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Despite Donations To Girl Scouts, PMA Lobbyist Gets 27 Months

Ryan J. Reilly and Alex Sciuto | January 7, 2011, 6:17PM

Former super-lobbyist Paul Magliocchetti was sentenced today to 27 months in prison, a spokesman for the Justice Department told TPM.

Peter Carr, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office for the Eastern District of Virginia, told TPM that the hearing, which began at 1 p.m., lasted until 5:30 p.m.

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Topics: Congress, Corruption, Department of Justice, Eastern District of Virginia, John Murtha, Lobbyists, Office of Congressional Ethics, PMA, PMA Group, Paul Magliocchetti

Shrink Says PMA Lobbyist Could Commit Suicide If Imprisoned

Ryan J. Reilly and Alex Sciuto | January 5, 2011, 8:40AM

Lawyers for Paul Magliocchetti, the big time lobbyist who pleaded guilty in September to making hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal campaign contributions and giving false statements to a federal agency, are asking a federal court to grant leniency to their client, who's set to be sentenced on Friday.

Dr. David Blackmon, a licensed psychologist in Jacksonville Beach, Florida performed a neuropsychological evaluation on Magliocchetti and lawyers have requested he testify in court this week.

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Topics: Depression, Florida, Lobbyists, PMA, PMA Group, Paul Magliocchetti

Paul Magliocchetti

Ex-PMA Lobbyist Pleads Guilty To Contribution Scheme, Feds Say Pols Were Unaware

Ryan J. Reilly | September 24, 2010, 4:57PM

Reps. Peter Visclosky (D-IN) and John Murtha (D-PA)

The founder and president of the lobbying firm PMA Group Inc. pleaded guilty on Friday to making hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal campaign contributions and making false statements to a federal agency.

Paul Magliocchetti orchestrated a scheme to make illegal federal campaign contributions in an effort to enrich himself and PMA, according to the indictment.

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Topics: PMA, PMA Group, Paul Magliocchetti

Paul Magliocchetti

Report: PMA Lobbyist To Plead Guilty

Ryan J. Reilly | September 17, 2010, 9:17AM

Paul Magliocchetti -- the founder of the now-defunct lobbying firm PMA who was indicted last month on eight federal charges alleging he made illegal campaign contributions and gave false statements -- has decided to plead guilty, the Associated Press reports.

Magliocchetti will enter a guilty plea on Sept. 24 in federal court in Alexandria, Va., a source from outside the government who is familiar with the criminal investigation told The AP.

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Topics: PMA, PMA Group, Paul Magliocchetti, Paul Visclosky

Former Head Of PMA Indicted

Rachel Slajda | August 5, 2010, 2:14PM

The late Rep. John Murtha (D-PA)

Paul Magliocchetti, the founder of the now-defunct lobbying group PMA, has been indicted on eight federal charges for making illegal campaign contributions and false statements.

PMA, which closed down last year, was an influential defense lobbying group at the center of a scandal that threatened to take down at least seven Democratic lawmakers, including the late Rep. John Murtha, chair of the defense appropriations subcommittee. The House ethics committee last year cleared all the members of wrongdoing, and today's indictment does not implicate any lawmakers.

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Topics: Campaign Donations, Ethics, John Murtha, Lobbyists, PMA Group, Paul Magliocchetti

PMA Group

Ethics Office Refers Earmarks-For-Contributions Evidence To DOJ

Justin Elliott | May 27, 2010, 10:28AM

Reps. Peter Visclosky (D-IN) and John Murtha (D-PA)

The PMA investigation may have some life left in it yet.

Even after a House ethics committee investigation of allegations of an earmarks-for-campaign contributions scheme by the now-defunct lobby shop PMA Group found no wrongdoing back in February, the independent Office of Congressional Ethics this morning announced it is referring evidence gathered in its probe of PMA to the Justice Department.

