Top California campaign treasurer Kinde Durkee, arrested this month on mail fraud charges for allegedly using money from campaign funds she managed for personal expenses, was ordered to be released on $200,000 bond on Friday.
As a condition of her bond she’s not allowed to have access to Durkee & Associates or client bank accounts or be in contact with employees of the firm. But she can be in touch with her husband and other relatives who work for the firm.
The Los Angeles Times reports that Durkee’s arrest was “far from the first sign of trouble.”
Over the last decade Durkee had racked up $185,860 in fines from the Fair Political Practices Commission in eight different cases, a sum that FPPC Chairwoman Ann Ravel said points to “quite serious” issues.There are only a few other campaign treasurers in California who, like Durkee, deal with a large number of clients. None have such an extensive history of violations, Ravel said.
“This is an anomaly — I don’t believe that we have seen a case of this magnitude,” Ravel told the newspaper.
The office of Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA), a client of Durkee’s, said last week that her campaign fund had nearly been wiped out by Durkee.
Durkee will be due in court on Oct. 19. Full coverage here.
Ryan J. Reilly
Ryan J. Reilly is a D.C.-based reporter for TPM. Prior to joining TPM, he worked for a news website covering the Justice Department and was a researcher for Bloomberg News. His email address is ryan(at)talkingpointsmemo.com.
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