John J. Cafaro, the retired vice president of the Cafaro Company, was named in a bill of information Monday morning from the United States District Court and is expected to plead guilty.
The single charge is for a violation of federal election law.
The bill accuses "J.J." Cafaro of "knowingly and willfully caused to be falsified, concealed and covered up by trick, scheme, and device material facts and caused to be made materially false, fictitious and fraudulent statement and representation, in that he caused the responsible official of the Capri Cafaro for Congress Committee to file with the FEC a quarterly report that falsely stated that he had contributed only $2,000 to the general election campaign, when in fact, as John J. Cafaro then well knew, John J. Cafaro actually contributed an additional $10,000 in the form of a loan to a campaign staffer for the benefit of the general election campaign."
The maximum individual contribution allowed by law to federal candidates is $2,000 for the general election and $2,000 for the primary election.
The accusations are related to daughter Capri Cafaro's 2004 failed bid for the 14th U.S. Congressional District where she ran against Steve LaTourette.
Currently Capri Cafaro is serving as a state senator in Ohio's 33rd District.
In a statement released by Attorney Ralph E. Cascarilla, counsel for J.J. Cafaro, Cafaro states "Although I always wanted to help my daughter in her campaign, I made a mistake for which I am solely responsible. As the investigation has determined, my daughter was not involved in any way. I sincerely regret any embarrassment or hardship I have caused my daughter and those who work with her. I am proud of her and what she has accomplished. Again, I take full responsibility for my actions and I apologize for my actions."
Cascarilla added in the statement that "Mr. Cafaro will plead guilty to the charge, and he expects to be sentenced according to the usual procedure followed by the Court."
A separate statement released by the Cafaro Company says "The federal charge filed against John J. Cafaro involves his personal activities and in no way involves the Cafaro Company or any of its affiliated entities."
This is not the first criminal proceeding against J.J. Cafaro. In 2002 he pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge related to a bribe given to then-congressman James Traficant. J.J. Cafaro was sentenced to 15 months of probation which means that probation expired just months before the allegations in this case began. In the 2002 case, Cafaro admitted that he bribed Traficant to help a company in which Capri Cafaro was an executive.
Capri Cafaro for her part worked quickly to limit damage Monday. She granted interviews to local media outlets in which she distanced herself from the allegations. She characterized the illegal contribution as a "loan to someone in my campaign. I was in no way involved in that transaction. But I've since learned the recipient of that loan was my former campaign manager."
When asked how could she not have known about the loan, Cafaro responded "Anybody that knows my Dad would know that he certainly does make a habit of not necessarily telling me things, particularly things that he thinks I may not approve of. I'm very disappointed in those circumstances, and you really can only control what you can control."
Capri Cafaro said her office cooperated with the investigation, and as far as she knows, she is not being investigated.
