October 30th, 2010 – by Brittney Johnson
The four individuals who had been accused of illegally contributing to Governor Chet Culver’s reelection campaign have plead not guilty to the charges.
According to court records, Jonathan Swain, COO of Peninsula Gaming LLC, , Brent Stevens, CEO of the same company, Curtis Beason, the attorney who had been working with the casino planners, and Steven Daniel, leader of Webster County Entertainment, will all be entering not guilty pleas during arraignment that has been scheduled for Monday morning.
One basis for charges include contributing finances to a campaign under teh name of another. Failure to disclose contributions had also been a breach of law that had allegedly occurred.
The casino’s plan had been killed in May. The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission refused licensing to the proposed venue.
Webster County Gaming and Peninsula Gaming, as business entities, had also been charged. Not guilty pleas are also expected from the two businesses.
A total of $25,000 in campaign contributions had been probed, and authorities observed enough evidence to bring about a case. According to reports, the Culver campaign had donated roughly $25,000 to charity. Charitable donations are one way for a campaign to donate funds from a questionable source while remaining protected under the law.
Charges against Governor Culver are not being filed.