Legal News

Hollywood?s Perry Mason Indicted for Alleged ?Conduit? Contributions

By Dan Slater

Plaintiffs’ attorney Pierce O’Donnell listens to testimony in San Diego Superior Court in October 2005. O’Donnell represented consumers in the class action lawsuit against Sempra Energy and its two utilities. Photo: Associated Press

As predicted, storied litigator Pierce O’Donnell, Hollywood’s Perry Mason, was indicted late yesterday on charges of making $26,000 in “conduit” campaign contributions to a presidential campaign through employees of O’Donnell’s law firm. The campaign that received the alleged conduit contributions isn’t named in the indictment, though yesterday the L.A. Times suggested it was the 2004 presidential campaign of John Edwards.

On his firm Web site, O’Donnell writes: “I also want everyone to know that I have been overwhelmed by your expressions of support. I am humbled and I want to assure you that I am going to fight these charges with unbridled ferocity.”

According to reports, the government alleges that O’Donnell caused 13 illegal campaign contributions to be made when 13 people made “donations” to the campaign in 2003 that O’Donnell reimbursed. The third count in the indictment accuses O’Donnell of causing the campaign to make false statements to the Federal Elections Commission by concealing the true nature of the contributions that he reimbursed.

O’Donnell’s lawyers had reportedly tried to persuade prosecutors the matter should be handled administratively by the Federal Elections Commission, or be charged as a misdemeanor crime. For the three counts, O’Donnell faces a statutory max sentence of 12 years in federal prison.

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on July 25, 2008 (boomark / email).