ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, October 20, 1996 TAG: 9610210082
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-7 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Associated Press
Already under fire from Republicans for accepting big contributions linked to foreign interests, the Democratic National Committee has returned a $20,000 political contribution from a convicted Miami cocaine smuggler.
Democratic National Committee spokeswoman Amy Weiss Tobe said Saturday that the party was unaware until last week that the contributor, Jorge Cabrera, had been arrested after making the donation and is in prison serving a 19-year sentence.
``We never accept money that's been gotten illegally,'' Tobe said. ``Obviously, we had no idea that Mr. Cabrera was a drug trafficker.''
The return of the contribution was first reported by the Miami Herald.
Federal election records show Cabrera made the contribution to the Democrats in late November 1995, and was soon invited to a political reception attended by Vice President Al Gore in Miami and a pre-Christmas event at the White House.
In January 1996, Cabrera and several accomplices were arrested in a Miami bust that netted nearly 6,000 pounds of cocaine, among other things. Cabrera had previously been arrested twice on drug charges, and pleaded guilty to non-drug-related charges in both cases.
Although the party maintains a policy against accepting ill-gotten funds, it does not systematically check the background of donors.
``That would be an impossible task,'' Tobe said. ``We do the best we can to stay on top of the donations. Once [a problem] comes to our attention, we return the check immediately.''
The report of the returned contribution came one day after the Democratic Party relieved a star fund-raiser of his duties following attacks by the Republicans for what they call improper and possibly illegal contributions from foreign nationals.
LENGTH: Short : 43 lines KEYWORDS: POLITICS PRESIDENTby CNB