1. Former Alabama Legislator
A former Alabama lawmaker was convicted Friday of theft after his former employer accused him of stealing, court records show. Court records show that a Montgomery County jury convicted former state Rep. Will Dismukes (R) of first-degree theft. The indictment accused Dismukes of taking property valued at over $2,500 from his former employer, Weiss Flooring. The charges were brought after the company contacted the district attorney.
He lost to a primary challenger last year. Dismukes had faced calls for his resignation after participating in a celebration marking the birthday of Nathan Bedford Forrest — the Confederate general who was also an early Ku Klux Klan leader. April 14, 2023
2. Former Florida State Legislator
A former Florida state representative known for sponsoring legislation prohibiting classroom discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in the state's primary schools pleaded guilty Tuesday to fraudulently obtaining tens of thousands of dollars from a federal Covid relief program.
At a hearing in U.S. District Court for Northern Florida, Republican Joseph Harding entered a guilty plea to a single count each of wire fraud, money laundering and making false statements stemming from a six-count indictment a federal grand jury returned in December.
The guilty plea, before Judge Allen Winsor, was a reversal of an earlier not guilty plea from Harding, who resigned from his House seat after he was indicted.
According to a new court filing, Harding, 35, acknowledged making materially false statements when he submitted an application for an economic injury disaster loan in December 2020 for a company that had no business activity and was dormant at the time.
Harding fraudulently obtained $150,000 in Covid relief funds from the Small Business Administration and subsequently made three transfers each involving more than $10,000 to his joint bank account, to pay his credit card, and into a bank account linked to a business entity, court documents show March 21, 2023
3. Former Hawaiian Legislator
Former state Rep. Ty Cullen (D) was sentenced Thursday to two years behind bars in connection with a bribery scandal at the state Capitol. The disgraced former state representative was also ordered to pay a $25,000 fine.
Cullen was convicted for accepting $40,000 in bribes to influence legislation. Both Cullen and former Senate Majority Leader J. Kalani English admitted that they received bribes from local businessman Milton Choy to introduce — then kill — bills establishing government-funded cesspool replacement programs. Those programs would have benefitted Choy’s industrial cleaning company.
English is already serving a three-year sentence. April 6, 2023
4. Former Suffolk County Legislator
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced the convictions of GEORGE GULDI (D), a former Suffolk County legislator and disbarred attorney, and VICTORIA DAVIDSON for defrauding Ditech Financial LLC, a mortgage lender, out of more than a quarter of a million dollars. The jury convicted GULDI and DAVIDSON of all counts following an approximately two-week trial before U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “George Guldi, while in prison, concocted and conducted a scheme along with his co-conspirator, Victoria Davidson, to brazenly steal more than $250,000 through blatant lies. Today, a jury held them accountable for their scheme, and they will both face justice for their shameless misconduct.”
Guldi had been serving time following several fraud convictions. In March 2009, Guldi, who was out of politics at the time and had a real estate practice in Westhampton Beach, was charged, along with three others in an $82 million mortgage fraud scheme. Not long after, he was separately charged with insurance fraud, accused of pocketing an insurance check meant to go into an escrow account to rebuild his Westhampton home that was destroyed by a fire.
5. Former Arkansas State Senator
A former Arkansas State Senator was sentenced today to 46 months in prison in the Eastern District of Arkansas for accepting multiple bribes and tax fraud in connection with a multi-district investigation spanning the Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas and the Western District of Missouri. Feb. 3, 2023.
Pursuant to his global plea agreement, Jeremy Hutchinson (R), 48, of Little Rock, pleaded guilty on June 25, 2019, in the Eastern District of Arkansas to filing a false tax return; pleaded guilty on June 25, 2019, to an information filed in the Western District of Arkansas to conspiracy to commit federal program bribery; and pleaded guilty in the Western District of Missouri on July 8, 2019, to conspiracy to commit federal program bribery.
According to court documents, from 2010 through 2017, Hutchinson stole and misappropriated thousands of dollars in state campaign contributions for his own personal use and then filed false federal income tax returns from 2011 to 2014 to conceal his conduct. In addition, Hutchinson was hired as outside counsel by Dr. Benjamin Burris, an orthodontist who owned and operated orthodontic clinics throughout the state of Arkansas. In exchange for payments and legal work, Hutchinson pushed legislation beneficial to Burris. Hutchinson was provided legal work to conceal the corrupt nature of his arrangement. Hutchinson stole over $10,000 in state campaign funds for his own personal use and also falsified his 2011 tax returns, including failing to report $20,000-per-month-payments he received from one law firm and other sources of income he knowingly and intentionally concealed from his taxes.
Hutchinson is still pending sentencing in the Western District of Missouri for his role in a separate multimillion-dollar public corruption scheme that involved embezzlement, bribes, and illegal campaign contributions for elected public officials. According to court documents, Hutchinson accepted bribes in the form of monthly legal retainers and other things of value from employees and executives of Preferred Family Healthcare Inc. (formerly known as Alternative Opportunities Inc.), a Springfield, Missouri-based health care charity. In exchange for the bribes, Hutchinson provided favorable legislative and official action for the charity.
