Backed by Buddies & Under Investigation: The Story of the Schellinger Campaign

From the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette comes the latest blow to Jim “I have ideas, really I do” Schellinger, the architect-turned-gubernatorial-candidate that brought on a property tax crisis caused in no small part by super-expensive schools:

INDIANAPOLIS – Several top executives at Jim Schellinger’s architectural firm have contributed more than $230,000 to his gubernatorial efforts, amounting to almost 10 percent of his campaign war chest.

A portion of that financial support has come from a limited liability corporation the executives formed just three days before Schellinger entered the race.

That LLC’s main purpose, so far, has been to pay for $60,000 worth of air travel for Schellinger, a fact that a Republican campaign finance expert said might raise concern that the entity should be registered as a political action committee. A watchdog group policy director, meanwhile, said LLCs can easily be used to hide the true source of campaign money.

Though the race between the two Democratic candidates has been rather quiet on issues so far, Schellinger has proven he can raise money, bringing in $2.4 million in all.

“Rather quiet on issues so far.”

Understatement of the year, that.

About $170,000 of that can be attributed to individual donations from Schellinger’s business partners at CSO Architects in Indianapolis – Alan Tucker, Daniel Moriarity and John Rigsbee, as well as their wives and a few related companies.

The limited-liability corporation was formed March 16, 2007, with the Indiana Secretary of State’s Office. Schellinger filed paperwork to run for governor March 19.

Tucker is named as the registered agent on the certificate of organization.

According to Tucker, Trident buys hours of flight time from First Wing Executive Aircraft Charter and Management, a division of Eagle Creek Aviation Services in Indianapolis. A few months after the LLC was created, Trident Air made its first in-kind contribution to Schellinger’s campaign for $15,883 for flight service.

In total, Trident has provided $59,033 in flight services, according to the campaign.

The listing of flight service on campaign reports has somehow caught the attention of the Federal Aviation Administration.

Trident is not certified to offer air service of any kind, according to FAA records.

Elizabeth Cory, spokeswoman for the FAA’s Great Lakes office near Chicago, said the agency is investigating whether Trident Air is providing air service without a federal certificate.

“We do not have any record of a company by the name of Trident,” Cory said. “We’re definitely looking into them.”

Read the whole thing.

It seems that the Journal Gazette is blazing new trails in Hoosier investigative journalism; you hardly (if ever) see reporting on this level or this in depth in the Indy Star, for example, and you never see it down in my end of the state from anyone.

It was the Journal Gazette that dug into the questionable and shady dealings of Evan Bayh and his wife Susan, and how they were cashing in on his Senate position by having her serve on the boards of companies impacted by his Congressional votes, and then making big bucks with juicy stock options.

Now they are bringing to light shady dealings by the Bayh clique’s chosen candidate for governor, Jim Schellinger.

I wonder if Attorney General Steve Carter might take an interest in these interesting campaign finance shennanigans.

This post is also available at Hoosierpundit.