An alcohol distributor has admitted he illegally reimbursed his employees for donations made to the presidential campaign of Vice President Joe Biden at a sham fundraising event and provided free booze at parties for numerous politicians.
Christopher Tigani, the former president of NKS Distributors Inc., admitted in a plea agreement with the Justice Department that he bundled at least $219,800 in illegal campaign contributions to federal and state candidates. He also admitted he and his company provided in-kind contributions to federal and state candidates and campaign committees, including free alcohol at political fundraising events.
The politicians aren’t named in the complaint, but public records make clear the donations in question were to the presidential campaign of Biden in 2007 and the state Democratic Party in 2004. The illegal contributions were allegedly made to “candidates running for the offices of President of the United States; the U.S. Senate; governor of the state of Delaware; lieutenant governor of the state of Delaware; treasurer of the state of Delaware; the Delaware Senate; and the Delaware General Assembly,” according to DOJ.
“We had absolutely no knowledge of these activities,” Biden spokeswoman Amy Dudley told Bloomberg Businessweek in an email.
The plea agreement states that Tigani made it clear that the donations were coming from his distribution company “by, among other things using individuals associated with N.K.S. as conduits for contributions; hosting fund-raising activities in which he or his associates delivered the contributions; volunteering N.K.S. employees to make fundraising calls on behalf of candidates; allowing a federal campaign to utilize N.K.S. offices to make phone calls for fundraising purposes; providing free alcohol for state fundraising events; and arranging for federal and state candidates and campaign representatives to pick up bundled campaign contributions directly from N.K.S. headquarters.”
