Former state treasurer pleads guilty, admits trying to shake down law firm
A former state treasurer of Pennsylvania pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal charges that he attempted to extort gubernatorial campaign contributions from an unidentified Philadelphia law firm and a property management company on the other side of the state.
A venture capitalist before he entered politics, Rob McCord, 55, repeatedly demanded money from the law firm’s managing partner between April and May of last year. Court records say McCord threatened the firm, which had contracts with the state to perform legal services, with “economic harm” if it didn’t comply, reports the Morning Call. He will be sentenced at a later date in the Harrisburg case.
The total amount he sought from both the law firm and the property management company was about $125,000, reports the Patriot-News.
The maximum possible sentence the Montgomery County Democrat could get for each of the two extortion-attempt counts is 20 years and a $250,000 fine, although McCord likely will get much less as a first offender. His lawyer, Robert Welsh, said as the two left Tuesday’s hearing that “nobody knows at this point” whether the plea deal will spare McCord from going to prison, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer.
An investigation is ongoing.
The Post-Gazette also has a story.
