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STAFFORD--Criminal charges against former state Senate candidate Mike Rothfeld were dropped yesterday in Stafford Circuit Court.
In exchange, Rothfeld pleaded guilty to a civil charge and will pay a $900 fine.
The Stafford resident said that while he agreed that he had technically violated the state law, it was not willful.
"We were clearly wrong, and on the advice of counsel, I agreed to [the plea]," he said in an interview after the court heard his case.
Rothfeld had been charged with three campaign violations because several mailers sent by his campaign in spring 2003 did not include the required disclaimer that they were paid for by Rothfeld's campaign.
However, the mailers in question did include a disclaimer saying they were authorized by Rothfeld's campaign. Also, some were on Rothfeld's letterhead and contained his signature.
His attorney, Gary C. Byler, said that proves there was no intent to mislead the public.
Rothfeld, who unsuccessfully challenged Senate President Pro Tempore John Chichester, R-Stafford, in last year's primary, had been charged with the criminal violations in April.
The charges were brought in Stafford County, where Chichester's brother is the commonwealth's attorney. Dan Chichester withdrew from the case, and a judge appointed King George Commonwealth's Attorney Matt Britton as a special prosecutor.
Rothfeld and his supporters say it's unusual to bring criminal charges against a candidate for a relatively minor violation. That, coupled with the family ties between the Chichesters, leads them to believe he is a victim of political intimidation.
After entering his plea yesterday, Rothfeld said he agreed to it "despite what I think are the troublesome political aspects of prosecution of candidates who challenge powerful incumbents."
Rothfeld noted that the charges against him were leaked to the press--a reporter from the Richmond Times Dispatch called him while the state troopers serving him were still at his house.
If information was leaked, Britton said it did not come from him.
"I have absolutely no idea whether any information was leaked, and if so, who did it," he said. "And it has no bearing on whether this man violated the law repeatedly."
Last year, Rothfeld was one of three conservative Republicans challenging more moderate senators. In one of the other races, Sen. Russ Potts of Winchester was challenged by Mark Tate.
Soon after Rothfeld was charged, Tate received a letter from Potts threatening to take similar action against him. No charges were filed.
That furthers the belief of Rothfeld's and Tate's supporters that the senators are punishing them for daring to challenge them.
"This is political persecution designed to intimidate people from running for office," said Russ Moulton of Spotsylvania, the 1st District Republican committee chairman, who supported Chichester's opponent last year. "Anyone else, there would be a simple civil penalty assessed. [It's] designed to stamp out the democratic process."
An official with the State Board of Elections said it does not keep track of how many complaints of violations it receives. When a complaint is filed, it refers the complaint to local prosecutors.
Britton said it was his decision, after investigating the allegations, to charge Rothfeld with criminal--instead of civil--violations.
He made that choice, he said, because Rothfeld had been fined in the past by the Board of Elections for filing campaign-finance reports late, and because the "paid for by" disclaimer was left off nine different pieces of campaign mail.
To Britton, that suggested a willful violation, especially in light of Rothfeld's occupation as a political consultant.
"When you do something nine timesit becomes hard to believe it's a mistake," he said.
But, he participated in the plea agreement because other Rothfeld mailers did include the disclaimer, and because even on those without it, Rothfeld's name was somewhere on the mailer, allowing recipients to know who sent it.
Britton also noted that Rothfeld accepted responsibility, and agreed to pay the fine for all nine mailers.
As to the assertions by Rothfeld and his supporters that politics was at play, Britton vehemently said he has no knowledge of, nor participated in, such a scheme.
"This theory this was politically motivated, I have no idea where this comes from and I have no part in it," he said. "Personally, that's dead wrong. I did have no part of it, I would have no part of it."
Britton said his job was to conduct an independent investigation and decide whether charges were warranted, and that's what he did.
He noted he purposely waited until after last fall's general election before beginning his investigation, so as not to affect the election either way. Britton said he has followed the same procedure in the past.
To reach CHELYEN DAVIS: 804/782-9362 cdavis@freelancestar.com