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Campaign finance records bolster IRS case against Maldonado

October 4, 2012

Abel Maldonado

California election finance records show that Republican congressional candidate Abel Maldonado raised $35,000 the same day as a 2007 party held on his behalf, which Maldonado’s family business claimed as a business expense on its federal income tax return [McClatchy].

The party occurred on December 5, 2007 while Maldonado was running for reelection to the state Senate. Though Maldonado’s family business, Agro-Jal Farming Enterprises Inc., wrote off a $3,686.03 catering fee from the party as a business expense, the Internal Revenue Service determined the party did not qualify as a business expense because it may have been a political fundraiser. State campaign finance reports showing 27 different donations totaling $35,000 on the same day seem to strengthen the IRS claim against Maldonado.

Now running for the newly drawn 24th Congressional District against Democratic incumbent Lois Capps, Maldonado told McClatchy he had no comment on whether or not the 2007 party was a campaign event.

Maldonado previously co-owned Agro-Jal with his father and brother but has distanced himself from the company since an IRS tax dispute arose. The IRS claims Agro-Jal underpaid its taxes by $3.6 million between 2006 and 2008 by writing off expenses that included a bathroom upgrade for Maldonado’s house, maintenance of two horses he owned and upkeep for a vacation condominium. Agro-Jal is currently fighting the IRS assessment in U.S. tax court.

In addition to the business tax dispute, Maldonado is also battling the IRS over a claim that he and his wife underpaid their personal taxes by about $470,000

Further, the California Fair Political Practices Commission could still pursue legal action against Maldonado for failure to report a campaign expenditure. While the four-year statute of limitations for a criminal case expired last year, the five-year opening for a civil case does not expire until December.

The same year as the alleged campaign party tax write off, Maldonado signed a pledge not to vote for any tax increases in California. Two years later, Maldonado voted for a $13 billion dollar tax increase to help close the looming state budget deficit.


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Whoops – a typo. Should have written knew, not new. Sorry


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When Maldonado was in the CA government supposedly representing our area, how many times did he visit YOUR area to see how he could help? 0

Did you ever have to sue your employer to get your paycheck? The workers at Maldonado’s “small business” did several years ago. Did you hear Abel say a word about that? Even in those ads on tv he brags that he is a “job creator”. He creates jobs(he says), but then won’t pay the workers?

He thought he would go big time buttering up to Gov.. Schwarzie, but it backfired. Even the dopey Guv knew he was a phony. And since the CA republican party won’t endorse he, he has a lot to answer for.


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“Create jobs”?


We’re going to have to start calling Abel “The Illusionist.”


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It is clear that some of you have never been audited or understand the protection given to members of congress who do… how do we say… questionable things. Here is just a small wrap-up from someone who has taught Federal Income Tax Accounting.


1) If you deduct Fifi your dog as some sort of expense and lose the deduction in an audit… what happens? Well, you have to pay the taxes on the amount of savings that the deduction saved you along with some sort of interest penalty. The fact is that you probably couldn’t get a better deal if you borrowed that money from the bank… so who do you want to borrow money from… an expensive back or the US Government?? BTW, I am not advocating inflating your deductions… but the reality is that there is no potential jail time for this behavior.


2) WHAT DO AL CAPONE AND REPRESENTATIVE CAPS HAVE IN COMMON?


Al Capone went to jail not for all of his nefarious activities… but for the simple fact that he didn’t declare all of his income. They grabbed his accountant and he blabbed and that was that…. he was thrown in the slammer! I still believe that the IRS isn’t allowed to share their findings with other government agencies, so I suspect that if he had paid his taxes… everything would have been fine.


Members in Congress are immune to many of the laws that would lock many of us away for a long time… so it doesn’t surprise me that Representative Capps would get a ‘pass’ on the huge amount of undeclared income she received…. and not reported.


I guess it goes to show that either Al Capone needed to either declare his income or become a member of Congress.


I am a conservative… no surprise here … I have known Abel for 20 years and his wonderful family and I would vote for him regardless of his opponent. However, Representative Capps has voted with Nancy Pelosi over 70% of the time and , frankly, that’s just over the top for me.


Stand and vote with Abel… we need a real change… we need to move this county and this country forward…


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Abel=Lois=corruption.


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Unfortunately, I WILL be voting for the worst candidate, just not the biggest liar.


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I have two thoughts here : One would be the futile hope that people would discuss the relative merits of the particular candidates, and not veer off on a simplistic indictment of the whole system. Oh well.


