Democrat Congressman's $121,000 Payoff to Mistress

RockX

Banned
Tim Mahoney Elected to Remove 'Ethical Cloud' of His Disgraced Predecessor, Mark Foley

Oct. 13, 2008—

West Palm Beach Congressman Tim Mahoney (D-FL), whose predecessor resigned in the wake of a sex scandal, agreed to a $121,000 payment to a former mistress who worked on his staff and was threatening to sue him, according to current and former members of his staff who have been briefed on the settlement, which involved Mahoney and his campaign committee.

Mahoney, who is married, also promised the woman, Patricia Allen, a $50,000 a year job for two years at the agency that handles his campaign advertising, the staffers said.

A Mahoney spokesperson would not answer questions about the alleged affair or the settlement, but said Allen resigned of her own accord and "has not received any special payment from campaign funds."

Senior Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives, including Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-IL), the chair of the Democratic Caucus, have been working with Mahoney to keep the matter from hurting his re-election campaign, the Mahoney staffers said.

A spokesperson for Emanuel denies that account, but said Emanuel did confront Mahoney "upon hearing a rumor" about an affair in 2007 and "told him he was in public life and had a responsibility to act accordingly." The spokesperson added that it was a "private conversation" that had nothing to do with Mahoney's re-election prospects.

Emanuel's spokesperson said Emanual had not had any further contacts with Mahoney on the subject and did not know the woman involved worked on Mahoney's Congressional staff until informed by ABC News.

The affair between Mahoney and Allen began, according to the current and former staffers, in 2006 when Mahoney was campaigning for Congress against Foley, promising "a world that is safer, more moral."

Broken Campaign Promises?

At the time, Mahoney's campaign ads featured a picture of him with his wife, Terry, with the line, "Restoring America's Values Begins at Home."
:lolup:

The Terms of the Settlement

After Allen was fired, the 50-year old single mother of two hired a lawyer, Gregory Coleman, and threatened to sue the Congressman for more than a million dollars.

Coleman, of the West Palm Beach firm Burman Critton Luttier & Coleman, also served as an attorney for former Congressman Foley. Calls to Coleman, and the lawyer for Mahoney, Gary Issacs, were not returned.

In a February letter to Mahoney, Coleman alleged sexual harassment, intimidation, humiliation and charged that the Congressman's behavior masked a "dark and depraved personality," according to people who have seen the letter.

Following a day-long mediation session in March, Mahoney agreed to a settlement, staffers said.

Mahoney reportedly insisted that Allen destroy all audio and video recordings of a sexual nature, they said.

Allen is also prohibited from working for Mahoney's opponent or any political candidate this election year, according to people familiar with the agreement.

In addition to the $61,000 payment, Mahoney agreed to pay $60,000 in legal fees to Allen's lawyer, they said.

http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=5997043


More of that "Culture of Corruption" we hear so much about from Nancy Pelosi. Oh wait, that does not apply to democrats, never mind, nothing to see here, keep moving.
 
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