WisPolitics Courtwatch Blog

Former Kenosha Co. exec Allan Kehl entered a guilty plea Friday on a charge of conspiracy to receive improper payments stemming from the federal investigation of Kenosha businessman Dennis Troha.

Kehl, who resigned in March, admitted to receiving $15,000 in cash from Troha from two payments in 2005 and 2006.

As part of the plea deal reached in April, prosecutors agreed to recommend a sentence of two years in prison. The maximum under the charge is five years.

See the original plea deal:
http://www.wispolitics.com/1006/080410Kehldeal.pdf

Labels: Dennis_Troha

A May 30 hearing has been set for former Kenosha Co. Exec. Allan Kehl to formally enter his guilty plea before U.S. District Court Judge Charles N. Clevert Jr.

Kehl, who resigned in March, admitted to receiving $15,000 in cash from Kenosha businessman Dennis Troha, according to a release from the U.S. Department of Justice. Kehl received $10,000 in 2005 at Troha's office and $5,000 in 2006 as the two stood in Troha's garage, prosecutors said.

As part of a plea deal reached earlier this month, prosecutors have agreed to recommend a sentence of two years in prison. The maximum under the charge is five years.

See the plea deal:
http://www.wispolitics.com/1006/080410Kehldeal.pdf

Labels: Dennis_Troha

Prosecutors will recommend a two-year sentence for former Kenosha County Executive Allan Kehl in exchange for his guilty plea on a charge of conspiracy to receive improper payments, under a deal announced Wednesday.

Kehl, who resigned his post last month, faces a maximum charge of five years in prison on the charge.

Kehl admitted to wrongfully receiving $15,000 in cash from Kenosha businessman Dennis Troha, according to a release from the U.S. Department of Justice. Kehl received $10,000 in 2005 at Troha's office and $5,000 in 2006 as the two stood in Troha's garage, prosecutors said.

Kehl is the fourth person to reach a deal with prosecutors stemming from a probe related to Troha's efforts to turn a Kenosha dog track into an off-reservation casino.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Jacobs said the investigation remains open. She pointed out U.S. Attorney Steve Biskupic said during Troha's sentencing that the FBI will be investigating leads for "quite some time."

Kehl attorney David Geraghty did not return a call to his office from WisPolitics.

Of the four to reach deals in the Troha investigation, only one has received a harsher recommended sentence. Troha associate John Erickson, who agreed to plead guilty to two counts of conspiracy and making an illegal corporate contribute, received a recommended sentenced of two years in prison and a $200,000 fine. Achille Infusino, who agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit campaign finance violations, got a recommendation of one year in prison and a $100,000 fine.

Troha, who agreed to cooperate with prosecutors as part of his plea deal, was sentenced to six months probation in March.

Read the U.S. DOJ release:
http://www.wispolitics.com/1006/080409_Kehl_plea.pdf

Labels: Dennis_Troha

Kenosha businessman Dennis Troha was sentenced to six months probation today for a scheme in which he funneled money to family members for campaign donations to get around contribution limits as he tried to build support for a proposed Kenosha casino and affect trucking regulations.

"I want to accept full responsibilities for these actions," Troha said during the hearing, adding that he feels that he is getting what he deserves.

Troha had faced up to two years in prison and a $200,000 fine under a plea deal he reached last year, though prosecutors recommended a lighter sentence because he has cooperated with them. Troha was only ordered to pay a $100 assessment in addition to the probation.

U.S. District Court Judge J.P. Stadtmueller told Troha to take the money he could have been fined and invest it in the Kenosha community. He left the amount of the contribution up to Troha. His attorney Franklyn Gimbel told reporters that he expects by next week Troha will have done something for a "philanthropic enterprise."

Troha entered a guilty plea in federal court in July to two charges of conspiring to violate state and federal campaign laws for making illegal campaign contributions to the Democratic Party and President Bush. Two other Troha associates, Achille Infusino and John Erickson, have also pleaded guilty to related violations. Kenosha County Executive Allan Kehl also has been charged as part of the investigation.

Both U.S. Attorney Steven Biskupic and Gimbel referenced how Troha had completely cooperated with authorities during the investigation, and that this was one reason for leniency. Biskupic said Troha deserved to be rewarded for those efforts.

"I think the judge put Dennis Troha's life in proper perspective," Gimbel told reporters afterward. He continued by saying that Troha's immediate concern was addressing his health problems. Troha was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Troha and Biskupic declined to comment after the verdict was read.

