Corruption lives on in the WV GOP

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Ex-staffers say Warner failed to report all debts

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - Republican Monty Warner omitted an estimated $250,000 in unpaid bills last week when he reported $450,000 in campaign debts from his failed bid for governor, former staffers said Monday.

The debts left off of his postelection finance filing include about $75,000 in pay owed Campaign Manager Dick Leggitt and Sam Pimm, his deputy, both said Monday.
"My kids are expecting Christmas presents, and I haven't had any indication from the Warner campaign about when I will be paid,'' said Pimm, 49, who has been looking for work since Warner's Nov. 2 defeat. "They are pretending that they don't owe this money.''

Leggitt estimated that the report omits or reduces amounts owed seven staffers, nine consultants and 26 vendors.

"For whatever reason, Monty is not being truthful about the extent of the campaign's obligations,'' he said in an e-mail to The Associated Press. "There are a great many people who are owed money, many of them who supported Monty and were loyal to him.''

Warner said he is reviewing "contested debts'' with an accountant and a lawyer.

"It's not the first time we've had contested debts,'' Warner said Monday. "There are some people out there saying that there are debts owed. We're working to confirm those debts.''

The postelection filing notes, "The campaign is currently reviewing certain potential unpaid bills, for which amounts, if any, are undetermined at this time.'' It said it may be amended "should any bills be determined to be payable upon further review.''

Pimm and Leggitt said they prepared the postelection report and submitted it in early December to campaign treasurer James Sutherland. They learned amounts had been reduced or removed only after it was posted by the Secretary of State's office on Dec. 6.

Sutherland referred questions about the report to Warner. The posted report lists $268 left on hand and $447,582 in unpaid bills and loans. About $400,000 is outstanding loans from Warner to his campaign.

Other staffers left unpaid include Kristina Grabosky, the campaign's communications director. She estimated she is owed nearly twice the $4,330 listed as a debt to her in the report.

"I'm owed money as well as most of the campaign staff that I'm aware of, as well as vendors,'' she said Monday.

With Warner beseiged over his campaign debts, some Republican officials are continuing an effort to remove his brother, Kris, as state GOP chairman. The party's executive committee has a Jan. 8 meeting scheduled and has asked former party Executive Director Gary Abernathy, fired abruptly by Kris Warner last month, to be available, Abernathy said Monday.

"Kris lost his focus and got totally involved in Monty's campaign, at the expense of other races that we could have won,'' Abernathy said, echoing a recurring complaint. "He's the best state party chairman we've ever had, which makes what happened with Monty's candidacy all the more tragic.''

Monty Warner's campaign was beset by cash shortages and disputes over unpaid bills in the weeks before the general election. Pimm said he and Leggitt agreed to defer pay several times during the campaign, so what money was on hand could be spent on advertising or to pay younger staffers.

"We were told repeatedly that all of the obligations would be satisfied,'' Pimm said. "He will not return phone calls and he will not return e-mails. That's the worst part of it ... We have heard nothing as to what is owed to us.''

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