City Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown Fined For Ethics Violations
By Mike Dunn
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Philadelphia's Board of Ethics has slapped a longtime member of City Council with more than $20,000 in fines, for campaign finance and ethics violations.
The ethics board reached a settlement agreement with at-large councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown over campaign finance violations dating back to 2010.
Ethics board executive director Shane Creamer says these include reporting violations, excess contributions received by her campaign committee, and improper handling of contributions.
"There were numerous omissions from many campaign finance reports, in 2011 particularly. And there were also some material misstatements in those reports," he said today.
Reynolds Brown was fined more than $20,000 and must also pay restitution of more than $20,000.
Separately, she was fined $4,500 for ethics violations involving the use of campaign money for personal reasons.
Reynolds Brown turned down our request for an interview, but in a statement she said she takes responsibility for her "error in judgment" and for her campaign's errors.
