August 24, 2012
Office of Congressional Ethics, U.S. House of Representatives, P.O. Box 895, Washington, DC 20515-0895
Delivered via certified mail, Delivered via email to oce@house.gov
Dear Board Members & Staff:
My names is Robert J. Creighton and my contact information can be found at the end of this letter, as well as a sworn statement from me acknowledging that the False Statement Act applies to the information I am providing today.
By way of background, I am currently an elected Councilman in the Town of Smithtown, New York, the former Police Commissioner for the Suffolk County, New York Police Department, and former Chief Investigator for the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.
I am writing today to respectfully ask that you review very serious allegations of misconduct by United States Representative Timothy H. Bishop from New York’s 1st Congressional District in the wake of an investigative report that originally appeared in POLITICO and subsequently in numerous other print and online publications. I have attached the story for your review.
The POLITICO story uses emails obtained and interviews conducted by investigative reporter John Bresnahan detailing how Representative Bishop and/or his campaign staff solicited a sizable campaign donation from a local resident named Mr. Eric Semler, in exchange for securing the expedited approval of permits for a private fireworks show that Mr. Semler was seeking to host at his private residence in Southampton, New York.
Based on the POLITICO story, here is a brief synopsis of the facts as described:
May 21, 2012
Southampton resident Eric Semler needed government permits to put on a private fireworks display for his son’s bar mitzvah on or about May 26, 2012. Mr. Semler contacted Congressman Tim Bishop and his office seeking help getting those permits expedited. Representative Bishop agreed to intercede on his behalf.
May 23, 2012
Mr. Semler received an email form Representative Bishop’s campaign staff directly soliciting him for a contribution of up to $10,000 to Bishop’s reelection campaign.
May 24-26, 2012
The fireworks permits are approved and the private fireworks display is held at Mr. Semler’s residence in Southampton.
May 29, 2012
Mr. Semler sent an email to the employees of the Grucci Fireworks Company claiming that Representative Bishop “didn’t hesitate to solicit me in the heat of battle” and called the request for $10,000 in campaign contributions “really gross.”
June 26, 2012
The Bishop Campaign reports receiving a combined $5,000 from Mr. Semler and his wife. It was the firs-ever contribution from Mr. Semler or his wife to Representative Bishop.
According to the POLITICO story, the House Ethics Manual states that “a solicitation for campaign or political contributions may not be linked with an official action taken or to be taken by a House Member or employee, and a Member may not accept any contribution that is linked with an action that the Member has taken or is being asked to take.”
This prohibition includes campaign contributions offered to a lawmaker by a supporter, especially when a request for official action is pending or has occurred, which was clearly the case in this instance.
The manual adds: “In a similar vein, a Member or employee may not accept any contribution that the donor links to any official action that the Member or employee has taken, or is being asked to take.”
Based on the documents obtained by POLITICO, it seems clear that Representative Bishop and/or his staff clearly violated House Ethics rules and may very well have violated criminal bribery and illegal gratuities statutes.
I trust that you will take this matter seriously, review all the facts in a timely manner, and open a full investigation into Representative Bishop as a result. Thank you for your consideration.
The document is signed: Respectfully Robert J. Creighton