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Coakley says she erred on disclosure

E-mail|Link|Comments () November 12, 2009 08:21 PM

By Matt Viser, Globe Staff

Attorney General Martha Coakley, the state’s top lawyer, acknowledged today that she improperly filled out a federal financial disclosure she submitted to the US Senate as part of her candidacy in the special election.

Attorney General Martha Coakley

The Globe reported today that Coakley was the only candidate, in disclosures that were due to the Senate by this week, to report that neither she, nor her spouse, had any reportable financial asset worth more than $1,000.

But her campaign said Coakley failed to list between $200,000 and $250,000 in financial assets that are held by her husband, Thomas F. O'Connor Jr. The campaign said Coakley also failed to note a retirement account she holds that is worth $12,000.

"It was a mistake," said Alex Zaroulis, a campaign spokeswoman. "Clearly we are working to amend the financial disclosure forms to include those accounts, and we're going to do it as quickly as possible."

O'Connor's assets are from his savings account, and from an inheritance he was given when his father passed away several years ago, Zaroulis said. She said she could not detail how much was in each asset.

Zaroulis attributed the mistake to a discrepancy between what Coakley has had to report to the state as a candidate in Massachusetts, and the more in-depth information required of federal candidates. It is nonetheless a somewhat embarrassing omission for a perceived front-runner who oversees the state’s legal affairs.

Although Coakley will now claim $12,000 from a retirement account, Zaroulis said she still does not have any other additional income to report aside from her husband’s assets, which are in his name alone. Coakley and her husband own a home in Medford, but primary residences do not have to be disclosed on the US Senate forms.

Even with Coakley’s amended disclosure, her assets are still far less valuable than her opponents’, according to a review of each candidate's filing.

Businessman Stephen Pagliuca, who made a fortune in private equity, listed assets worth between $259 million and $765 million. City Year cofounder Alan Khazei listed assets between $347,000 and $1.1 million. And state Senator Scott P. Brown, the leading Republican in the race, reported assets of between $1.1 million and $2.7 million.

US Representative Michael E. Capuano filed financial disclosure forms as a member of the House that detailed his finances for 2008, and is not required to file a new form, according to Senate ethics rules. According to his 2008 filing, the value of his assets was between $1.4 million and $3.1 million