AG’s Office Investigating Murray Campaign Finance Issues

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Saturday, January 26, 2013

Adam Joseph Drici, GoLocalWorcester Contributor

The state's Office of Campaign and Political Finance (OCPF) found evidence of campaign finance law violations regarding ex-Chelsea Housing chief Michael McLaughlin and Lieutenant Governor Tim Murray and his campaign, and the OCPF referred the matter to Attorney General Martha Coakley's Office, according to a September 2012 letter released this week.

The alleged violations stem from fundraising conducted by McLaughlin for Murray between 2008 and 2011 that was not in compliance with campaign finance laws, which prohibit political fundraising by public employees. In the letter, the OCPF indicated that the solicitation or receipt of such contributions by Murray and his campaign would also be a violation of campaign finance law.

To see the full letter, click here.

“As we’ve acknowledged, the issues raised in this letter are under investigation, and as a result we cannot comment further at this time,” said Brad Puffer, a spokesperson for Attorney General Martha Coakley, in a statement.

Over a year ago, Murray was the one to initially request an investigation into the political fundraising of McLaughlin, who was charged in federal court this week with under-reporting his salary while serving as director of the Chelsea Housing Authority.

“On January 23, 2012 the Lieutenant Governor asked OCPF to investigate Michael McLaughlin regarding alleged improprieties he may have engaged in relative to the Citizens Committee to Elect Tim Murray," said Scott Ferson, campaign spokesman for Murray, in a statement, adding that since that time the campaign has cooperated fully and answered all questions.

"The Murray Committee never authorized Michael McLaughlin to do any fundraising on its behalf. Neither the media nor any regulatory agency has ever identified any fact indicating that the Murray Committee authorized McLaughlin to engage in this activity. We continue to fully cooperate with any authorities looking into this matter," Ferson said.

"OCPF has not made a determination that the Murray Committee violated campaign finance laws. Reports that there are charges are incorrect.”  

Murray announced last week that he would not be running for governor in 2014 in order to spend more time with his family.

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• Who Will Replace Murray As Top Candidate For Governor?

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