Dems to pay for 2002 campaign violations

From the AP Tuesday:

For the second time in less than one year, the Missouri Democratic Party has agreed to pay a fine to settle charges that it violated federal campaign finance laws.

The party agreed to pay $20,000 for violations that occurred during the 2002 election. Last year, the party paid a separate $110,000 fine to resolve similar charges from the 2000 election.

The Federal Election Commission says the party received more than $188,000 dollars in excessive contributions.

The party also accepted anonymous cash donations that exceeded the federal limit and failed to keep proper records of its disbursements.

Party spokesman Jack Cardetti admits the problem was shoddy record keeping. He says the party now has a full time accountant and a compliance consultant.