All posts tagged "Robert Piaro"

Telemarketing tycoon Richard Zeitlin, who could spend the rest of his life in prison for allegedly defrauding untold numbers of political and charitable donors, is begging a federal judge to free him from what his lawyer describes as “intolerable” pretrial jail conditions.

The conditions at New York City’s Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., are so dire that they “substantially impair [Zeitlin’s] ability to prepare for trial,” attorney Joshua L. Dratel wrote January 2 to U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan.

Dratel cites terrible food, inadequate phone and computer access, lack of access to Advil for back pain, a facility lockdown and an inability to obtain new T-shirts and underwear from the jail commissary. ...

Money continues to trickle into Robert Piaro’s political action committees, despite federal charges of fraud against Piaro for allegedly soliciting “donations” under the guise of supporting veterans, emergency responders and breast cancer research.

Piaro, 73, was arrested Aug. 17 in Wisconsin and released on a $2 million bond. Prosecutors said he “exploited these important causes and the good intentions of everyday citizens to steal millions of dollars in small donations.”

A Raw Story review of Federal Election Commission records shows that the Association for Emergency Responders & Firefighters PAC reported Tuesday that it took in $171 during the third quarter of 2023 and still had $6,819 of cash on hand....

This article originally appeared in OpenSecrets. Sign up for their weekly newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox.

The media’s most popular campaign finance stories often focus on where political money comes from. Stories about “dark money” groups and straw donor schemes continue to emerge, calling attention to opaque contributors and the special interests behind them.

But the spotlight is often less focused on where that money goes – how it is managed and spent. Exploring political spending is important because it can unveil fraudulent fundraising schemes, such as so-called scam PACs....