FBI raided firm tied to Murtha

BY SHAWN PIATEK
The Tribune-Democrat

February 11, 2009 12:04 am

— Multiple news outlets have reported that a Washington lobbying firm with ties to U.S. Rep. John Murtha, D-Johnstown, was raided in November by the FBI.
PMA Group, based in Virginia, has confirmed that federal officials visited its offices and requested a variety of information.
The firm was founded by former Murtha aide Paul Magliochetti.
Web site opensecrets.org says that Murtha is one of 40 politicians to have received campaign contributions from PMA Group during the 2007-08 election cycle. The firm, which specializes in procuring defense-related earmarks, made donations to six members of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense.
Murtha received $26,700 from PMA Group, the 13th-largest political donation it made during the last election cycle. The largest contribution the firm made, $59,200, went to U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Va.
News of the raid on PMA Group caught the attention of bloggers and media who tied it to last month’s raids on Kuchera Industries and Kuchera Defense Systems in Windber.
Other than the relationships held with Murtha’s office, Kuchera and PMA are not linked. According to PMA spokesman Patrick Dorton, Kuchera is not a client of PMA.
Murtha’s office on Tuesday reiterated that it is not aware that the congressman is being investigated or is part of the ongoing investigations at PMA Group and the Kuchera companies.
“We have not been contacted by any federal agency,” said Matt Mazonkey, a spokesman for Murtha, “and no one is suggesting that Jack Murtha has anything to do with this, period.”