6. Pennsylvania State Senator Resigns
State Rep. Mike Zabel (D., Delaware) announced his resignation decision Wednesday in a three-sentence letter to Pennsylvania House Speaker Joanna McClinton (D., Philadelphia). He said he will resign March 16, 2023.
His decision comes a week after union lobbyist Andi Perez publicly accused him of sexually harassing her, and the same day that state Rep. Abby Major (R., Armstrong) made a similar accusation.
At least two other people have accused Zabel of similar harassment. One is a sitting GOP lawmaker who has requested anonymity; the other is Zabel’s former campaign manager, Colleen Kennedy, who wrote a public essay about his behavior. March 8, 2023.
7. Former Louisiana State Senator
A federal judge in New Orleans has sentenced former state senator Karen Carter Peterson to 22 months in prison Wednesday for admitting she used money from her campaign and the state Democratic Party to support a gambling addiction.
Peterson, 53, is scheduled to report to prison March 6, 2023.
8. Former Ohio House Speaker
Former Republican Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and former state GOP chairman Matt Borges were convicted Thursday in federal court for participating in a pay-to-play bribery scheme with an energy company that wanted a state bailout. March 9, 2023
The racketeering-conspiracy convictions came as a result of what officials called the biggest political-corruption case in state history. Each man could face as much as 20 years in prison.
9. Former Kansas Legislator
A jury convicted the 45-year-old former lawmaker in December of four counts of wire fraud, four counts of money laundering, three counts of making false statements on loan applications and one count of bank fraud.
Capps served a single term in the Kansas House in 2019-20 and lost his 2020 Republican primary race.
Prosecutors said Capps filed forms inflating the number of employees he had at two businesses and a sports foundation, then applied for loans to pay the nonexistent employees. May 11, 2023
10. Former Colorado Legislator
Former state Rep. Tracey Bernett, a Boulder County Democrat, on Friday pleaded guilty to criminal charges filed after she lied about her place of residence to run for reelection last year in a more politically favorable district.
Bernett, appearing in court Friday, pleaded guilty to attempting to influence a public servant, a Class 4 felony, and perjury, a Class 1 misdemeanor. She was granted a deferred sentence, which means she won’t face prison time as long as she completes the terms of the deferred sentence, including two years of probation and 150 hours of community service.
Bernett resigned from the legislature on Jan. 9, the first day of the 2023 lawmaking term. She was charged in November, days before the election. As part of her guilty plea, other charges Bernett faced in the case were dismissed.
11. Former New Hampshire Legislator
Rep. Stacie Laughton (D), who served in the New Hampshire House of Representatives from 2020 to 2022, was arrested Thursday on charges of distributing child sexual abuse images, according to local police.
Local outlet WMUR reports Laughton's arrest is connected to the case of Lindsay Groves, a Massachusetts preschool worker who allegedly took photos of children while they were in the bathroom.
"Groves allegedly used natural bathroom breaks for the children (routine diaper/pull-up changes prior to “naptime”) to take multiple photos of the prepubescent children in a private bathroom and then sent the photos to [an unnamed individual] via text message," the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts said in a release.
A Democratic state lawmaker convicted in August of repeatedly texting 911 during non-emergencies is now jailed on a stalking charge related to a Facebook post.
Rep. Stacie Laughton, 37, of Nashua, who was arrested Nov. 12, is accused of violating a court order that prohibits her from posting on social media about another woman. According to court documents, prosecutors also are seeking to impose a suspended sentence of up to nine months she was given last year. In that case, Laughton was accused of texting 911 "for no emergency or police related matter" a dozen times between May and July 2021. Nine of the 12 charges were dropped, and on the others, she was ordered to perform community service, participate in a peer support program and remain on good behavior.
The latest charges against Laughton continue a series of legal controversies surrounding the former lawmaker. Laughton was arrested in 2015 after claiming responsibility for a bomb threat called in to Southern New Hampshire Medical Center. The incident occurred shortly after Laughton was discharged from a Vermont hospital where Laughton was receiving treatment for bipolar disorder.
June 23, 2023
https://wpde.com/news/nation-world/uss-first-openly-transgender-state-legislator-arrested-on-child-sex-abuse-charges
12. Indiana State Legislator
An Indiana state legislator pleaded guilty Monday to drunken driving charges less than two weeks after police say he crashed his pickup truck through an interstate highway guardrail and drove away.
Republican Rep. Jim Lucas of Seymour (R) signed an agreement with the prosecutor in southern Indiana’s Jackson County in which he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of driving while intoxicated and leaving the scene of an accident at the interchange of Interstate 65 and Indiana 11 early May 31, court records show.
The agreement calls for no additional jail time for Lucas as long as he completes at least 180 days of supervised probation, including completion of any alcohol or drug abuse treatment as determined by the county probation department. June 12, 2023
13. Former Tennessee State Senator
Former Tennessee State Senator and practicing attorney Brian Kelsey (R) was sentenced today to one year and nine months in prison for violating campaign finance laws and conspiring to defraud the Federal Election Commission (FEC) as part of a scheme to benefit his 2016 campaign for U.S. Congress.
