Attorney general’s office clears Pingie of any campaign finance reportingirregularities

By MIKE SCHREIBEREra Associate Editor

The state attorney general’s office has cleared McKean County Commissioner candidate Al Pingie of any campaign finance reporting irregularities dating backto the primary election.Announced Wednesday, the news comes less than a week before the Nov. 6general election in which Pingie will appear on the Republican ticket.The finance reports were originally called into question in May. The attorneygeneral’s office took over the investigation into the matter after District AttorneyJohn Pavlock cited a conflict of interest in the case.“After reviewing the evidence and the applicable law, the Office of AttorneyGeneral has concluded that criminal charges are not warranted,” said a memodated Oct. 30 from the attorney general’s office to Pavlock.Investigators added they are closing the office’s inquiry into the case, adding “nocriminal charges will be filed.”When reached for comment Wednesday night, Pingie said when he previouslymet with an AG investigator, they indicated at that time they believed the matter was an honest mistake and would recommend the case be dropped.“I feel that with the attorney general’s office doing the investigation, there shouldbe no doubt in anybody’s mind that I didn’t do anything intentionally,” Pingie said.“I’m looking at this as a lesson to be learned and put it behind me.”In the Pingie case, Bruce Holiday of Bradford challenged a handful of contributions listed on Pingie’s campaign finance reports, which were filed beforethe May 15 primary election. In a letter dated May 18 to Director of ElectionsJudy Ordiway, Holiday wrote that Pingie received contributions from severalbusinesses, claiming such contributions are illegal.Ordiway previously said a candidate can’t accept contributions from anyincorporated business. The total amount of contributions in question amounted to$650; Pingie listed a total of $2,600 in contributions between Jan. 1 and April 30,according to a copy of the campaign finance reports filed at the courthouse.