May 21, 1997

The U.S. Justice Department announced today that Democratic fundraisers Nora and Gene Lum have agreed to plead guilty to arranging $50,000 in illegal campaign contributions during the 1994 election. The couple plead guilty to one felony charge each that they arranged to pass the money through 'straw donors' to the campaigns of Senator Edward Kennedy and W. Stuart Price, an Oklahoma Democratic candidate for Congress. The couple's daughter, Trisha, agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor violation alleging she acted as an ilegal conduit for a $10,000 contribution to the Democratic Cognressional Campaign Committee.

The charge against Nora and Gene Lum carries a maximum five-year sentence and a $250,000 fine. According to court papers, the Lums have agreed to cooperate with the Justice Department's investigation into alleged campaign fundraising abuses.