Fund-Raiser Pleads Guilty in Election Case

Charles Blitz, 45, of Santa Barbara, who helped collect money illegally for the 1996 reelection campaign of Teamsters President Ron Carey, pleaded guilty to making false statements to federal officials investigating the election. Blitz was charged with lying to investigators about his role in a money-laundering scheme in which he agreed to solicit money for two socially progressive groups--Citizen Action and Project Vote--with the understanding that a percentage of the money raised would be passed on to the Carey reelection campaign. Blitz is the fourth person to plead guilty in the widening Teamsters election scandal. He faces a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. “Charles Blitz is a progressive philanthropist who regrets this happened,” said Blitz’s attorney, Stephen Ryan. “He was trying to help a cause,” Carey’s reelection, “that he believed in.”