A federal jury Monday found U.S. Rep. Bob Brady’s top political strategist, Ken Smukler, guilty of nine of 11 counts of repeatedly flouting campaign finance laws in a case that once threatened to ensnare the congressman himself.
Smukler, 58, who has helped dozens of Democrats win public office over the last 30 years, was convicted of coordinating multiple unlawful contributions and falsifying finance reports for candidates in back-to-back congressional races.
One of those campaigns — Brady’s 2012 primary bid for reelection — ended with the abrupt withdrawal of his opponent after he was promised a $90,000 payoff, which jurors concluded that Smukler helped to pay.