BOSTON, Feb. 8 -- The U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, Raymond Flynn, admitted on Thursday to misusing campaign funds while he was mayor of Boston and agreed to repay $12,500 to his campaign committee. The agreement came just 90 minutes before Massachusetts' attorney general threatened to file a civil suit against Flynn to recover the money. Meanwhile, Flynn's former top aide was in federal court pleading guilty Thursday to tax evasion charges. Joseph Fisher was accused of failing to report more than $51,000 in bribes and other illegal favors he received over seven years while he was Flynn's special assistant at City Hall. Fisher faces up to 18 months in prison when he is sentenced May 1. More than $25,000 of the favors Fisher admitted taking involved repairs to his summer home in the coastal town of Plymouth, which prosecutors said were performed free of charge by a construction company with city contracts. A second Flynn aide, former campaign finance chief Douglas deRusha, has been charged with stealing $520,000 from the ex-mayor's campaign chest and using the money to buy a Beacon Hill condominium and take a trip around the world. Like Fisher, deRusha is expected to plead guilty. Under his agreement, Flynn admitted that he and his family 'personally benefited from the improper use of campaign funds' for vacations to Florida, Atlantic City and Cape Cod, as well as restaurant tabs, phone bills and other expenses. He agreed to repay the $12,500 to his fundraising committee within 90 days.
The committee also agreed to pay a $10,000 fine to the state for violating campaign record-keeping laws. Flynn himself was not fined, but acknowledged that his committee had failed to keep adequate records or file proper reports with the state. State Attorney General Scott Harshbarger said the campaign's books 'were a mess.' He said the settlement 'reinforces the fact that no candidate or campaign committee has the right to ignore laws meant to ensure an honest political process.' Flynn said last week that he was willing to repay any campaign funds found to have been improperly spent, and denied any intention to violate the law. Flynn, who served as mayor of Boston for 10 years, resigned in 1993 to become ambassador to the Vatican. Thursday's settlement capped a two-year, federal-state investigation into his campaign's finances, which began when deRusha fled the country. Flynn was widely reported to be planning a run for governor in 1994, but canceled the bid in part because of the probe.
