Jail Time for Jim McDonald ?

(Editor's note: Spouting off about other's ethics while violating the Ethics Laws is a sure way of ending up on 5thEstate.com!)

March 7, 2006

5thEstate.com has discovered that Jim McDonald, running for the Pennsylvania House against Katie True, made a lie that should cost him his place on the ballot and maybe a year in jail ! In a routine check of McDonald's Ethics Statement (click here to see complete statement in PDF format) and a cross reference with the Lancaster County Recorder of Deeds (click here to see Website - by the way, McDonald is not related to Lancaster County Recorder of Deeds, Steve McDonald!), discovered that he owned 2 properties with the potential for 5 different rental incomes!

Why did McDonald failed to disclose his income? What other sources of income does McDonald have that he is not disclosing?

According to the Pennsylvania State Ethics law, candidates for office must disclose any source of income over $1,300 a year. 5thEstate.com confirmed that McDonald received at least $10,000 of income and potentially $20,000 of income that he hides despite state ethics laws!

What happens if you don't? McDonald could be find $1,000 and sent to jail for one year! Additionally, his name is struck from the ballot!

After checking with various sources, 5thEstate.com has found that McDonald received $7,800 from his East Chestnut Street property in 2005. The property also has two garages - which fetch a minimum of $25-50 a month in the city and what about a 17 x 30 loft apartment in the back? We were unable to determine how much income McDonald received.

Is that all? No! Another property that McDonald failed to reveal his income was on Coral Street. McDonald had a tenant for at least 6 months of 2005 with a minimum income of an estimated $3,000.

All in all, McDonald could have over $20,000 of unreported income or more. What other sources of income does McDonald have that he's not reporting? 5thEstate.com will stay on top of the situation!