Koster's ex finances TV ad questioning his ethics

State Sen. Chris Koster declined Thursday to criticize his former wife for financing a television ad questioning his fundraising and ethics as the race for Democratic nomination for Missouri attorney general enters its final days.

Koster, a first-term state Senator and former Cass County prosecuting attorney, said during a Cape Girardeau campaign stop that he would not comment on his relationship with former spouse Rebecca Bowman Nassikas. Last week, Nassikas gave $200,000 to a political committee that plans to use the money for TV ads. The committee, Missourians for Honest Leadership, has already posted the piece on its Web site, TheFactsOnKoster.com.

"Rebecca was a part of my family for seven years," Koster said. "We went to church, weddings, funerals and everything in between together. It is just not in me to say disrespectful things about her."

Nassikas, who was married to Koster from 1996 to 2003, told The Kansas City Star that ethics complaints filed by her ex-husband's rivals prompted her to donate the money, although she said she had no say when it came to ads. Nassikas, who lives in Scottsdale, Ariz., said she's not connected with any of Koster's rival campaigns.

Koster faces state Reps. Margaret Donnelly and Jeff Harris and Kansas City teacher Molly Williams in the Democratic attorney general primary Tuesday. Sen. Michael Gibbons is the only Republican candidate.

Supporters of Donnelly, Harris and Gibbons filed complaints with the Missouri Ethics Commission after The Associated Press earlier this month reported how Koster's paid campaign staff shuttled money among various committees to get around the state's campaign contribution limits.

The ad posted to the Web site of Missourians for Honest Leadership includes headlines and excerpts from several newspaper stories delving into Koster's fundraising practices.

"I hope this gets people to look into [the allegations]," Nassikas said. "They might still decide to vote for Chris. But this will be a way to make it more fair."

Koster's campaign spokesman, Danny Kanner, said the ad is an effort by political rivals to undermine Koster's candidacy. Koster has defended his fundraising tactics as legal, based in part on the advice of the ethics commission.

"This is a direct attack from the other two Democrats in this race," Kanner said Thursday. "It's politics at its worst and hypocrisy at its highest level."

Barbara Kemery, treasurer of Missourians for Honest Leadership, said the committee's goal is to publicize ethics complaints about Koster.

After Nassikas donated $200,000 to Missourians for Honest Leadership, documents filed with the ethics commission show the committee used $2,000 to set up a Web site. The committee also paid $187,500 to a New York company to produce television ads against Koster and buy air time.

Nassikas said she also wanted to help level the playing field in the primary, because she believes Koster was able to loan his campaign $200,000 partly as a result of their 2005 divorce settlement.

Staff writer Rudi Keller contributed to this report.