hiller: guiltier than ever

bradley hiller is back in the news, with a new felony conviction to go with the two he already has.

first, some history:

Hiller was executive director of the [Indiana Senate Majority Campaign Committee] from January 2001 through November 2003. The committee is responsible for providing campaign support for Republicans running for State Senator. As executive director, Hiller was responsible for providing fundraising and campaign support for these elections.

According to the probable cause affidavit, suspicions about Hiller's handling of the committee's checkbook arose when he was succeeded by Esther Schneider as executive director in November 2003. She found little supporting documentation for checks written on the account. The committee hired London White Group to perform an audit of their accounts.

esther schneider herself got into a heap of trouble later down the line, when she was briefly appointed to head the hoosier lottery. this might just be a coincidence.

According to the audit, 109 of the 490 checks written on the account between January 2000 and January 2004 were payable to Hiller. Investigators found at least eight different occasions where expenditures listed on the committee campaign report with checks written on the organization's checking account. Those checks would be listed on the campaign report as payable to vendors. However, the checking account would show the corresponding check as being may payable to Hiller.

oops, what a naughty boy! in 2005, hiller pled guilty to two class d felonies, theft and filing a fraudulent report, and was sentenced to a year in the joint and 6 months' house arrest. he actually served 6 months in prison; i don't know if he did the home detention.

but at the same time he was embezzling from the senate campaign committee, he was also a consultant with bose treacy associates, and was appointed to the indiana election commission. bose still has its proud press release on his appointment up on their site, two years after his first conviction:

BoseTreacy Associates LLC is pleased to announce that public affairs consultant Bradley Hiller has been appointed to the Indiana Election Commission.

Hiller has a wide range of experience in politics. Most recently, he served as the executive director for the Senate Majority Campaign Committee for three years. In that function, Hiller was responsible for overseeing all Republican state senate campaigns, managing the finances, administering public relations activities, recruiting candidates for election, creating and implementing campaign plans, fundraising, and other administrative tasks. He also served as a consultant for Republican senators on various legislative matters.

Hiller earned a bachelor's and master's degree from Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Ind. While he was in school, he held an internship with the Indiana House of Representatives.

Based in Indianapolis, Ind., BoseTreacy Associates is a full service public affairs and association management firm offering more than 100 years combined experience to affect the decisions of government-at the local, state, national and international levels. Offering services in government relations, public affairs consulting, lobbying and association management, BoseTreacy is an active member of The Advocacy Group (TAG), an international network that allows clients to obtain professional assistance throughout the United States and other countries.

i'd think bose would want to remove any reference to hiller from their site, especially now that hiller has pled guilty again to crimes that happened while he was working for them. from today's star:

A former state Republican fundraiser pleaded guilty this afternoon in Marion Superior Court to his second felony case.

technically, this is his third felony conviction, not his second, but i suppose you could lump the first two together as beind the same "case" if you so choose. moving on...

Bradley R. Hiller, 34, has agreed to repay $7,836 to the Hoosier Beverage Association, for which he was a public affairs consultant in 2004 when he signed someone else's name on an unauthorized check, among other accusations.

Today, Hiller pleaded guilty to forgery. But he might not return to prison. His plea agreement limits the sentence to three years or less, all of it suspendable when Judge Grant Hawkins sentences him Friday.

Theft and corrupt business influence charges will be dismissed.

After learning of the earlier case, the beverage association -- then called the Indiana Soft Drink Association -- scoured the books of a political action committee that Hiller had organized as a consultant with Bose Treacy Associates.

"The defendant had access to the checkbook of the association," deputy prosecutor Rom Byron said. In one instance, Hiller wrote a check for $2,700 to the Senate fundraising committee in order to cover up missing money from his other thefts.

i almost feel bad for the guy. his career was surely destroyed by his previous convictions in 2005: no law firm would hire him after those, and a g. gordon liddy-style resurrection was unlikely since the gop probably wouldn't look kindly upon that whole embezzling from them thing. then he gets out of the big house, and the prosecutor slams him again for other stuff he did before he got arrested the first time! these aren't even new crimes; even if prison somehow rehabilitated hiller, transmogrifying him into an honest, decent human being, a fat lot of good it does him if he's still being tried for his past crimes.

still, i don't feel that bad for him: a corrupt lobbyist and gop fundraiser.¶