Reid campaign committee fined for payroll problem

Benjamin Grove

Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2000 | 11:07 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Elections Commission fined the campaign committee for Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., $3,000 because the committee made accounting errors during his 1998 bid.

Reid's campaign used a Reno payroll service, QwikPAY, to handle paychecks for campaign workers, according to an FEC "conciliation agreement" released last week.

QwikPAY made 16 withdrawals between February 1998 and October 1998, totaling $316,737, from a Reid campaign account with Bank of America.

QwikPAY used the money to pay 19 Reid campaign workers without itemizing the payments, a violation of federal election laws.

Candidates are required to report any expenditures of more than $200 to the FEC.

Reid's campaign committee had reported only making lump sum deposits to Bank of America, not the withdrawals.

The FEC found no other wrong-doing, according to the six-page agreement outlining the violation. A Reid committee attorney signed the agreement, effectively accepting the $3,000 civil penalty.

"The complaint in this matter contains no allegations that Sen. Reid was involved in, or had any knowledge of, the decisions and conduct at issue in this matter," the agreement said.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee filed the initial complaint against Reid's campaign a few weeks before the 1998 election.