Treasurer McCord Resigns

Member Group : Citizens Alliance of Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Treasurer Resigns, Faces Extortion Charges

February 4, 2015:

On Thursday January 29th, Pennsylvania Treasurer Rob McCord resigned from office. At the time, he stated he was going to return to the private sector and that his last day would be February 12th.

By the end of the day on Monday, February 2nd, we learned that McCord would be pleading guilty to two federal extortion charges connected to his failed campaign to be the Democratic nominee for governor in 2014.
According to one media report:

"McCord also encouraged the lawyer, who was a neighbor in the Philadelphia suburb of Bryn Mawr, to speak to the managing partner to let him know that a $25,000 contribution would be acceptable, even if through another conduit, such as the lawyer or the lawyer’s wife.

"And he urged the lawyer to tell the managing partner that McCord could use his position as treasurer to hurt the law firm if he did not get a satisfactory donation.

"You can say to him, ‘my concern is that if he loses and you stiffed him, every time you are trying to get something done through state government you are going to have the state treasurer looking to screw you, you know.’"

This case is just one more sad example of a "rising star" in Pennsylvania politics being blinded by their ambition and abusing their power to get ahead.

To his credit, McCord took responsibility for his actions in a video statement he released.

As Treasurer, McCord sat on the board of Pennsylvania’s two state pension systems. Those pension boards oversaw the investment of over $75 billion in assets. McCord received over $2 million in campaign contributions from individuals connected to the investment and banking sector. It will be interesting to see if other "donors" come forward to report similar experiences and where the story goes from here.

Citizens Alliance of Pennsylvania (CAP) is a non-profit organization founded to raise the standard of living of all Pennsylvanians by restoring limited government, economic freedom, and personal responsibility. By empowering the Commonwealth’s employers and taxpayers to break state government’s "Iron Triangle" of career politicians, bureaucrats, and Big Government lobbyists, this restoration will occur and Pennsylvania will prosper.