Former Lieutenant Governor Timothy P. Murray has agreed to pay $80,000 to settle charges by Attorney General Martha Coakley that he collected $50,000 in illegal campaign contributions raised by two public officials, including former Chelsea Housing Authority executive director Michael E. McLaughlin.
McLaughlin, who has already been sentenced to three years in federal prison for lying to state and federal regulators about his inflated salary, was also indicted today by a state grand jury for several campaign finance violations including unlawful solicitation by a public employee.
McLaughlin collected tens of thousands of dollars in donations for Murray even though as a public official he was legally barred from doing so, according to a statement from Coakley’s office.
A second official, a supervisor in the Department of Transportation, also solicited donations in the Worcester area between 2008 and 2010. His name has not yet been made public.
“As I have said from the start, I never asked Michael McLaughlin to solicit funds for my committee, because I know that would have been wrong,†said Murray in a statement. “If I knew in 2006 what I know today about Mr. McLaughlin, I would have never had any association with him at all.â€
