The Associated Press picked up CREW's FEC complaint against Rep. Vern Buchanan (F-FL) and it's been running in papers around the Sunshine State.   While we've heard the perfunctory denials from the Buchanan camp , Melanie Sloan made it clear that CREW believes Buchanan played a role in this scandal:

Buchanan, a Republican, was elected in 2006 and represents an area that includes Sarasota and Bradenton. The complaint was filed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and two former dealership employees. It alleges at least seven employees at two Buchanan-owned dealerships were either reimbursed or coerced into making $1,000 campaign contributions.

Buchanan is not said in the complaint to have directly asked for the contributions, but he did know about them, according to Melanie Sloan, the executive director of the watchdog group.

"It's our understanding that Vern Buchanan was involved. These are Vern Buchanan's dealerships, so none of this could have been happening without Vern Buchanan knowing about it," Sloan said.

A spokeswoman for Buchanan responded that it is the campaign's policy "that all contributions comply fully with FEC regulations."

Today, CREW and Florida citizens Carlo Bell and D.J. Padilla (both of whom worked for Buchanan's car dealerships) filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (“FEC”) against Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) alleging serious violations of campaign finance law.   The complaint and affidavits of Bell and Padilla can be found here.

Rep. Buchanan owns several car dealerships in Florida. In September 2005, dealership employees were pressured into contributing to Rep. Buchanan’s congressional campaign and some were reimbursed for making contributions. Former employee Carlo Bell was called into a manager’s office and told that if he was part of the “team” he would make a contribution. Fearing for his job, Bell agreed to make the donation and was handed $1,000 in cash. Bell also saw two other employees, Jack Prater and Jason Martin take cash in return for promising to write checks and FEC reports confirm that both men made $1,000 contributions to the Buchanan campaign.

Dealership employee D.J. Padilla was told that any employee who donated to the campaign committee would be repaid, but he refused to participate knowing that accepting repayment for a contribution is illegal.

CREW’s complaint alleges three violations of campaign finance law: 1) threatening employees with reprisals to coerce them to make campaign donations; 2) making contributions in the name of another; and 3) making corporate contributions.

CREW’s executive director Melanie Sloan said today:

The allegations against Rep. Buchanan, which are backed up with affidavits and a bank deposit slip, are very serious and may involve criminal conduct. The FEC should investigate and refer the matter to the Department of Justice for further action.