WASHINGTON – A former staffer for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (search) admitted Tuesday to stealing about $360,000 in donor checks while he was employed there.
Roger Chiang (search) pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to one count of mail fraud. Sentencing is scheduled for June.
Chiang, a staffer in charge of ethnic outreach and fund raising, was fired from the DSCC after about $360,000 in missing committee donor checks were traced to a bank account he had opened. The DSCC is the main fund-raising arm for Senate Democrats.
"Law enforcement did its job and now we're just looking ahead to 2006," DSCC spokesman Phil Singer said.
The DSCC discovered the checks were missing in late September. With help from police, they were able to recover most of the money in time to spend it in the November elections. About $10,000 is still missing.
Mail fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Before joining the DSCC, Chiang worked as the Democratic National Committee's (search) director of outreach to Asians and Pacific islanders and at the Housing and Urban Development Department during the Clinton administration.
Chiang's attorney, William R. Martin, said Chiang cooperated with the investigation.
"Roger is a young man who truly deserves a second chance," Martin said in a written statement.
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