Coakley Sues Lawrence Mayor For Failing To File Campaign Finance Report
LAWRENCE (CBS) - Attorney General Martha Coakley is suing Lawrence Mayor William Lantigua for failing to file a 2011 campaign finance report.
The finance reports are required by the Office of Campaign and Political Finance (OCPF). Lantigua's report was due last January.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens reports
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"This is at this stage an unacceptable ignorance on his part and ignoring of the law," Coakley said. "There is no excuse for it in our mind and we plan to enforce it."
The lawsuit also requests the court order Lantigua to personally pay a late-filing fine of $5,000.
Lantigua's campaign committee treasurer Ana Soto is also named in the lawsuit.
According to Coakley's office, both are required to file reports of the Lantigua Committee with OCPF to disclose donations made to the campaign and the campaign's expenditures.
"Political candidates by law are required to accurately report campaign contributions and expenditures," Coakley said in a statement Wednesday.
"These disclosures ensure the integrity of the electoral system and help voters make informed decisions about who to support. Mayor Lantigua was ordered repeatedly to file these disclosures and pay the subsequent fine, yet has refused to do so. We are now seeking a court order compelling him to make these fundamental disclosures required of all political candidates."
There has been no comment yet from Lantigua or his office.
