Kelty Pleads Guilty To Campaign Violations

Avoiding a trial, former Fort Wayne Republican mayoral candidate Matt Kelty pleaded guilty today to two felony charges and a misdemeanor, which includes an admission that he filed false campaign finance reports and lied to a grand jury. Kelty's problems stemmed from his attempts to report six-figure loans from a couple of his conservative supporters tied to Allen Co. Right To Life as loans to his campaign from himself and his failure to report a poll conducted on his behalf by one of the same supporters as an in-kind contribution. The Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette's Rebecca Green reports that under the terms of the plea agreement, Kelty will receive a one-year suspended prison sentence, pay a $250 fine and perform 80 hours of community service. I notice that some Democrats are really gloating over today's outcome. But for the reluctance of county prosecutors to pursue these types of cases, some of their own candidates would find themselves in a lot of hot water for similar transgressions.