Political Donor Faces More Charges

A businessman indicted on 17 counts of making illegal contributions to the campaigns of President Clinton and others faces more charges. An indictment issued in Washington in September accused Mark B. Jimenez of illegally giving candidates nearly $40,000. Those charges were incorporated into Thursday’s indictment, which also accuses him of conspiracy, tax evasion and mail fraud. Jimenez was Florida’s largest donor to the national Democratic Party in 1996. Jimenez, a Philippine national, fled in December and is believed to be in that country. The Department of Justice said it would seek his extradition. The businessman is accused of conspiring to defraud the Federal Election Commission by using corporate money for campaign contributions. The indictment says Jimenez got employees of companies he owned and controlled to give money to Clinton, Vice President Al Gore and candidates for the U.S. House and Senate, then reimbursed them.