Jim McElhatton
Articles by Jim McElhatton
Hard time rare for campaign finance violators
Federal prosecutors don't often file criminal charges involving campaign finance violations, but when they do the guilty rarely spend time behind bars. Published July 28, 2011
Both parties scheme for Ponzi cash
The fundraising arms for Democratic and Republican members of Congress don't agree on much, except when it comes to all the big donations they've gotten over the years from jailed financier R. Allen Stanford. Published July 26, 2011
Ex-investigator pleads guilty to falsifying personnel reports
Stewart E. Chase, a background investigator for the federal government, pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to charges that he falsified reports of prospective federal employees and contractors. Published July 21, 2011
Military records reveal subversion suspicions of black soldier
In the spring of 1944, a secret military probe targeted a 33-year-old black Army private named W. Robert Ming Jr. Published July 18, 2011
Disabled ex-aide sues Jackson Lee
When Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee spoke at a House hearing last year, she made clear the federal government needed to do more to help disabled Americans and even talked of plans to introduce legislation named after singer Stevie Wonder to help disabled schoolchildren. Published July 10, 2011
Clinton fundraiser gets probation in coverup
A former wealth manager for crime writer Patricia Cornwell has managed to avoid prison for his role in covering up tens of thousands of dollars in illegal campaign contributions from the novelist to Hillary Rodham Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign. Published July 5, 2011
Death penalty nixed in D.C. murder trial
The Justice Department will not seek the death penalty against three men accused of multiple murders and running a violent drug gang in Washington, prosecutors said in court Friday. Published June 26, 2011
Post office seeks a federal review of pension fund
The money-losing U.S. Postal Service is hoping the Justice Department will resolve a dispute with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) over the fate of billions of dollars in overpaid retirement payments for postal workers. Published June 22, 2011
Top-secret clearance checks falsified
Federal authorities responsible for granting security clearances to government employees and contractors are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars investigating the investigators. Published June 21, 2011
Federal pension theft not always prosecuted
It took about eight years after the death of a spouse of a federal employee in West Virginia before the U.S. Office of Personnel Management stopped sending her retirement checks. By then, the dead woman had received more than $200,000. Published June 15, 2011
Thomas case exposes ethics loophole
Next year, Comcast's franchise agreement to provide cable television services across Washington expires, so the cable giant has a keen interest in keeping D.C. lawmakers happy. Published June 13, 2011
Council member Thomas didn’t report payments
For years, D.C. Council member Harry Thomas Jr. wrote checks out to "cash," himself or his for-profit company for thousands of dollars from the bank account of a purported charity he ran, city attorneys say. Published June 9, 2011
Donors seek answers on Thomas’ charity
When MedStar Health executives received an email from the office of D.C. Council member Harry Thomas Jr. seeking a charitable donation in late 2007, officials said they had little reason to question whether Mr. Thomas' charity was real. Published June 8, 2011
Federal pension payments follow some retirees into the grave
Federal retirees often enjoy generous pensions, but some manage to keep getting paid even after they're dead and buried. Published June 5, 2011
Mexican national fights extradition from Virginia jail
Nearly two years after a federal judge threw out criminal charges against pharmaceutical executive Zhenli Ye Gon, he remains locked up in a Virginia jail fighting efforts to return him to Mexico, where he once amassed a fortune. Published June 1, 2011
D.C.’s Medicaid retained ineligible providers
Nearly a dozen companies that receive federal and state tax dollars to supply power wheelchairs, oxygen machines and other medical equipment to low-income D.C. residents remained active in the city's Medicaid program even after federal regulators fired the businesses, a federal audit released Thursday found. Published May 26, 2011
Postal Service won’t ask to boost debt limit
Officials at the U.S. Postal Service proudly point out that they don't take a dime of taxpayer funding, but they do accept billions of dollars in government loans. Published May 24, 2011
Allen avoids lobbyist label for his firm
Not long after George Allen lost his U.S. Senate seat in Virginia in 2006, the Republican launched a private consulting business that bills itself as a "recognized leader in helping clients navigate the waters inside — and outside — the Beltway." Published May 19, 2011
Postal Service pleads for help to stay afloat, make payroll
The U.S. Postal Service will default on billions of dollars in workers' compensation and retiree health payments and could have trouble making payroll without help from Congress, U.S. Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe warned the Senate on Tuesday. Published May 17, 2011
Lujan decides to take cash of lobbyists
Like other politicians eager to show the public they're not beholden to Washington's special interests, Democratic Rep. Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico has proudly refused to take campaign contributions from federal lobbyists. Published May 15, 2011
