Politico: GOP Rep.-Elect Who ‘May Have’ Broken Donor Law Let Donor Screen Staff

Rep.-elect Ross Spano (R-FL) admitted to the Federal Election Commission late last month that he “may have” broken campaign finance laws by accepting $180,000 in personal loans from two friends, which he then apparently funneled to his campaign.

But, Politico reported Monday, that’s not all: One of the two friends whose loans Spano accepted has been helping screen applicants for his congressional office.

Cary Carreno, who loaned Spano $110,000 around the same time Spano loaned his campaign nearly $180,000 — illegally, if in fact Spano used Carreno and another friend’s money for his campaign — “has acted as a sort of employment agent for the congressman-elect,” Politico reported, “helping interview prospective job hires.”

One unnamed “congressional job applicant” told Politico that Carreno’s role with Spano’s office was “really weird.” The source said someone in Spano’s office was helping to coordinate interviews between Carreno and applicants. An unnamed staffer in another congressional office told Politico that was a “red flag.”

A spokesperson for Spano told Politico: “Cary is one of Ross’s oldest friends, and Ross often asks for his opinion or for him to weigh in on various matters.”

“He has not been involved in any official capacity in the DC hiring process, and there are no current plans to bring him on as a staff member,” the spokesperson added.

The loans to Spano from Cary Carreno and Karen Hunt totaled $180,000. Spano “personally” lent his own campaign nearly the same amount. If loans from others are used to help a campaign, they must adhere to a $2,700 limit — far less than Carreno and Hunt gave Spano.

Spano’s lawyer said in the November letter to the FEC that “respondents now recognize that some of the proceeds from the personal loans made to Representative-Elect Spano and the personal loans he made to the Committee may have been in violation of [federal election law].”

The letter — written on behalf of Spano, Spano’s campaign, Carreno and Hunt — goes on to say that, to address the problem, Spano had “terminat[ed] prior accountancy, compliance and relevant consultancy representations” among other things.

According to Politico, Carreno did the firing: “He told the campaign’s treasurer she was fired,” the outlet reported.

And yet another problem: A day after Carreno’s first loan to Spano in June, per Politico, Carreno’s company made its first donation — it gave $11,000 total — to a super PAC that supported Spano.

It was then, per Politico, that Carreno told Spano’s treasurer she was fired — raising significant concerns that the ties between super PAC and campaign may have violated federal laws against coordination with outside groups by campaigns.