Sen. Dianne Feinstein lost $4.7 million. Rep. Linda Sanchez lost $322,000, while her sister Rep. Loretta Sanchez lost $125,000 and their fellow California congresswoman Rep. Susan Davis, reported losing $160,000. What nobody seems to be able to figure out is where all that money went.
California campaign treasurer Kinde Durkee was arrested in early September. As the investigation continues to unfold, observers are trying to figure out what Durkee — a “frumpy” woman who didn’t show any signs of an extravagant lifestyle — did with all the cash.
In the meantime, the Orange County Register has a great report out about a “soft-spoken” and paperwork-loving forensic accountant named Grant Beauchamp who discovered “a lot of unusual things going on” with Durkee’s finances back in March 2010.
Working for the Fair Political Practices Commission, Beauchamp was sorting through paperwork from Democrat Jerome Horton’s failed 2006 run for the Board of Equalization and noticed what he considered a red flag: Durkee waited over two years to report a $4,500 check that the Horton campaign made out to her company, Durkee & Associates.
“Any time there’s a misreporting of a payment to a treasurer, something is very, very wrong,” Beauchamp told the newspaper. “Payments to them should be the ones they always report accurately. And when they don’t, there’s usually a big reason.”
Durkee’s next hearing had been set for Wednesday, Oct. 19, but a federal judge pushed it back to Dec. 19 on Monday because of a joint request from federal prosecutors and Durkee’s defense team. Meanwhile, as Politico reported, Durkee continues to be listed as treasurer for 53 federal political committees.
