Ex-Mass. Lawmaker Accused Of Campaign Violations

A former Massachusetts state lawmaker and his campaign treasurer are accused in an indictment of failing to report thousands of dollars of campaign contributions and preserve receipts for thousands in purported campaign expenditures.

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley said former state Rep. Brian Wallace and his treasurer Timothy Duross didn't report more than $6,300 worth of campaign contributions in 2008, about 17 percent of his total contributions at the time.

Wallace faces up to a year in prison, if convicted.

In a statement, he insists he has done nothing wrong and that the issue should be settled by the state office of campaign finance.

Coakley said the two were also unable to provide documentation to support reported campaign donations and expenditures.

The 61-year-old South Boston Democrat faces charges of failing to report campaign contributions and failing to preserve expense records. The 50-year-old Duross, also from Boston, faces similar charges.

The case was referred to Coakley's office by the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance which oversees the state's campaign finance laws.

Those laws require candidates for political office to keep detailed accounts of their financial activities, including how much money they've raised and how they spent those campaign donations.

Candidates are also required to periodically file reports with the OCPF. Those reports are posted on the office's website.

Wallace was first elected as state representative for the Fourth Suffolk District in Boston in 2003. Wallace didn't seek re-election in 2010.