Kinde Durkee, Democratic Campaign Veteran, Arrested In Mail Fraud

LOS ANGELES -- A longtime Democratic campaign treasurer who has worked for dozens of state, federal and local politicians in California has been arrested on suspicion of mail fraud, officials said Saturday.

Kinde Durkee, who heads Durkee & Associates in Burbank, was arrested Friday afternoon by the FBI on a criminal complaint filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Sacramento, said U.S. Attorney's Office spokesman Thom Mrozek. No further details were available.

A phone message left at Durkee's office by The Associated Press was not immediately returned. She is expected to appear in a Southern California court Tuesday.

State Sen. Lou Correa of Santa Ana told the Register the FBI notified him late Friday that he was one of many victims. Correa said he believes he has lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign funds. Durkee had been his campaign treasurer since 1995.

Federal Election Commission records show Durkee is treasurer for U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein and U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez of Orange County, a host of state assemblymen and senators, city councilmen and political action committees.

The California Fair Political Practices Commission has taken action against her four times, mainly for failing to report transactions or information, and sent her a dozen warning letters. She also stipulated to a violation from San Diego's Ethics Commission.

Durkee's website said the business specializes in political accounting and has been operating since 1972.

Comments

[ritamary]

05:35 PM on 09/10/2011

For those who are getting ready to post stupid comments, this individual is a woman, so it does make sense to refer to her as "she". She is not a politician, not a Democratic politician, and has nothing to do with Obama. Her firm has acted as treasurer for mostly local and state-level Democratic political campaigns.

Now my comment: What was she thinking? Did she think nobody would notice her spending thousands of dollars of campaign funds?

[mspender]

12:30 AM on 09/11/2011

Bernie Madoff might be able to answer your question.

[Robson]

01:49 PM on 09/10/2011

Is she Amish? Seriously it would be an interesting sociological study to determine if there are geographic, cultural and genetic predispositions by some to thieve the system, and by others to be more honest and trustworthy. The USA was just scammed for trillions by NY banksters who have walked away free, just as this individual probably will.

White collar financial crime needs to changed from "fraud" to financial terrorism, as it destroys lives and innocents. They should charged and sentenced by military tribunals, and held in Cuba Guantanamo and their assets retrieved internationally if necessary.

Instead these thieves are typically handled with care.

[mspender]

12:31 AM on 09/11/2011

funny, she doesn't look Amish.

[wheelzroller]

10:39 AM on 09/06/2011

Gee a crooked Politican ! Who would have thought that ???

[srooge]

01:26 AM on 09/06/2011

he going to get one stern warning

[mspender]

12:10 AM on 09/11/2011

he who?

[morris111]

02:06 PM on 09/05/2011

Crooks stealing from crooks....

[buckeye3118]

10:26 AM on 09/05/2011

If he was a TEA Party or a Republican, this would be headline news. But the George Soros controlled media will give little, if any, coverage.

[GiannaX]

03:44 AM on 09/06/2011

Oh, stop your hypocritical boo hooing. You conveniently overlook the Faux News Wingnut propaganda channel spewing lies, hate and bigotry 24/7.

[Weeweed Up]

05:10 PM on 09/09/2011

and twice on Sundays

[mspender]

12:14 AM on 09/11/2011

Loretta Sanchez was once a Republican.
Ooh noo! That's probably why the crook picked on her....Republicans are such victims!

[Karl Magnus]

10:08 AM on 09/05/2011

My oh MY! Her pic ... She been livin' high on the hog. I mean really, if you're going to embezzle millions, go to a "spa" once in a while willya?
http://tinyurl.com/3lutq9t

Sorry, no "perp walk", "frog march" or the other degrading behaviors that GOP moneybags are subjected to. Stay tuned for further dissembling from ALL Democratic politicos involved.
I can hear it now: "She did WHAT? Oh the HORROR!"

As a life-long student of human behavior (no one is an 'expert'), I often wonder why so many women are involved in this sort of crime. The numbers of female government employees involved in theft (check out Detroit and its functionaries) is staggering. OR ... Maybe it's just recently hitting the news because sometimes it's damn hard to ignore the sociopath's political bent - like all of the female teachers who are molesting their students. Out of sight, out of mind.

Out of Control
"McCain / Feingold" who?

~(Ä)~

[mspender]

12:17 AM on 09/11/2011

you don't like women much, do u?

[Karl Magnus]

07:23 AM on 09/11/2011

I don't know what that means. Even if it were true, it wouldn't have any relevance.
I do however pity those who suffer from oikophobia.
(look it up)

~(Ä)~

[srooge]

08:00 PM on 09/04/2011

Nothing going to happen to him except he will make more money

[Steve1976]

05:20 AM on 09/05/2011

You're really on top of things with one exception-- him is a her.

[WorkhelpWorkhelp]

12:42 AM on 09/06/2011

A nasty nasty "her."

[SokNooRamos]

06:03 PM on 09/04/2011

Wow that makes a lot of sxense dude. Wow
anon-tools.es.tc

[Scott Zwartz]

04:23 PM on 09/04/2011

Duh! And another news flash for Angelenos-- the sun rises in the East.

[whodo1952]

01:52 PM on 09/04/2011

She had time to plan and execute her scheme, but truly, who does this surprise?
Corruption has a slimy, residual, texture which rubs off of many politicians.

[Just walkin the dog here]

01:19 PM on 09/04/2011

The political process has some percentage of fraudsters (all willing to take these people that feel they must be elected). But If the fraud netted less than $100,000 it was probably a Democrat, if the fraud netted in the millions of dollars, it was probably a Republican.

[morris111]

02:08 PM on 09/05/2011

I call B.S. Both parties are equally despicable.

[MinneMike]

01:28 AM on 09/04/2011

Don't be alarmed, Obama will probably get him off. He is probably an Obama donor.

[jep121212]

01:40 AM on 09/04/2011

The person arrested was a "SHE!! Nice reading comprehension!!!!!

"DIEBOLD"

[Scott Zwartz]

04:25 PM on 09/04/2011

There you go again making fun of a GOP just because he/she/it/they use their own facts. If they want Kinde to be a male, then she is a male.

Stop with them dar gottcha comments.

[windy33]

08:10 AM on 09/04/2011

can't you remember what you read. the person arrested is a she.
you must be a repub because they always make up things as they go along rather it is truth or fiction. MOSTLY FICTION, OR TWISTED AROUND TO FIT THEIR CAUSE. IN THE END IT'S ALWAYS LIES.

[corwin]

06:31 PM on 09/04/2011

I knowI speak for many , when I say,"How do you manage to capitalize those letters?" It adds such cogency.Did you take a class ,or is it just intelligence that taught you.
fourscore and seven years.Nope Doesn't have the impact
Corwin Cruelly kind or kindly cruel ?