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Former City Council Candidate Faces Fines For Spending

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By LAURA KINSLER, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 10, 2007

TAMPA - Former Tampa City Council candidate Frank Margarella faces nearly $15,000 in penalties for campaign spending irregularities first reported by The Tampa Tribune.

The Florida Elections Commission found probable cause for nine violations of campaign finance laws. Most of the charges allege that Margarella used his campaign account to defray normal living expenses when he paid for meals, drinks, rounds of golf and country club dues. Each count carries a $1,000 fine.

He also bounced a $1,809.35 check to Hunter's Green Country Club, a violation that carries an additional penalty of three times the amount of the illegal expenditure. The commission dismissed 18 additional counts.

Margarella, a New Tampa real estate agent, lost the District 7 race this year to hair salon owner Joseph Caetano.

Margarella was leading the three-man race in fundraising in February when the Tribune reported several suspicious expenditures in his campaign finance reports. There were payments to nonexistent printers, reimbursements for mystery expenses and excessively high payments to the country club, where Margarella is the former manager.

Tom Schueller, a Carrollwood resident who owns property in District 7, read the article and filed a complaint with the commission. 'I don't really like doing this to someone,' he said. 'But on the other hand, he was running for city council. It didn't pass the smell test for me.'

Margarella has not decided whether to settle the case or ask for a hearing at the next election commission meeting in November. He missed the Oct. 4 deadline to respond, but he has been in discussions with commission attorney Chuck Finkle.

'Right now, I'm torn between feeling like I didn't do anything wrong and wanting to just put it behind me,' Margarella said.

He wouldn't be the first area politician to take his lumps by negotiating a settlement. Hillsborough County Commissioner Kevin White signed a consent order this summer to pay $9,500 in fines for campaign finance violations during his 2006 race. White faced more than $38,000 in penalties for offenses such as using campaign cash to buy custom-tailored suits.

Margarella said he was a victim of a political attack. He originally denied using campaign money to pay his country club dues - $374.50 a month - then said he cleared the expenditure with the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Office. 'I was told, no, it wasn't a violation,' he said. 'They were usage fees. I didn't willfully try to do anything wrong.'

Tim Bridge, the county's senior deputy for election operations, said no one there advised Margarella that such an expenditure would be appropriate.

Political observers said Caetano benefited by focusing on Margarella's spending. He sent out two direct-mail pieces attacking his opponent's ethics and credibility, even using an image of someone with his hand in a cookie jar.

Schueller said he could have overlooked one or two transgressions. 'They found probable cause on nine counts; that shows a pattern, and it should be punished,' he said.

Reporter Laura Kinsler can be reached at (813) 865-4844 or lkinsler@tampatrib.com.

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