 |
|
Harper's Ken Silverstein recently reported on Kazeminy allegedly paying Coleman's Nieman Marcus' clothing bill.The CEO of a major marine technology company is alleging that he was pressured by a friend and associate of Norm Coleman to secretly funnel tens of thousands of dollars to the Senator's family.
Paul McKim, the founder and CEO of Deep Marine Technology, alleges in a civil suit that Nasser Kazeminy -- a longtime Republican donor, friend of Coleman, and DMT shareholder -- directed the company to send $75,000 to the Senator and his wife.
The transaction, which occurred in 2007, allegedly went as follows: DMT would make payments for services to Kazeminy's Hays Company, even though no services would be rendered. Since Norm Coleman's wife Laurie worked at Hays, that money would be given to her in the form of 'salary.' ...
All told, the court filings allege that three payments of $25,000 were sent through Hays Company to the Colemans from May 2007 through September 2007. Two of those came without McKim's approval because Kazeminy went around him. A fourth payment was "in the process of being made" before being stopped by McKim, the suit alleges.
Sen. Coleman was initially asked about these findings on Wednesday, when two investigative reporters from the Minneapolis Star Tribune cornered him at a campaign rally. He ducked their questions. On Thursday, Coleman's campaign manager Cullen Sheehan was asked about the issue during a press conference, He claimed that "the lawsuit was withdrawn," and said he had no further details to offer. "I just know there was a lawsuit filed and it was withdrawn."
Casey T. Wallace, the attorney representing McKim, confirmed the withdrawal and said he would have more comment later in the day. A person familiar with the case, however, emphasized that while the complaint may have been withdrawn, the charges contained within it were still valid.
"It doesn't affect that," said the official. "By withdrawing the complaint and withdrawing the petition, we are not saying now that our allegations are false."
Requests for comment from McKim and the Coleman campaign went un-returned. But lawyers familiar with Senate ethics law say that if the complaint turns out to be true, Coleman could be in hot water, possibly facing a trial and potentially jail time. ....
Update from Minneapolis Star-Tribune:
Posted by Laura at October 30, 2008 04:46 PMThe lawsuit, based on a sworn statement by McKim, alleges the money intended for Coleman was sent last year in three $25,000 installments to the Hays Companies of Minneapolis, the insurance brokerage that employs Coleman's wife, Laurie. The suit alleges that Kazeminy created the arrangement to provide financial assistance to the senator -- not to obtain insurance services -- by disguising the payments as legitimate business transactions between Deep Marine and Hays. The suit alleges that McKim refused to approve the fourth payment to Hays, against the direction of Kazeminy.