showed up for a cup of Obama-soup. I just think its sad that there wasn’t an equal ratio of people (about 2000 or so) willing to stand in line for a job the week prior.
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Yeah, you can’t completely blame people for taking it when it’s offered.
Do you know what the amount of money was and what the premise was for giving it out?
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15 million… enough for 3400 people… premise was stimulus pork.
Hey guess what… I found all FEC donor reports by Transfund. They NEVER hit the magic number required by FEC of 51 contributors…. meaning they were ineligible for Multi-Candidate status which reduces their individual PAC contributions to $2300 per candidate (vice 5K with that status). And I know why. They did it to coverup a multitude of illegal contributions they doled out to other candidates in excess of $2300.
That is blatant illegal conduct. I’m updating the article to reflect this. And I’m calling the FEC tomorrow.
[Post New Comment]
Great find here and Great article Max. Keep up the good work.
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[...] Followup: TIS-FEC Conversation: … Arthur Blackwell II & Transfund PAC: The Story Detroit Missed: … Obama SNL Skit: … Natl. Science Foundation: Inspector General Attempts To Track Grant Funding [...]
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