Ethics Board fines Price again

Former Mandeville mayor Eddie Price has been fined again by the state Ethics Board after he admitted to misusing campaign funds by making a loan to his company, Craftsmen Investments LLC.

On his 2006 annual campaign disclosure report, filed in February 2007, Price noted that he loaned the company, of which he owns 25 percent interest, $3,300.

The company repaid the loan in September 2007,but Price failed to file a supplemental report including the repayment of the loan.

Also on his 2006 campaign finance report, he listed spending $3,451 on a credit card for “gifts for golf tournament.”

He is being cited for not itemizing those charges as well.

The Campaign Finance Disclosure Act prohibits politicians from using campaign funds for personal use even if the funds are used as a loan.

Price has been ordered to amend his 2006 supplemental report itemizing the credit card expenses for the golf tournament as well as to file the 2007 supplemental report disclosing the repayment of the loan.

The board has fined him $1,000 for not filing that report. It also imposed a $3,500 fine for violating the Campaign Disclosure Act by making the loan to his company.

In a separate case Price is facing additional fines totaling up to $2,000 for not filing a campaign finance disclosure in conjunction with the Feb.9, 2008 election. He will be fined $40 a day until he files the report up to $1,000 and will incur an additional $1,000 fine if he does not file it within 30 days.

Price has already been fined $2,000 by the board for not filing subsequent reports that were required following that election.

The Ethics Board heard both of Price’s cases at it’s meeting Friday.

Alesia Ardoin, a staff attorney for the Ethics Board, said Price signed the consent opinion, agreeing that the loan and credit card charges violated the campaign finance disclosure act and agreeing to pay the imposed fines.

She added that, however, he has yet to pay any of the fines imposed by the board thus far.

Ardoin said the former mayor was not present at the hearing; however, his attorney did send the board an e-mail explaining that his client would not be present because of his other ongoing legal troubles.

Last month Price pleaded guilty to federal mail fraud and tax evasion charges, admitting to have accepted lavish gifts and trips from two companies that do business with the city, using campaign funds and city money for his personal use and failing to file a 2007 tax return. He faces up to 25 years in prison on these charges.

He has also been indicted on state perjury charges and is scheduled to go to trial on that case next month as well.

State prosecutors claim that Price lied under oath as he was testifying in the assault trial of a friend of his. Price allegedly told the jury that he did not use his influence to try and change the charge against his friend from a felony assault to a misdemeanor. He has publicly maintained his innocence in this case and is awaiting trial.

A week before pleading guilty to the mail fraud and tax evasion charges, Price stepped down from his position of mayor of Mandeville saying his legal woes was distracting from the everyday business of running the city.