Ex-candidate pleads guilty in DC campaign case

WASHINGTON (AP) — A former D.C. Council candidate has pleaded guilty to conspiring to receive and conceal excess campaign contributions during campaigns for office.

Kelvin Robinson pleaded guilty Tuesday in Superior Court in Washington.

Robinson acknowledged in pleading guilty that businessman Jeffrey Thompson secretly contributed about $33,500 to Robinson’s 2010 campaigns for D.C. Council At-Large Member and for the Ward 6 seat.

The D.C. Campaign Act limits the amount an individual and entity can contribution to a council candidate to $1,000. Robinson faces up to a year in prison when he is sentenced Aug. 13, though he could get probation. Robinson declined to comment after the hearing.

Thompson has pleaded guilty to two conspiracy charges. Prosecutors alleged that Thompson took part in a “shadow campaign” to help elect Mayor Vincent Gray.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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