Reid Donor Convicted of Making Illegal Campaign Contributions

(AP) Former Nev powerbroker guilty in contribution case
By SCOTT SONNER
Associated Press
RENO, Nev.
A former Nevada powerbroker has been convicted of making illegal campaign contributions to Sen. Harry Reid.

A federal jury reached its verdict Wednesday in the case against real estate developer and once powerful lobbyist Harvey Whittemore.

The federal jury returned unanimous guilty verdicts on charges of making excessive campaign contributions, making contributions in the name of another and causing a false statement to be made to the Federal Election Commission.

The jury was deadlocked on a fourth charge of making a false statement to the FBI.

Prosecutors say Whittemore gave money to family members and employees in 2007 to make contributions he had promised to Reid while concealing himself as the true source to skirt campaign finance laws.

Reid has not been accused of any wrongdoing and did not testify during the trial.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

A federal jury resumed deliberations Wednesday in the case of a Nevada powerbroker accused of illegally funneling nearly $150,000 in campaign contributions to Sen. Harry Reid.

Prosecutors say Harvey Whittemore gave money to family members and employees in 2007 to make contributions he had promised to Reid while concealing himself as the true source to skirt campaign finance laws.

Defense attorneys say he broke no laws by giving $5,000 checks as gifts to family members and as gifts or bonuses to 29 employees and their spouses, who then each wrote checks for the maximum allowable $4,600 to the Senate Majority Leader’s campaign fund, Friends of Harry Reid.

Reid has not been accused of any wrongdoing and did not testify during the trial before U.S. District Court Judge Larry Hicks. He has said he was unaware of any potential problems with the money he received.

Lawyers on both sides posed different versions of Whittemore’s campaign finance saga to the jury, alluding to the Biblical story of Adam and Eve and the magical tale of the “Wizard of Oz” during closing arguments on Tuesday.

The defense acknowledged the land developer and once powerful lobbyist suggested contributions be made to Reid, but made it clear it was voluntary and _ most importantly _ didn’t try to cover up the political fundraising he had been doing for nearly three decades.

Gentile said one of the prosecution’s key pieces of evidence is a document pulled from Whittemore’s files detailing the contributions he bundled and had shipped off to Reid in March 2007.

Defense witnesses testified that Whittemore, former chief of the Wingfield Nevada Group, was a man of integrity who was generous with his money and routinely gave large sums to charities.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Myhre countered that the focus on Whittemore’s character was a “smoke screen” reminiscent of the wizard in the 1939 motion picture who helped Dorothy and Toto find their way home from the Land of Oz.

Whittemore has pleaded not guilty to making excessive campaign contributions, making contributions in the name of another, causing a false statement to be made to the Federal Election Commission, and making a false statement to the FBI. If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count.

Reid said he was surprised he wasn’t called to testify at the trial.

Myhre said Whittemore used his power and well-connected friends to carry out his scheme but the paper trail of his financial transactions finally caught up with him.

The jury deliberated for more than four hours on Tuesday and reconvened Wednesday morning.