Question 1 Committee To Pay $125,000 After Obscuring Donor Identities: OCPF

REVERE, MA — After a pricey but ultimately ineffective campaign, the committee that pushed to add another slots parlor license in Massachusetts has agreed to pay $125,000 after the state's campaign finance organization says it shielded its donors' identities from the public, didn't include the proper disclosures in its ads and did not register with the state in a timely matter.

The state Office of Campaign and Political Finance said Thursday it has entered into a voluntary agreement with the Horse Racing Jobs and Education Ballot Question Committee, which backed Question 1 on last November's ballot to the tune of more than $3.2 million.

The ill-fated question, which garnered less than 40 percent of the public's support, would have allowed a second slots parlor license in the state. It was largely backed by real estate developer Eugene McCain, who was pursuing a casino near Suffolk Downs.

However, as the OCPF wrote Thursday, McCain's millions were not the only money at play behind the ballot question. At the OCPF's request and less than a week before the election, the group amended its public filings to indicate this after the campaign finance org investigated. Those previously undisclosed donors included Japanese and Cambodian real estate investors. WGBH previously reported on the timeline and the offshore funds at play here.

Additionally, the group broadcast more than 400 ads without the required disclaimer, and failed to register its fundraising with the state in a timely matter, the OCPF said.

You can read the full agreement from the OCPF here.

More:

• MA Question 1: Slots Parlor Proposal Creates Rift in Revere
• Here's How Much Massachusetts' Ballot Questions Cost
• Revere Rejects Latest Gaming Referendum
• Massachusetts Ballot Question Results

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