Lobbyists Under Scrutiny Linked to Capuano Donors

US Representative Michael E. Capuano, Democrat of Somerville, received more than $60,000 in campaign contributions from donors associated with a high-powered lobbying firm at the center of an FBI investigation, and inserted earmarks for three of the firm’s Massachusetts clients into recent defense spending bills.

The firm, the PMA Group, is reportedly under federal scrutiny for using straw donors to funnel illegal campaign contributions to dozens of lawmakers. In an interview with the Globe, Capuano said that he has no way of knowing if the donations his campaign received were made illegally, but that he has given $60,500 in donations from the firm’s employees and its political action committee to Boston-area charities to “hold myself to a higher standard.”

He said he has not been contacted by the FBI. Capuano received the 10th-most donations from PMA of any lawmaker, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics of the firm’s giving since 1989.

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(Alan Wirzbicki, “Lobbyists Under Scrutiny Linked to Capuano Donors,” Boston Globe, 4/02/09)