Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the
Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy Jr.
for the Western District of New York made the announcement.
G. Steven Pigeon, 58, of Buffalo, NY, pleaded guilty before
U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara to an information charging him with
conspiracy to cause a foreign donation in a state election in violation of
federal law. Sentencing was set for January 25, 2019, at 1:00 p.m.
As part of his plea, Pigeon admitted that while working as a
political consultant and lobbyist in Buffalo, he represented a foreign client,
Company A. At the time, the CEO of Company A was Person A, a Canadian citizen.
In early 2014, despite knowing that it was illegal to make a foreign donation
to a state political campaign, Pigeon solicited Person A to make a $25,000
donation to the reelection campaign of a New York state elected official,
Public Official A. The campaign rejected the donation from Person A because
Person A was not a citizen or permanent legal resident of the United States.
Pigeon and Person A then agreed to cause the donation from Person A to be made
through Person B, a permanent legal resident of the United States and an employee
of Company A. On or about February 24, 2014, as directed by Person A, Person B
made a $25,000 donation to Public Official A’s campaign. Pigeon and Person A
knew that Person A would pay for, or reimburse, the donation. As a result of
the $25,000 donation, Pigeon and Person A were granted entry to a fundraising
event for Public Official A in New York City on February 26, 2014.
“Steven Pigeon undermined the transparency and integrity of
the electoral process by funneling foreign money into a campaign,” said
Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski. “The Criminal Division and our law
enforcement partners are committed to protecting our electoral process and we
will aggressively pursue those who seek to circumvent our campaign finance
laws.”
“Transparency in political activity, including the
disclosure of the sources of political contributions, is a necessary check on
the power of money and a necessary ingredient for a healthy democracy,” said
U.S. Attorney Kennedy. “Schemes such as
this, which introduce obfuscation and secrecy into the political process,
threaten our very democracy by endeavoring to use anonymity as a means of
eliminating accountability.”
The plea is the result of an investigation by the FBI
Buffalo Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gary
Loeffert; the New York State Attorney General’s Office, under the direction of
Barbara Underwood; and the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Edward Kennedy. The case is being
prosecuted by Deputy Chief John Keller of the Criminal Division’s Public
Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul E. Bonanno of the Western
District of New York.
