FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 2, 2010
CONTACT: JAMES SLEPIAN
BOCCIERI’S BASE OF CORRUPTION BROADENS
While Refusing to Return Rangel’s Money, Another Boccieri Financial Backer Indicted
Canton, OH—On the very same day last week that a House Ethics panel unveiled the details of the 13 charges facing New York Democrat and John Boccieri financier Charlie Rangel, another of Boccieri’s long-time financial supporters, Anthony Cafaro Sr., was indicted on corruption charges in Ohio. As was widely reported last week, while Democrats across the country have been quick to return Rangel’s donations and have called for him to resign, Boccieri is facing a growing chorus of questions over his refusal to refund the nearly $70,000 he has taken from Rangel. The discovery that another of Boccieri’s financial supporters has been indicted on corruption charges is raising new questions about the depth of Boccieri’s ties to a corrupt network of individuals and his level of comfort with both their conduct and their money.
Throughout his career, Boccieri has taken $12,600 from Cafaro, $7,600 of which he received for his congressional campaigns. Boccieri also accepted $69,829 from Charlie Rangel, all of which he received prior to voting against stripping Rangel of his Ways and Means Committee Chairmanship in the fall of 2009. To date, Boccieri has refused to return any of the money he’s taken from Rangel or Cafaro, and has yet to issue a public statement of any kind condemning their actions.
“While John Boccieri’s record in Congress has been defined by a crumbling economy and record high deficits, his career as a politician has apparently been heavily financed by a corrupt Congressman and criminals. By clinging to their money while his colleagues return it, Mr. Boccieri has signaled his tacit approval for Rangel and Cafaro’s conduct and continues to embarrass a district that has already suffered enough under his failed leadership. Rather than continuing to dodge the issue and change the subject by desperately slinging mud at Jim Renacci’s record as a proven job creator and a small business owner, John Boccieri owes it to his constituents to address the mounting questions about his refusal to return the corrupt contributions that have fueled his faltering political career,” Jim Renacci spokesman James Slepian said.