According to court documents, Kelsey, 45, of Alexandria, Virginia, secretly and unlawfully funneled money from multiple sources, including his own Tennessee State Senate campaign committee, to his federal campaign committee. To carry out the scheme, Kelsey conspired with others, including Joshua Smith, who owned a members-only social club in Nashville, of which Kelsey was a member, and controlled a Tennessee political action committee affiliated with the club. Kelsey, Smith, and others caused a national political organization to make illegal and excessive contributions to Kelsey’s federal campaign committee by secretly coordinating with the organization on advertisements supporting Kelsey’s federal candidacy, which caused false reports of contributions and expenditures to be filed with the FEC.
“The defendants attempted to hide from voters how Kelsey raised and spent campaign money,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The integrity of our elections is essential to democracy, and voters should know how candidates raise and spend campaign dollars. The Department will continue to work alongside our law enforcement partners to uncover and prosecute campaign finance schemes designed to evade disclosure, and to ensure that violations of these laws carry a high cost.”
“Brian Kelsey intentionally violated federal campaign finance laws and his oath as a state senator in order to deny Tennessee voters their right to make informed decisions about his candidacy for Congress,” said U.S. Attorney Henry C. Leventis for the Middle District of Tennessee. “The court’s sentence today reflects the seriousness of his crimes and is a strong reminder of our commitment to root out public corruption and ensure the integrity of federal elections.”
Kelsey and his co-conspirators orchestrated the concealed movement of $91,000 – $66,000 of which came from Kelsey’s State Senate campaign committee, and $25,000 of which came from a nonprofit corporation that publicly advocated on legal justice issues – to a national political organization for the purpose of funding advertisements that urged voters to support Kelsey in the August 2016 primary election. Kelsey and his co-conspirators also caused the political organization to make $80,000 worth of contributions to Kelsey’s federal campaign committee in the form of coordinated expenditures.
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-tennessee-state-senator-and-co-conspirator-sentenced-campaign-finance-scheme August 11, 2023
14. New Hampshire State Senator
A New Hampshire state senator has been arrested after allegedly slapping and spitting on a man in a bar, police say. Keith Murphy, 47, a Republican lawmaker who was elected in 2022, was arrested on two counts of simple assault and one of criminal threatening. Police say Murphy threatened and spat on a man during an argument at Murphy’s Taproom, a bar he operates in Manchester, NH. A police spokesperson said security footage also showed Murphy “pick up a chair in an aggressive manner.” “I am innocent of these charges and I look forward to my day in court,” Murphy wrote in a statement on Facebook. “When the facts are known it will be clear that the police have charged the victim in this case.” Prior to his election as a state senator, Murphy was a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives. He was elected to the State Senate after Rep. Michael Yakubovich dropped out due to illness.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/new-hampshire-state-senator-keith-murphy-arrested-for-bar-fight June 19, 2023
15. Ohio State Representative
Ohio State Representative Bob Young (R) was in Barberton Municipal Court for an arraignment hearing Friday amid first-degree misdemeanor charges of domestic violence and assault. Young pleaded not guilty to both charges as the judge set a pretrial for 1 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 31. The judge also vacated Young’s previously issued $5,000 bail and ordered a personal recognizance bond. A protection order is also in place for the two family members connected with the alleged incident. The indictment stems from July 7 at Rep. Young’s home and a relative’s residence. August 4, 2023
Former State Senator Dean Tran (R) has been indicted by the Suffolk County Grand Jury convened at the request of the Attorney General’s Office and charged with two counts of violating the state ethics law, Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell announced today.
Tran, 47, of Fitchburg, was charged with the Use of Official Position to Secure an Unwarranted Privilege (2 counts) when he used his Senate staff to campaign for him on state time and payroll. Tran will be arraigned in Suffolk County Superior Court at a later date.
18. DUI California and Mississippi State Senators
May 4, 2023: California State Sen. Dave Min faces a misdemeanor DUI charge after he was pulled over for driving without headlights on and running through a red light in Sacramento, officials said. According to a statement from the Capitol Protection Section of the California Highway Patrol, CHP officers noticed Min’s silver Toyota Camry traveling southbound just blocks from the State Capitol without headlights around 10:20 p.m. Tuesday. “The officers followed the vehicle to 9th St. at Broadway where they observed the vehicle stop at a red light momentarily but then proceed into the intersection while the light remained red,” the agency said in a statement.
June 12, 2023: A Mississippi state senator was arrested in Alabama and charged with driving under the influence on a highway, authorities announced Monday.
Mississippi state Sen. Michael McLendon, a Republican from DeSoto County, was arrested near Foley, Alabama, on June 5. Dispatchers received a call around 10 a.m. about a reckless driver heading southbound on Highway 98, WMC-TV reported.
Deputies tested McLendon at the scene and arrested him on a charge of driving under the influence. His charge — DUI combined with substance — means he may have been under the influence of both alcohol and another substance, according to the sheriff’s office. Police have not said what the other substance is or whether it is illegal.
He was later released on a $2,500 bond. He has a court appearance scheduled for Oct. 25.
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