Fund-raising letter may have violated law
T chief's mother sought aid for GOP candidate
The general manager of the MBTA may have violated campaign finance laws because a fund-raising letter from his mother repeatedly cites his name while appealing for money for Reed Hillman, the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor.
The mother of Daniel A. Grabauskas, Patricia Grabauskas-Caruso, invoked her son's name six times in the letter for Hillman, the running mate of Republican gubernatorial nominee Kerry Healey, The Republican of Springfield reported.
State law forbids a paid public employee, other than an elected official, from ``directly or indirectly" soliciting campaign money.
Grabauskas-Caruso of Lehigh Acres, Fla., said her son approved the letter before she mailed it to potential donors.
``Of course," she said. ``Dan's my son."
Grabauskas did not return several calls to his spokesman at the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
Laura Nicoll, a spokeswoman for the Healey-Hillman campaign, said the letter was an honest mistake.
``We're going to return any checks received from this letter," Nicoll said.
Grabauskas-Caruso wrote that her son was a good friend of Hillman and strongly supports him. The letter urged $50 to $500 donations to Hillman and Healey and concludes, ``Reed, Dan, and I look forward to your reply."
