LAWFUEL – The Legal Newswire – The owner of St. Ann Hospice in Glendale has agreed to plead guilty to a federal felony charge of making illegal campaign contributions, admitting that he made “conduit contributions” to several federal election campaigns through employees and family members.
Gladwin Gill, 48, of Covina, was named in one-count criminal information filed today in United States District Court in Los Angeles. In a plea agreement that was also filed today, Gill agreed to plead guilty to the offense that carries a statutory maximum penalty of five years in federal prison.
In the plea agreement, Gill admits that he made $66,700 in “conduit contributions” to several election campaigns from 2003 until 2005. The illegal contributions are called conduit contributions because the person who makes the “contribution” is reimbursed, thus serving as a conduit for the real contributor.
According to the court documents, Gill asked or instructed various friends and some employees of his company to make monetary contributions to a political committee which supported the re-election of the President and Vice-President of the United States, a political committee supporting a candidate for the United States Senate, a political committee supporting a candidate for the United States House of Representatives, and a political committee supporting the re-election of a United States Senator.
None of the campaigns are suspected of having any knowledge of the illegal contributions.
In addition to the potential prison term, Gill faces a fine of not less than 300 percent of the amount involved in the violation and not more than 1,000 percent of the amount involved.
Gill will be summoned to appear for an arraignment in United States District Court in Los Angeles early next year.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
CONTACT: Assistant United States Attorney Dennis Mitchell
District Elections Officer
(213) 894-2484
Release No. 07-159
