Testimony depicts campaign machine (Milwaukee Journal/Sentinel)

[bobthedrummer]

by Steven Walters and Stacy Forster

"The most complete picture yet emerged Monday of a seamless, taxpayer-funded Assembly Republican campaign factory for the fall 2000 election..."

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=404609

[acmejack]

1. Did these guys do this in every State?

Or just Texas, Ohio, Wisconsin, Florida, who are we leaving out? I know there are more.

[TomInTib]

3. You can bet on it. They would not limit this kind of action.

[TomInTib]

2. So now it is a matter of record.

This was six years ago.

Think what they have now.

[rodeodance]

4. i live in the area---This has been in and out of courts for 5 years

From the 1994 to the 2000 elections, the Assembly Republican Caucus became more efficient at blending state-paid workers and campaign cash and targeting key races. As a result, the GOP's majority grew from 51 to 56. The Assembly has 99 members.

But within a year after those 2000 elections, prosecutors launched the most widespread investigation into Capitol corruption in Wisconsin's history.

It led to criminal charges in 2002 against five legislative leaders, four of whom entered plea deals with prosecutors.

Jensen alone went to trial.

Two former Democratic state senators, Chuck Chvala of Madison and Brian Burke of Milwaukee, pleaded guilty to felonies and are serving jail terms.

Two former Republican legislators who worked with Jensen and Kratochwill on the 2000 elections, former Majority Leader Steven Foti of Oconomowoc and Bonnie Ladwig of Racine, pleaded guilty to misdemeanors and are scheduled to testify against Jensen. They will be sentenced after the Jensen trial.