Beyond that peeve, when I hear people expreessing or threatening not to vote, I no longer try to persuade them to. Anyone that aloof and/or cynical is either so ill informed as to be unable to make an intelligent decision; or, what is much more the case, they are just not very intelligent to begin with. They are worse than a wasted vote: they vote for the worst candidates. They are swayed by emotion, lies, and very often …ugly prejudices. Stupid people voting is how we ended up with morons like Kevin McCarthy, Eric Cantor, Jeff Sessions, James Imhofe, John Cornyn, that Akin character that thinks women are like blow-up dolls. Or we get diabolical criminals like Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell,

Jim DeMint, DICK cheney ….that lie about everything.

Course, sometimes they are evil and dolts, like george w. bush.


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I don’t care for either candidate, but we must vote for someone.


As for Mitt, he’s got plenty to smirk about. Last night’s debate proved that.


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On the contrary, you don’t have to bother voting for anybody if you don’t want to.


If both are bad, why bother?


Elections are a farce.


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Gimlet:


You are the anti-racket!


I spend considerable effort encouraging liberals not to vote. I now see that you have taken up the cause of encouraging conservatives not to vote.


Excellent strategy on your mirror-image planet!


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Actually, it’s a gangster planet.


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Gimlet didn’t specify conservative or liberal.


I agree with Gimlet, as well. As Stalin said, those who count the votes decide the election. Voters are just propping up the fraud that our election process has become.


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Being a conservative, it is guys like Ready Willing and UnAble that give them a bad name. He is an EMBARRASEMENT to the party. I for years, like a lot of conservative’s, wish pretty boy would just GO AWAY. Hence why I will not be voting for him. I will vote but just not in this catagory. I will wait out another two years and hopefully a better challenger next time. For those that will want to attack me for not voting him instead of Capps, I look at it this way. I don’t want to keep him in the loop politically and move him up to higher and higher offices. I want this man GONE!! The only way to do that is to stop voting for him.


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They will just replace him with another “pretty boy.”


You are never going to get what you want out of the Republicans.


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I understand your frustration, but I do not empathize.


The reality is that either Abelito or Lois are going to be our next congressman. You have the power (duty?) to put one of them in office.


The cost of “teaching the party a lesson” by withholding your vote for Maldonado is that you will have Capps as your congressman for two more years. If you can afford that cost, then you should withhold your vote. Our put your money where your mouth is and vote for Capps, because that’s kinda what you’re doing by withholding your vote for Maldonado.


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Whoops, typo — “Our” is the British spelling for “Or.”


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Racket I understand what your saying but the reality still is with either one, it is a lose, lose. I already know what I get with Capps and Maldy most likely will again stab his party in the back. The best to do in a situation like this is let the other man decide. That does NOT mean that I am approving of Capps. With what you are suggesting is pure partisonship of vote party line to vote party line. Yea that’s the way to vote. Follow everyone else off the cliff.


I usually agree with you but on this I’ll have to agree to disagree.


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Maldy is not stabbing his party in the back; he’s stabbing YOU in the back.


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BTDT:


I hear you. Or, at least what I think I hear is that your determination is the costs of Capps are lower than the costs of Abel (factoring “risk of the unknown” as one of Abel’s costs.) That is a reasonable determination to make.


My mental abacus leads me to the other conclusion, that Abel and his unknown risks are a superior bet than Capps and her known risks.


At the end of the day, we all vote our conscience.


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Perhaps some of us don’t much care to participate in a dishonest process. When that process is an election, it becomes un-American to vote.


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sorry… you just sound soooOoo.soooo old.


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A criminal thinks that they can steal anything.


Don’t let this crook get away with it. He belongs in prison, not Congress.


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Every time one of Abel’s lying political commercials comes on, I have to “mute” it to keep from becoming so angry at the condescending tone he injects with his smirky approach; it is as if he thinks he can pull off the “Mitt smirk”, which even Mitt doesn’t pull off. More lies from Abel; who is really surprised?


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I was thinking the same thing when it comes to Capps commericals, actually when it comes to any political commerical


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Does anyone really think it will be anything but business as usual ? Regardless who gets in ? A waste of My vote on either one.


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Exactly my thinking. I think “voting” is a waste of time. Nothing ever changes.


But then, in gangsterland, what else could one expect?


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I haven’t seen one Maldonado commercial. What channels do you watch? I want to continue to avoid them.


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KSBY, early every morning around 0515 hrs, regularly plays a Maldonado ad back to back with a Capps ad.


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oh Mary, please educate yourself. BTW, how is that ‘change’ working for you?


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