The investigation of James Tobin continues. Prior charges brought against Mr. Tobin could have resulted in five years in the federal pen. The new charge could get him ten years. The
Bangor Daily News writes:
Phone jamming suspect faces new charge
Ex-New England official for RNC accused of conspiracy to prevent voting in '02
Three weeks before he was scheduled to go to trial for allegedly jamming get-out-the vote telephone lines in New Hampshire on Election Day 2002, a Bangor man is facing an additional charge - conspiring to prevent residents from exercising their constitutional right to vote.
A federal grand jury in Concord, N.H., issued a new indictment on Tuesday against James Tobin, 44, the former New England regional political director for the Republican National Committee.
Arguments were expected to be heard today by U.S. District Judge Steven J. McAuliffe on six motions filed by Tobin's de-fense team to dismiss the original charges. His trial was scheduled to begin on June 7 in the federal courthouse in Concord.
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The
story continues:
The new indictment includes the original charges of conspiring and aiding and abetting others to make annoying and harassing phone calls. If convicted of those charges, Tobin faces up to five years in federal prison.
The new charge, however, carries a maximum sentence of 10 years.
Tobin is accused of telling Chuck McGee, former executive director of the state Republican Party, that former GOP consultant Allen Raymond could help with McGee's plan to jam five phone lines set up by the Democratic Party and a ride-to-the-polls line operated by the Manchester firefighters union. Raymond then hired a telemarketing firm to make hundreds of hang-up calls.
McGee and Raymond pleaded guilty last year, agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors and received sentences of seven and five months in prison.
Mr. Tobin is well connected in Republican circles in New England:
A Windham native, Tobin worked in Maine and Washington for former U.S. Sen. William Cohen in the 1980s. He also worked on the election campaigns of U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe.
In 1996, he ran the national presidential campaign of millionaire businessman Steve Forbes.
Last year, he founded a communications and political consulting company in Bangor. He stepped down as Bush's regional campaign chairman on Oct. 15, 2004, when New Hampshire Democrats said in a separate lawsuit filed in state court they believed he took part in the phone jamming scheme.
After all that happened in the last presidential election one has to wonder if this was an isolated incident in New England or if this was the tip of the iceberg that was nationwide in scope.