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Topics: Ethics, Ethics Panel, John Murtha, Office of Congressional Ethics, PMA, PMA Group, Pete Visclosky

PMA

House Ethics Mounts Rare Defense Of Probe Into Dem Lobby Shop

Justin Elliott | April 27, 2010, 9:39AM

Rep. Jo Bonner (R-AL) and Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA)

The House Ethics Committee, typically one of the least communicative institutions in Congress, has released a three-page statement defending its investigation that found no wrongdoing in the case of now defunct lobbying firm PMA Group, which was allegedly involved in exchanging campaign contributions for defense earmarks.

"[D]isclosing specific investigative steps taken in the PMA matter could compromise any ongoing criminal investigations; harm the ability of the Committee to investigate any additional allegations of wrongdoing in this or related matters; discourage those who might bring credible allegations to the Committee in the future from doing so; and chill the voluntary cooperation of those called before the Committee in various investigations," said Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and Jo Bonner (R-AL), chair and ranking member of the ethics panel.

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Topics: House Ethics Committee, Jeff Flake, Jo Bonner, John Murtha, Office of Congressional Ethics, PMA, PMA Group, Pete Visclosky, Zoe Lofgren

PMA Group

Report: Lawmakers To Be Cleared In PMA Ethics Probe

Zachary Roth | February 26, 2010, 10:39AM

There is no evidence that any members of Congress exchanged earmarks for campaign contributions with the PMA Group, the House Ethics committee has found, sources tell (sub. req.) Roll Call.

The paper reports that the committee will release a report on the matter later today, exonerating of wrongdoing seven Appropriations committee members who it had been looking into in connection with the now-defunct lobbying group.

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Topics: Campaign Contributions, Earmarks, House Ethics Committee, John Murtha, PMA Group, Pete Visclosky

PMA Group

Ethics Panel Probing Visclosky, Tiahrt, For PMA Ties

Zachary Roth | January 18, 2010, 9:27AM

Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-KS) and Rep. Pete Visclosky (D-IN)

The House ethics committee is probing two lawmakers' ties to PMA Group, the now-defunct lobbying firm that has been at the center of a federal investigation since last year.

The identity of one of those lawmakers, Rep. Pete Visclosky (D-IN) comes as little surprise. That of the other, Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-KS), is more unexpected.

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Topics: C Street, FBI, House Ethics Committee, John Murtha, Office of Congressional Ethics, PMA Group, Todd Tiahrt

PMA Group

One Down: House Ethics Office Closes Murtha-PMA Probe

Justin Elliott | December 18, 2009, 6:17PM

Rep. John Murtha (D-PA)

The Office of Congressional Ethics has ended its investigation of Rep. John Murtha's ties to now-defunct lobbying firm PMA Group, recommending against a further inquiry by the House ethics panel, which is also investigating Murtha.

The development was first reported by Roll Call. We laid out the charges in the PMA matter, including allegations that members of Congress exchanged earmarks for PMA's clients for campaign donations, in this post.

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Topics: House Ethics Committee, Jim Moran, John Murtha, Norm Dicks, Office of Congressional Ethics, PMA, PMA Group

PMA Group

The Biggest Dem Scandal You've Never Heard Of

Justin Elliott | November 27, 2009, 9:00AM

Reps. Peter Visclosky (D-IN) and John Murtha (D-PA)

Three years after Dems rode Nancy Pelosi's promise to "drain the swamp" to a congressional majority, a potentially big scandal has been simmering that threatens to cause problems for the party going into the 2010 midterms.

It's a story involving what was one of D.C.'s biggest lobbying firms (until it was raided by the Feds and closed up shop), several powerful Democratic appropriators, and the defense industry. And it appears to be considerably more serious that the allegations of financial misconduct that have dogged Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) -- allegations that have gotten the lion's share of press coverage focusing on ethical transgressions.

A federal criminal investigation has touched two House Dems, and another three, along with two Republicans, are under scrutiny by a pair of congressional ethics panels in matters related to the defunct lobbying firm, PMA Group.