A former Democratic governor of Missouri has been charged with billing taxpayers for thousands of dollars in campaign donations to the state party.
The Associated Press reports:
Former Missouri Gov. Roger Wilson has been indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly helping make an illegal, $5,000 political donation after he left office.
Wilson, 63, was a major player in Missouri Democratic politics for decades and served briefly as governor following the death of Mel Carnahan in a plane crash in late 2000.
He was charged along with Edward Griesedieck III, a 53-year-old St. Louis attorney. The indictment issued Wednesday and announced Thursday by the U.S. Attorney's office in St. Louis says Griesedieck had his law firm donate $5,000 to the Missouri Democratic Party in 2009 and then hid the cost in legal bills submitted to Missouri Employers Mutual Insurance Co., quasi-public firm that provides worker's compensation insurance and where Wilson was serving as chief executive.
The federal investigation began in 2010 after Wilson was abruptly fired from the company. He faces up to one year in prison and a $10,000 fine if convicted.