The former trucking executive, who had been instrumental in the efforts to land an off-reservation casino in Kenosha, pleaded guilty in June to two misdemeanor counts for exceeding campaign contribution limits. He had originally been charged with felony wire fraud and making false statements to the FBI.

Labels: Dennis_Troha

Kenosha Co. Exec. Allen Kehl has been charged by federal prosecutors with accepting illegal payments.

Kehl, who has indicated he would continue to preside over the county while dealing with the charges, is the third person charged with crimes related to the federal investigation of Kenosha businessman Dennis Troha.

An arraignment in federal court is set for March 14 in Milwaukee.

See the indictment:
http://www.wispolitics.com/1006/_080213_Kehl_indict.pdf

Labels: Dennis_Troha

Kenosha businessman Dennis Troha will cooperate with federal investigators in what his attorney called a "wide-ranging field of interests" as part of a plea deal that includes two misdemeanor counts for exceeding campaign contribution limits to the Democratic Party and President Bush.

Troha, who had been charged with felony wire fraud and making false statements to the FBI, faces up to two years in prison and a $200,000 fine under the deal filed June 22.

Troha attorney Frank Gimbel said he did not know what other areas federal prosecutors wanted to pursue, nor whether his client would testify before a grand jury.

But Gimbel said he was happy with the deal, which was spurred in part by a federal appeals court ruling overturning Georgia Thompson's conviction.

"I think it's an outstanding deal," Gimbel said. "It puts closure on the case, and it limits his sanctions and he can go on with his life without the impediments that might have grown out of a felony conviction."

U.S. Attorney Steve Biskupic said the mail fraud charge originally filed against Troha would have been vulnerable to a legal attack after the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in the Thompson case. He said that helped spur talks that led to the agreement.

Biskupic declined to say what information Troha could provide for his ongoing investigation or whether the focus was on the state or federal level.

Troha's deal gives him immunity from future prosecution if he cooperates. Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen and Dane County District Attorney Brian Blanchard agreed as part of the deal that the charges would resolve any state violations by Troha as well.

The deal includes a promise that no other immediate Troha family member would be charged for the conduct alleged in the indictment.

Troha stressed in a statement that the charges in the deal were "less egregious" than the original indictment.

"It is important to me that this case be resolved now," Troha said. "Over the past several months, things have been said and written about me that, in many cases, have been wrong and unfair. As difficult as this has been for me and my family, I have refrained from reacting publicly."

Previously, Biskupic has acknowledged federal investigators were reviewing a deal in which Troha was to be paid by his former trucking company through 2010 because Congress approved legislation helping the firm. Several congressmen who pushed the measure received donations from Troha and his family. They include U.S. Reps. Don Young, R-Alaska, James Oberstar, D-Minn., and Paul Ryan, R-Janesville.

A state DOT official also acknowledged earlier this year that he had a meeting scheduled with the FBI over efforts by Gov. Jim Doyle's administration in helping Troha's trucking company lower tax bills levied in other states. DOT officials have denied any wrongdoing.

"Things are always fluid," Biskupic said. "Information that may lead one direction today may change tomorrow.

"It's not fair to single out particular people who haven't been charged. Everyone else is presumed innocent."

According to the plea deal, Troha donated the maximum $5,000 to the federal account of the Democratic Party and then provided money to family members to make donations in their names as part of a conspiracy to exceed donation limits. Troha believed the money would help Doyle's gubernatorial campaign, according to the plea deal.

Troha admitted to a similar scheme to benefit Bush's campaign. He made the maximum $2,000 donation to the president and then gave money to various family members to do the same, according to the deal.

The illegal federal contributions exceeded $30,000 but were less than $70,000.

The original indictment mentioned the donations to the Democratic Party and discussed a scheme to funnel money through family members to Doyle's campaign. Biskupic said investigators began looking at other federal contributions as new information came in following the indictment that led to the charge for donations to Bush.

DPW Chairman Joe Wineke issued a statement saying the plea deal showed the state party had done nothing wrong. Even so, the party pledged to make a contribution "equivalent to those received five years ago" to the state Boys and Girls Club.

"We encourage the Bush campaign to do the same," Wineke said. This afternoon the Dem Party was still trying to determine an appropriate amount to donate.

*See the plea deal:
http://www.wispolitics.com/1006/070622TrohaPlea.pdf

*See the DOJ release:
http://www.wispolitics.com/1006/070622TrohaDOJ.pdf

*See Troha's statement:
http://www.wispolitics.com/index.iml?Article=98632

*See the DPW release:
http://www.wispolitics.com/1006/large/070622_Wineke_statement.pdf

Labels: Dennis_Troha

Kenosha businessman Dennis Troha faces up to 25 years in prison and $500,000 in fines after he was charged with two felony counts stemming from allegations that he funneled money to family members so they could make campaign contributions in an attempt to win approval of a proposed casino.

