Ark. treasurer accused of taking cash from broker

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) ? Arkansas' state treasurer was accused Monday of taking at least $36,000 in cash ? sometimes stashed in a pie box ? from a broker who later came to manage a large share of the state's $3.3 billion stock and bond portfolio.

Democrat Martha Shoffner, who made her initial court appearance Monday, said she had no plans to resign despite members of her own party joining Republican calls for her to step down.

Shoffner and was released on her own recognizance. She was also ordered to surrender her passport.

Federal prosecutors allege Shoffner accepted $12,000 a year from a broker who would sometimes deliver cash in a pie box, pie included. The broker is cooperating with investigators.

"The allegations against Ms. Shoffner are serious and they completely erode the public trust that we put in our elected officials, if they prove to be true." U.S. Attorney Chris Thyer said at a news conference.

Shoffner told reporters outside the courthouse Monday that she does not intend to resign. She was re-elected in 2010 and has faced inquiries over the past year about the way her office has handled state investments.

She didn't enter a plea Monday, and her attorney, Chuck Banks, said she'd plead not guilty at the appropriate time. A federal grand jury will decide whether to indict Shoffner, who is charged with attempt and conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right. A next court date was not set.

Shoffner spent the weekend in Pulaski County Jail.

"This has been a very, very tough proceeding for her and a tough weekend," Banks said. "I'm going to send her home right now. We're going to get some rest, and I will talk to her this afternoon about preparing her defense."

An affidavit filed in Little Rock federal court said a broker ? unidentified in court documents ? would roll up money in $6,000 increments and have it delivered to Shoffner's office in a pie box. The document, by FBI Special Agent Richard McLain, said the broker has been granted immunity in exchange for his or her cooperation.

Shoffner was criticized in a legislative audit last year for bond sales that blocked the state from earning more than $400,000.

"(The broker) began receiving more of the state's bond business after he/she began paying Shoffner $6,000 cash every six months," the affidavit said. The broker "recognized his/her bond business with the state grew because of the payments he/she made to Shoffner."

The affidavit said the payments were made after Shoffner asked the broker for $1,000 a month to pay her rent in Little Rock.

The state's top elected officials, including Gov. Mike Beebe, Attorney General Dustin McDaniel and U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor, called for Shoffner to resign.

"I think she should resign immediately," said Beebe, adding that the details provided by prosecutors are so specific that Shoffner has been rendered unable to lead.

"It would be very hard, in my opinion, for that office to properly function under her continued leadership," the Democrat added.

The heads of the Democratic and Republican parties also said Shoffner should step down.

"The incompetence that has been uncovered, the criminal charges that are pending, and the distraction from her office that due process will involve make her unfit to continue in her service as State Treasurer," Arkansas Republican Party Chairman Doyle Webb said.

When asked after the hearing whether she planned to step down, Shoffner responded: "No, not at this moment."

Banks said he "probably" would advise Shoffner to resign, but that the call is ultimately up to her.

"If she cannot properly perform her duties and responsibilities and still protect herself in a crime accusation, then to me it would be something for strong consideration," he told reporters.

The affidavit said Shoffner was arrested at her home in Newport in a sting operation. The broker agreed to record the meeting and bring $6,000 stashed in a pie box, the affidavit said.

Shoffner was arrested after the broker left her home and special agents with the FBI executed a search warrant. The affidavit said the $6,000 was located inside a cigarette package in Shoffner's kitchen.

"Shoffner admitted she knew it was wrong to accept the payments," the affidavit said.

Thyer said he did not know how much the state had invested with the broker, or how much commission the broker made from the bond transactions. Thyer said it wasn't an easy decision for prosecutors to grant immunity to the broker, who he wouldn't name.

"It was a decision made out of necessity more than anything else," Thyer said. "At the core of this particular conspiracy as alleged in the affidavit there were two people, and if both of those two people remained silent we would not be here today."

Shoffner told The Associated Press in a September interview that she was trying to maximize profits for the state when she sold the bonds early.

"We're here to work for the people of Arkansas," Shoffner said at the time. "We're the safekeepers of the money and, as I said, that's my responsibility. I certainly want to work with audit in whatever avenue they want to follow."

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Associated Press Writer Chuck Bartels contributed to this report.

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Follow Andrew DeMillo on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ademillo

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ark-treasurer-accused-taking-cash-broker-161506271.html

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