Hoosiers have a good idea how gambling works. They place a financial bet on an outcome of, say, a spinning wheel or a hand of cards. They either win or lose.
Most Hoosiers have an understanding of campaign contributions.
They can make direct financial donations or in-kind contributions such as yard signs or mailings.
Here, they should also keep in mind that the chosen candidate can win or lose.
Combine the two, add some underhanded donations, and Hoosiers can end up with a muddled and illegal mess.
It’s even worse when there’s a campaign contribution that comes through a gambling enterprise and “straw donors” who make donations in their real name but have been advanced payment by another party; in doing, so they act as an intermediary between the actual donor and the campaign.
The action is prohibited under federal law.
So Indiana residents can be thankful for Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, plus the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal Division and the IRS-Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago.
That’s a slice of how many groups it took to charge former state Sen. Darryl Brent Waltz of Greenwood and New Cenatur LLC general counsel John S. Keeler with federal counts surrounding an illegal election finance scheme.
In mid-August, Waltz, 48, and…
