This just in: Public records paperwork on Walia's campaign treasurer has arrived - Candia Lynch-Mausser nailed for securities fraud by SEC in 1995

Judgment and sentencing paperwork from 1995 (13 pages, PDF) shows that city council candidate Harry Walia's campaign treasurer, Candia Lynch-Mausser, was a leader of a Cincinnati securities fraud ring in the early 1990s. While never criminally charged, the SEC adjudged her civilly as guilty of fraud and assessed over $6,000 in "disgorgement" fines against her. The company she worked for was ordered to pay $30,000 as a direct result of her actions. Additionally, Mausser was barred from ever selling stocks and securities for a minimum of four years.

Up until the receipt of the documents early this morning, Venice Florida! dot com only had sketchy details of Mausser's legal problems with the SEC. Knowing that Venice Florida! dot com was looking into the charges, Walia's campaign had reportedly been telling the Gondolier and the Herald-Trib that Mausser's SEC history was a minor matter and that Mausser had gotten into some small trouble as the result of taking bad advice from someone that she had trusted.

The investigative and judgment paperwork from the SEC received today indicates that nothing could be further from the truth.

The SEC filings and judgments were sent pursuant to a federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request made by Venice Florida! dot com approximately ten days ago.

According to the filings, Mausser was an employee at, and later the "Branch Manager" of, a franchise office in Cincinnati of Corporate Securities Group, Inc., a Florida-based corporation. The Cincinnati office was owned by Dr. George Rizos and Matthew Zahn.

Mausser was accused by the SEC of selling unregistered securities, lying about their value, and funneling the sales proceeds to Rizos' personal accounts instead of into the corporate accounts of Corporate Securities, Inc.

From pages 3 and 4 of the PDF file (same as pages 1 and 2 of the second document in the file): "Mausser willfully violated Section 17(A) of the Securities Act of 1933 in that, in the offer or sale off securities, ...Mausser employed devices, schemes, or artifices to defraud; obtained money or property by means of untrue statements of material facts, ...[and] engaged in practices or courses of business which operated as a fraud or deceit upon the purchaser."

Specifically, Mausser was accused of making "...material misrepresentations and omissions in the offer or sale of Goldstar securities by making baseless price predictions, making false assertions that Goldstar would be freely tradable and would be listed in NASDAQ."

In other words, Mausser was a sort-of miniature version of Art Nadel.

Mausser had two co-defendants, Rizos and Zahn. Rizos was ordered to pay $14,500 in fines and disgorgement fees, while Mausser was ordered to pay $6,300. No penalty was assessed against Zahn. Corporate Securities was ordered to pay $30,000 in fines because of Mausser's and Rizos' activities.

Additionally, Mausser was barred for four years from selling stocks and securities and from working for anyone who does sell them. Rizos was barred for two years while Zahn was barred for six months.

That makes two out of two staffers on Walia's campaign staff with what could loosely be termed as less than stellar backgrounds.

Walia's events coordinator, Heather Skeffington, is on probation with the Florida Department of Corrections for burglary. Additionally, she is still facing charges of using a stolen credit card and exploiting the elderly.

In one of the biggest PR mistakes ever in the history of Venice politics, Walia used Skeffington to park cars at his July 24 fundraiser for Republican Bill McCollum's gubernatorial bid. McCollum is currently employed as Florida's Attorney General. Attendees at the event were not told that they were giving their house and car keys to someone who was on probation for burglary and was facing other theft-related charges.