U.S. Attorney Steve Biskupic said the investigation is ongoing, but no one else has been accused of any wrongdoing yet.

Troha and his family members have given some $274,000 to Gov. Jim Doyle and his inaugural committee over the past five years. Biskupic said Doyle's campaign has cooperated with investigators, but he refused to identify any other campaigns that investigators may have looked at.

"The indictment alleges that Mr. Troha improperly funneled in excess of $100,000 in campaign contributions to political candidates and parties and then took an effort to conceal those transactions from the state of Wisconsin in order to obtain an Indian gaming compact," Biskupic said.

Troha attorney Frank Gimbel said in a statement his client would be exonerated "when the facts are presented." He also called Troha an honorable man whose deeds have been mischaracterized.

"There are no secrets here. Mr. Troha's political contributions have been fully disclosed and are a matter of public record. His actions are legal and responsible," Gimbel said.

It is the second time Biskupic has issued an indictment related to contributions to Doyle's campaign. Last year, former Department of Administration employee Georgia Thompson was convicted of steering a state travel contract to a Milwaukee company whose executives donated to Doyle's campaign. Doyle, who is recuperating from his surgery, said in a statement that his campaign "will immediately return the money" if the allegations against Troha prove true.

"My campaign was aware of nothing to suggest that the contributions received from Mr. Troha were in any way inappropriate or unlawful," Doyle said. "In fact, by all appearances, they were indistinguishable from the many contributions received by countless campaigns, Democratic and Republican, across the state."

Troha had been a driving force in the effort to build an $808 million casino complex at a Kenosha dog track, but he dropped out of the project abruptly last week as news broke that the FBI was looking into his campaign contributions.

The fraud charge stems from the allegation that Troha funneled money through Johnson Houston Partners to his family members so they could make more than $100,000 in campaign contributions. The second charge stems from a Jan. 12 interview with the FBI in which Troha denied any link between Johnson Houston and the donations.

According to the indictment, Troha used Johnson Houston Partners to issue loans to several family members who then turned around and made campaign contributions for the same amount within days. The loans were not repaid until after Troha met with FBI agents, according to the indictment.

Prosecutors also allege a Doyle campaign official met with Troha in June 2005 asking him to help raise money by the end of the month. According to the indictment, Troha issued a $50,000 check to Johnson Houston Partners as a loan around June 28 of that year. Within a day, five family members and three of their spouses wrote checks to Doyle's campaign totaling $47,500. In early July, Johnson Houston Partners issued $47,500 in loan checks to the same five family members. None of them repaid the loans until after Jan. 12, according to the indictment.

The indictment does not identify the family members. But a WisPolitics check of Doyle's campaign finance reports shows the following Troha family members made donations on June 28 and 29 that year. They are:

Matt and Jennifer Troha - two checks totaling $12,500
Leslie Troha - $5,000 contribution
Todd and Lynn Troha - two checks totaling $12,500
Brad Troha - $5,000 contribution
Tina and Nathan Cambio - two checks totaling $12,500

Troha had stood to gain some $88 million if the casino project was approved. The Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut, which is working with Wisconsin's Menominee Tribe on the project, has reached an agreement to buy out Troha. The U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs is currently reviewing the project. Doyle would also have to sign off on the project for it to go forward.

The Troha family donated to a variety of candidates and committees, including President Bush, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Janesville, and the National Republican Congressional Committee. Ryan, whose district includes the proposed casino site, said in a statement the indictments were "very troubling."

"I am anxious to learn the results of this investigation," Ryan said. "Once all of the facts become available, if any contribution to the Ryan For Congress campaign is found to be legally in question, I will take appropriate and corrective action at that time."

Read the Troha Indictment:
http://www.wispolitics.com/1006/large/070301troha.pdf

Statement from Troha's Attorney Gimbel:
http://www.wispolitics.com/1006/070301GimbelTroha.pdf

Doyle Campaign Statement:
http://www.wispolitics.com/index.iml?Article=89980

Ryan Campaign Statement:
http://www.wispolitics.com/index.iml?Article=89982

Listen to WisPolitics Audio of Biskupic's Announcement:
http://www.wispolitics.com/1006/070301Biskupic_Troha.mp3

RPW Statement:
http://www.wispolitics.com/1006/070301RPWTroha.pdf

Labels: Dennis_Troha