Mayor's $5K debt sent to collector

LAWRENCE ? The good news for Mayor William Lantigua is that the $25-a-day fine he?s been accumulating for failing to file campaign finance disclosure forms that were due Jan. 20 has maxed out at $5,000.

The bad news: Last week, a few days after the fines reached their limit, the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance turned the debt over to a private collection agency to force the mayor to pay up.

Lantigua did not return a phone call Friday seeking to learn his plan for paying the debt or filing the forms, which provide details about fund raising and spending by his campaign committee. In earlier published reports, Lantigua said he is withholding the forms until state officials tell him whether submitting them would affect an investigation by state Attorney General Martha Coakley into other alleged campaign finance irregularities by his committee.

Coakley is investigating allegations by OCPF that the Committee to Elect William Lantigua failed to maintain proper records, inaccurately reported expenses and revenues, collected contributions for public employees on the job and accepted contributions beyond the $500-a-year annual maximum.

OCPF spokesman Jason Tait would not comment on the defense Lantigua offered for failing to file campaign disclosure forms. But speaking generally, Tait said OCPF ?would always ask a candidate to file his or her report and would never say, ?Don?t file due to any outside reason.??

After sending Lantigua three warning notices, OCPF director Michael Sullivan in June asked Attorney General Coakley to order Lantigua to file the delinquent campaign finance forms.

Sullivan urged Coakley to take ?the strongest possible action? against Lantigua and a handful of other candidates ?who continue to ignore this statute and disregard the importance of compliance.?

Brad Puffer, a spokesman for Coakley, would not comment on whether his office is pursuing the case.

Although Lantigua was not on the ballot last year, he campaigned vigorously for his favored candidates for City Council and School Committee, including managing the campaign of City Council candidate Randy Jaime.

What the effort cost him won?t be known until his campaign committee files the financial disclosure forms that were due in January. The last disclosure form Lantigua filed 20 months ago showed his committee had $35,083 in the bank.

Although the forms are filed by candidates? campaign treasurers, Lantigua is personally responsible for the $25 fine for every day he fails to file the disclosure forms.

Lantigua switched treasurers in March 2011, replacing Lorenza Ortega, who was then his girlfriend and who he now says is his wife, with Ana Soto, his sister. Ortega, a City Hall secretary, held the post for 20 months in violation of a state law prohibiting appointed public employees from serving as campaign treasurers.

Lantigua is among 10 politicians OCPF turned over to Allen Daniel Associates, a Waltham collection agency, on Aug. 21, because of their failure to pay the fines that have been levied on them. The 10 include two others from Lawrence: former City Councilor Grisel Silva and former School Committee member Martina Cruz.

Dan Desatnick, president of the collection agency, said federal law prohibits him from discussing Lantigua?s debt, but said any collection effort generally begins with a phone call. He said his agency receives a standard 15 percent contingency fee from OCPF for debts it collects, and turns the debts it fails to collect back to OCPF.

Source: http://www.eagletribune.com/local/x85614469/Mayors-5K-debt-sent-to-collector

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