最新杏吧原创

Tilley is the chairman of the St. Peters-based .

He鈥檚 also president of the . It鈥檚 an innocent-enough sounding name for an organization, representing 27 fire districts in the 最新杏吧原创 region.

Tilley has a third job. He鈥檚 Stenger鈥檚 bag man.

That鈥檚 clear in the federal indictment that was handed down Monday charging Stenger with bribery, mail fraud and theft of honest services. as 最新杏吧原创 County executive shortly after the news broke.

The indictment specifically mentions the MACFPD political committee as one that Stenger used for fundraising. The guy who raises money for both Stenger鈥檚 campaign and the fire district committee?

None other than Dave Tilley.

He appears on Page 15 of the federal indictment. It鈥檚 March 31, 2016, and Stenger wants $2,500 from John Rallo, the star of the 44-page document.

Rallo was leveraging campaign donations for contracts that Stenger was arranging through the 最新杏吧原创 County Economic Development Partnership and the 最新杏吧原创 County Port Authority.

鈥淛ohn, is there a way we would be able to get your ($2,500) ... in the next few days,鈥� Stenger apparently texted.

鈥淒o you want me to bring it to you?鈥� Rallo responded.

鈥淒ave or (Anna Noll) will get it,鈥� Stenger responded. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what they do.鈥�

He added a smiley face for good measure.

Nobody in Stenger World is smiling today.

It was a little more than a year after that exchange that Stenger was using MACFPD as a place to park corporate donations from donors seeking to bypass a state ban on making such donations directly to candidates. Many of those donors were seeking contracts with the county.

At the time, MACFPD had passed to Stenger鈥檚 campaign account $36,500 of the $38,750 that it had raised. The county executive, through spokesman Ed Rhode, scoffed it off:

鈥淭o suggest any impropriety over $36,000 in campaign contributions is reckless and irresponsible propaganda,鈥� Rhode said.

By the time the last election cycle was over, MACFPD had raised , many of them from corporations, that ended up in Stenger鈥檚 coffers.

But that wasn鈥檛 good enough.

The federal indictment mentions another new political action committee as one Stenger was using as well. This one is called the Regional Leadership PAC, and it was set up by Tilley鈥檚 son, Kyle, who also works for his dad at the fire district. Both committees use Gary Donovan as their treasurer. Donovan works for Central County Fire as an assistant chief and is the executive director of MACFPD.

Regional Leadership PAC was set up on Feb. 20, just a couple of months ago. It鈥檚 raised $35,000, nearly all from corporations who have done business with the county. The only money it has paid out so far is $6,250 to Dave Tilley鈥檚 fundraising company.

Where was the rest of that money intended to go?

That may well be a question the federal investigators are still trying to answer.

It鈥檚 impossible to read the Stenger indictment and not expect more charges to follow. The good news for taxpayers in Central County Fire & Rescue is that if the feds come calling, the district has obtained well-connected representation.

In December, the fire district issued a bid for legal services. Bids were to be turned in to Donovan.

A month later, in closed session, the board, led by Tilley, chose a new attorney.

Her name is Allison Stenger.

She鈥檚 married to the former county executive who on Monday pleaded not guilty to charges that outline an extensive pay-to-play scheme that at its core was about using campaign donations to trade for political favors.

The bag man delivers again.