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WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Berek Don, a New Jersey attorney, today pleaded guilty to violating federal election law by funneling illegal contributions to a 1996 U.S. Senate campaign. Don is the 18^th person charged by the Campaign Financing Task Force, which was established by Attorney General Janet Reno to investigate allegations of campaign financing abuses in the 1996 election cycle.

In a one-count criminal information, filed today together with a plea agreement in U.S. District Court in Newark, New Jersey, the task force charged Don with conspiring to violate the Federal Elections Campaign Act by defrauding the Federal Elections Commission and making corporate contributions and individual contributions over $1,000.

In addition, Don, 51, pleaded guilty to a separate criminal information, filed by the U.S. Attorney in Newark, involving a scheme to defraud his partners in a real estate venture.

In 1996, according to the campaign financing plea, Don agreed to help find straw donors to write personal checks to the Democratic Torricelli for U.S. Senate Campaign. Don then reimbursed the donors with cash provided by one of Don's clients. Even though he was Chairman of the Bergen County Republican Party at the time of the offense, Don agreed to the plan because his client needed help in meeting a fund-raising goal he had promised to the Torricelli Campaign.

Don received an $11,000 check drawn on a corporate account, which he cashed. The funds from the check were used to reimburse employees, clients, and other persons associated with the law firm who agreed to write personal checks to the Torricelli Campaign.

In the plea, Don admitted that he knew at the time of his offense that federal law limited individual contributions to $1,000 and prohibited corporations from contributing any amount to candidates for federal office. Both of these provisions were violated by his illegal activity. Don also admitted that he knew the Torricelli Campaign was required to report the names of actual contributors to the campaign. He further admitted knowing that the conduit scheme would cause the campaign to make false reports to the FEC, which would impair its ability to monitor federal election financing.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, Don pled guilty to mail fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy to commit campaign financing violations. Don also agreed to cooperate with the ongoing investigation. The maximum statutory penalty for the 3 offenses is 11 years in prison and a fine of $600,000.

In addition to Don, the Task Force has charged seventeen other individuals. On Tuesday, Former Lippo Group executive John Huang was charged with a one-count felony violation of campaign finance laws. He is expected to enter a guilty plea in the next week. On May 21, 1999, Charlie Trie pleaded guilty to violating federal campaign finance laws by making a political contribution in someone else's name and by causing a false statement to be made to the Federal Election Commission. On April 26, 1999, Robert Lee pleaded guilty to making an illegal foreign contribution to the DNC. He is scheduled to be sentenced in July.

On March 23, 1999, Juan C. Ortiz, the Chief Financial Officer of Future Tech International, Inc., was sentenced to two years probation, $20,000 in fines, and 200 hours in community service for acting as a conduit for an illegal campaign contribution and participating in the reimbursement of eight other conduit contributions.

On December 14, 1998, Johnny Chung was sentenced to probation and 3,000 hours of community service for bank fraud, tax evasion and two misdemeanor counts of conspiring to violate election law. On November 24, 1998, Howard Glicken, a fund-raiser for the Democratic party, was sentenced to 18 months probation, an $80,000 fine, and ordered to perform 500 hours of community service for violating campaign finance laws. On November 4, 1998, Franklin Haney was indicted on more than 40 counts of conspiring with another to defraud the United States by impairing and impeding the FEC and conspiring to violate specific provisions of federal election law. His case is scheduled for trial on June 21, 1999. On September 30, 1998, Democratic fund-raiser Mark B. Jimenez was indicted in Washington, D.C. on 17 counts of organizing, and making and concealing illegal conduit contributions to a number of Democratic campaigns. In April, the Task Force indicted him in Miami, adding charges of tax evasion and fraud.

On August 5, 1998, the Task Force indicted Yogesh Gandhi on mail fraud charges in San Francisco. A superseding 12-count information filed on March 8, 1999, charged him with mail and wire fraud, tax evasion, failure to file a tax return and perjury. On July 13, 1998, DNC fund-raiser Pauline Kanchanalak and her business associate Duangnet "Georgie" Kronenberg were charged with conspiring to impair and impede the FEC, and causing the submission of false statements to the FEC. Trial is scheduled for November 1999.

Maria Hsia was indicted in Los Angeles on July 7, 1998 on four tax counts. That case is currently under way. On February 18, 1998, Hsia was also indicted in D.C. on charges of conspiring to defraud the United States and causing false statements to be submitted to the FEC.

Trials in the Hsia and Trie campaign finance cases had been postponed pending an appeal of a ruling by the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., which had dismissed some of the so-called false statement counts. In recent weeks, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. overturned the ruling and reinstated those counts.

In 1997, the Task Force obtained guilty pleas from Democratic fund-raisers Nora and Gene Lum, their daughter Trisha, and Michael Brown for illegal fund-raising activities after their cases were referred from Independent Counsel Daniel Pearson.

The charges made by the government are merely accusations. All criminal defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

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