A former staffer to Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (Mo.), who later was identified as an adviser to the congressman, has been paid $2.2 million from Cleaver's campaign funds.
Phil Scaglia, a former staffer to Cleaver, pocketed millions of dollars from Cleaver for Congress, the congressman's campaign committee, between 2004 and 2016.
Scaglia, who worked as a chief of staff to former Rep. Karen McCarthy (D., Mo.) from 2000 to 2003, incorporated Powerful Performance Solutions, Inc. in July 2013, according to Missouri secretary of state records.
Scaglia began receiving payments to his consulting firm from Rep. Cleaver's campaign committee for the 2004 election cycle.
Powerful Performance Solutions was paid $142,506 by Cleaver's campaign throughout the cycle. Scaglia joined Cleaver's office in August 2015 as an office coordinator where he was compensated $43,000 for his work from August to December.
Scaglia was then compensated $98,000 in 2006 from Cleaver's office. Scaglia's firm took in an additional $139,361 from Cleaver's campaign committee during the 2006 cycle, according to figures from the Center for Responsive Politics.
Scaglia's pay increased to $101,000 in Cleaver's congressional office in 2007. Scaglia was paid $12,000 in salary and "other compensation" for one day of work in early 2008 before leaving Cleaver's office on Jan. 2, according to data from Legistorm.
During the 2008 and 2010 election cycles, Powerful Performance Solutions pulled in $333,783 from Cleaver's campaign.
Payments to Powerful Performance skyrocketed to $728,626 in 2012. Despite leaving Cleaver's office years prior, Scaglia was identified as an adviser to Cleaver by the Kansas City Star in 2013. The firm pulled in $596,509 from congressman's campaign in 2014 and hauled in an additional $312,781 during the 2016 cycle.
Powerful Performance Solutions was the highest paid vendor from Cleaver's campaign committee in all but one cycle. Cleaver for Congress is also the only committee to make payments to Scaglia's company, according to a search of disbursements on the Federal Election Commission's website.
In addition to owning the consulting firm, Scaglia also owned a state-level lobbying practice in Missouri while working in Cleaver's office.
Cleaver's office did not return a request for comment or inquiries on whether he was still an adviser to the congressman.