Former rep's funds being split among charities

With no legal avenue open to give former state representative Nathan Cooper's political money back to its original donors, committee treasurer Victor Gunn announced Saturday he would donate it to area charities.

In a statement, Gunn said he would close the noncandidate committee that absorbed surplus funds from Cooper's campaign account days before Cooper pleaded guilty to federal immigration charges. The committee, Friends of the 158th, was established in January.

All individual donations to Friends of the 158th have been returned, Gunn said. The remaining money, $64,444.20, will be divided equally among the Cape Girardeau chapters of Habitat for Humanity, the Boys and Girls Club, the Senior Center, the Salvation Army, the United Way and Teen Challenge.

The main source of the cash in the Friends of the 158th account was Cooper's campaign committee. Under instructions from Cooper, Gunn paid off the campaign committee's bills, closed its accounts and transferred $65,792.89 to the Friends of the 158th three days before Cooper appeared in court.

Cooper didn't mention the upcoming court date when he directed the money move, Gunn said. As a result, he's dealing with disposing of the money legally. Had he known Cooper was going to court, Gunn said, the money would have been refunded to donors.

"If you think I wanted to inherit that, you are thinking wrong," Gunn said. "It has been a big headache for me."

The cash transfer wasn't the only unusual activity for Cooper's campaign committee in the days leading up to his plea. Nine days before Cooper, a Cape Girardeau Republican, pleaded guilty to two felony counts, he quietly changed the purpose of his campaign fund from his re-election to a bid for statewide office.

Gunn directed questions about why Cooper changed the committee's purpose to Cooper. Cooper could not be reached for comment.

The same day the purpose of the committee was changed, Gunn sent a contribution refund to a longtime legal client of Cooper's who holds the political patronage contract to operate a St. Louis license office. That client, Damir Huskic, received $4,225 back from Cooper. Pyramid Home Health Services of Cape Girardeau also received a $475 contribution refund.

The refunds represented the difference between the money collected from the two donors and candidate contribution limits put back in place July 19 under a Missouri Supreme Court ruling, Gunn said. The court didn't order the refunds, but Gunn said he expected that was likely. The court ruled that a bill passed last year that eliminated the limits on campaign donations was unconstitutional because of the method of its passage.

By changing the purpose of his campaign committee, Cooper increased the legal limit for contributions to his campaign committee from $325 to $1,275. Had Cooper remained a candidate for re-election, Gunn said, he would have made additional refunds.

Huskic was Cooper's largest contributor, donating $5,500. Pyramid had donated $1,750.

Cooper made the inquiries to the Missouri Ethics Commission that led to the conclusion that making refunds to original contributors was impossible, Gunn said. The only other avenues for legally disposing of the funds were to give it to other candidates or political committees, give it to charities or put it in the state treasury.

Leaving politics

Gunn said he has forgiven Cooper for the trouble Cooper's legal problems have caused. But as a result, he said, he's getting out of politics.

"I have a lot of volunteer work involved, on the golf tournament and for a lot of things, and it is for naught," Gunn said. "I feel sad for Nathan and for my party in general. Now I am basically just going to retire. As soon as I wrap up the details, I am done."

Cooper will be in federal court for sentencing Oct. 19. He must surrender $50,000 in legal fees from client trucking companies that benefited from his illegal actions.

He resigned his Missouri House seat Tuesday, and on Friday the Missouri Supreme Court suspended his law license.

Cape Girardeau County Republican Central Committeewoman Holly Lintner chairs the party committee that will choose a GOP candidate for Cooper's seat.

Lintner said she did not know Cooper had altered his campaign committee's purpose to seek statewide office.

The guilty plea colors perceptions now, Lintner said, but prior to the plea she could see Cooper as a potential statewide officeholder. "This man is extremely intelligent. Really and seriously, he wasn't your typical conservative Republican."

Asked which office Cooper she would have expected Cooper to seek, Lintner replied: "I would have said attorney general."

rkeller@semissourian.com

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