Department head in donation scandal denies special treatment
(Published Tuesday, March 13, 2007 10:26:50 AM CST)
A d v e r t i s e m e n t
By Scott Bauer Associated Press
MADISON, Wis. - Helping to resolve a tax dispute involving trucking companies owned by an indicted donor to Gov. Jim Doyle was not done under pressure from the governor or as a special favor, the secretary of the state Department of Transportation said Monday.
The department has come under fire amid reports that Secretary Frank Busalacchi ordered agency officials to help negotiate with states that an audit showed were owed taxes by Kenosha businessman Dennis Troha's trucking firms.
Busalacchi, in his first public comments on the issue, said in a news conference that he was trying to assist a business in the state resolve a conflict but his actions did not constitute special treatment.
"This is what we do. This is what I do on a daily basis," Busalacchi said. "All we were trying to do here was help a state employer."
That help was not any different from what he does for other individuals and companies in the state who come to him for assistance, Busalacchi said.
Troha's trucking companies owed nearly $1 million in taxes due to five states, based on an audit by the state Department of Transportation. Disputes with two of the states were settled, but three totaling nearly $500,000 in taxes are pending.
Busalacchi said he was proud of the department's job in reaching settlements with Pennsylvania and Nevada, which also were praised by officials in those states.
Busalacchi said he wasn't asked by Doyle or anyone with his campaign to work on the case and he also never talked with Troha about it.
"I really am not close personal friends with the man," he said of Troha.
Busalacchi said at an April 2004 meeting he told Troha's attorney he would work on resolving the case, but that he never ordered anyone in his department to travel to another state to get it done.
E-mails show that following the meeting, travel plans were made for DOT attorneys to travel to Pennsylvania to discuss the outstanding taxes owed by Troha's trucking companies. Busalacchi said the decision to travel must have come from the attorneys who determined that would be the best way to work on the case.
Busalacchi allowed travel expenses for the trip to come from his budget, which he also said was not unusual.
Last week Doyle said the department's work on the case was routine and he did not order any special treatment for Troha, who has, along with his family members, donated $200,000 to Doyle since 2002.
Troha was indicted March 1 on charges that he committed fraud and lied to the FBI related to more than $100,000 in donations he and his relatives gave to Doyle and others. The indictment from U.S. Attorney Steve Biskupic alleges Troha made illegal donations "in an attempt to obtain an Indian gaming compact."
The FBI also interviewed at least one DOT employee last week about the tax dispute case. Busalacchi said he has not been contacted by the FBI.
Busalacchi appeared before the Joint Finance Committee on Monday as the budget-writing committee works on reviewing the governor's spending proposal. No lawmakers asked him about his role in Troha's tax dispute.
Busalacchi's reconfirmation as DOT secretary was scheduled for a vote Tuesday in the Senate. Some Republicans have said they will block the vote.
Troha dissolved all ties to his trucking firms last year so he could focus on developing a new $808 million casino in Kenosha, in conjunction with the Menominee and Mohegan tribes. He withdrew from the project six days prior to the indictment's release.
Under current law, Doyle must sign off on the casino should it win federal approval. Republicans in the state Assembly plan to push a bill, that Doyle vetoed in May, to also require legislative approval for new casinos.
