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WILKES-BARRE — Materials surfacing Friday from an anonymous source allege Democratic mayoral nominee Tony George violated campaign finance law by failing to report a $2,500 donation.
Mailed to the Times Leader as well as to the Luzerne County Elections and District Attorney’s offices, the materials allege George failed to report the donation in writing during the May 8 through May 19 reporting period. During that period, candidates must report all expenditures and donations over $500 to the election board within 24 hours of receipt.
George, who in May edged George Brown by 151 votes to win the primary, allegedly reported three contributions totaling $2,000 on May 11 but failed to report the $2,500 donation received six days later.
Made by Bob Francella, a city contractor from Shickshinny, the date of the contribution is listed as “5/17/84.”
George could not be reached for comment Friday afternoon.
Luzerne County Board of Elections Solicitor Mike Butera confirmed he was made aware of the allegations Wednesday.
“There’s clerical mistakes, there’s mathematical mistakes, putting things in the wrong box. They happen all the time,” Butera said, noting he interpreted the 1984 reporting date to be an “obvious mistake.”
“For something to be sinister, that’s a different story,” he said.
But right now, Butera said he’s not in a position to make a call either way.
“I’ll make an initial determination by looking at the face of this,” he explained. “If I think there should be an investigation further, I’ll ask for an investigation.”
If Butera determines it to be a clerical mistake with no intent to deceive, it would likely result in a fine.
If the violation proves to be willfully false, Butera said the matter will be turned over to the District Attorney’s Office.
Luzerne County District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis on Friday confirmed her office received materials but had not yet reviewed them.
County Administrative Services Division Head David Parsnik, who oversees the county election office on North Pennsylvania Avenue in Wilkes-Barre, said his department received the materials on Wednesday.
Parsnik said Friday it isn’t uncommon for people to find fault in campaign finance forms.
Often, residents will challenge discrepancies in county court, he said. If they believe a crime was committed, certain violations could warrant an investigation.
However, the department is largely clerical and doesn’t have an investigative body, leaving the decision to pursue an investigation up to Butera.
Butera said he hopes to make a determination Monday.
This is the second time anonymous materials targeting George have surfaced. Two days before the primary election, mailers were sent to city residents that attempted to link the former police chief to the Nation of Islam.
