FBI Probes Theft at Democratic Fund

Checks for $350,000 Were Diverted From Senatorial Group

By Allan Lengel
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, November 11, 2004; Page B01

The FBI is investigating the suspected theft of about $350,000 from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in the midst of the 2004 campaign, officials said.

The committee's compliance division, which monitors donations, discovered in early October that about $350,000 in donor checks -- many made out to "DSCC" -- had been diverted to a private bank account for DSCAMPCO, according to officials familiar with the case. The contributions were supposed to go into the committee's general fund, officials said.

The committee immediately notified the U.S. Capitol Police, which launched a probe that soon included the FBI and U.S. attorney's office. All but about $10,000 of the money was recovered from the DSCAMPCO account, and that was insured, officials said.

Roger Chiang, the senatorial committee's director of constituency outreach, was the person who opened the DSCAMPCO account, according to bank records that included his Social Security number and home address, officials said.

more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41102-2004Nov10.html