Villaraigosa Campaign and Straw Donor Scheme

Prosecutors charge that Travel Traders LLC executives used straw donors to fund Antonio Villaraigosa’s campaign for Los Angeles Mayor, according to this report.   The company was apparently seeking contracts from Los Angeles International Airport.

Villaraigosa was visibly surprised by news of the charges when asked Wednesday about the case shortly after he met with community leaders in North Hollywood. He noted that his campaign had returned the contributions long ago and said he had no inkling that the money might have been tainted when he first received it.

“When you have fundraisers, you don’t know who’s doing what,” he said. “You just know people are coming to your events and they’ve contributed.”

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