WASHINGTON — A Texas judge has dropped a third-degree felony charge against Sears Roebuck & Co. that stemmed from the retailer’s $25,000 contribution to a political action committee backed by House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and dedicated to electing Republicans.
Travis County District Court Judge Bob Perkins dismissed the charges on Thursday after the retailer reached an agreement with District Attorney Ronald Earle that requires Sears to disclose corporate political contributions on its Web site and cooperate with state officials in prosecuting others in the case.
It is illegal in Texas for a company to make political contributions and a Travis County grand jury indicted Sears and six other companies last fall for violating the law. If convicted, Sears faced a fine of as much as $20,000.
As part of the agreement, Sears will fund a public information program at the University of Texas on the role of corporations in American democracy. In addition, Sears has hired a senior executive compliance officer to review the company’s political contribution practices.
“We have maintained all along that there was no illegal action on the part of the company,” said Robert J. O’Leary, Sears senior vice president of public relations and government affairs.
According to the settlement, evidence indicates that Sears approved the $25,000 contribution “on the basis of false and misleading information provided by the fund-raiser that solicited the contribution.”
Sears is the second company, in addition to Diversified Collection Services of California, to have charges against it dropped. Sears’ one-time contribution was to Texans for a Republican Majority Political Action Committee, which is linked to DeLay, who is from Houston. Three political fund-raisers with ties to DeLay have been indicted on charges of soliciting and using some $190,000 in illegal corporate contributions to further GOP fortunes in the Texas state house.
It’s alleged that the PAC’s activities helped the GOP in 2002 take control of the Texas legislature after being dominated by Democrats since Reconstruction. With Republicans at the helm, the legislature passed a Congressional redistricting bill seen as favoring five new Republicans for re-election to Congress this fall. The GOP additions increased the Republican majority in the House.