Nicastro got illegal donations last year

The Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission investigated City Councilwoman Judy Nicastro last year for accepting $2,000 in illegal cash campaign contributions from topless-club magnate Frank Colacurcio Jr.

Nicastro has come under scrutiny again in recent weeks with revelations that she and two other council members accepted thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from Colacurcio and his associates just before a vote that would help one of his clubs by expanding parking.


	Nicastro

Nicastro, who heads the council's land-use committee, has said she doesn't know Colacurcio and that the donations did not influence her vote.

Nicastro said yesterday she plans to keep $10,000 in campaign donations in reserve in case the Ethics and Elections Commission finds legal problems with any of the more than $140,000 she has received.

The commission hasn't announced a formal investigation.

"My books are completely open," Nicastro said.

In November, Colacurcio, his wife and a friend made a $2,000 cash donation to Nicastro's campaign in violation of a $60-per-contributor limit on cash donations. Colacurcio acknowledged the violation yesterday but said he could not remember the friend's name.

The ethics commission dismissed the case in December after Nicastro returned the money and took steps to prevent accepting illegal contributions.

Colacurcio and his friend each immediately made a donation by check of $650, the maximum individuals can contribute to a candidate.

But less than a month later, Colacurcio made another $650 donation to Nicastro's campaign, which violated campaign-finance rules. Nicastro promptly returned the money. Colacurcio did not explain the second donation.

Colacurcio has not been cited with any wrongdoing in the matter and explained the illegal contribution in November as a minor transgression.

"I wasn't aware that you couldn't donate cash, that was my mistake," he said yesterday. "I can't remember who was with me. My memory is a little foggy."

Asked why he gave cash, he said: "I don't always carry a checkbook around with me. That's why I have my bookkeeper, normally she handles all my checks."

Colacurcio says he's been waging a decadelong battle with the city over zoning that prohibited him from expanding the parking lot of Rick's, his Lake City club.

Colacurcio, his friends and business acquaintances have made donations to council members Nicastro, Heidi Wills and Jim Compton, all of whom are running for re-election. The donations came into the spotlight when the trio voted last month to approve rezoning a piece of property next to Rick's for employee parking.

The council already had twice denied the request to rezone, once in 1989 and again in 1998. This year it was approved, with the help of the three council members, all elected in 1999.

As if it hasn't gotten enough attention, the parking lot rezone resolution came back to the council yesterday on a technicality -- Council President Peter Steinbrueck had signed his name on a line intended for the mayor's name. The council voted on the matter again, with no changes -- Wills, Compton and Nicastro voted in support, as did council members Jan Drago and Richard McIver. Margaret Pageler, Steinbrueck, Richard Conlin and Nick Licata stuck with their "no" votes.

The resolution requires using the extra parking spaces only for employees. It also requires a parking attendant, a landscaped buffer and construction of a brick or concrete wall separating it from nearby homes.

The small, vacant lot was originally zoned residential. It has been the scene of noisy brawls, drinking and lewd behavior, all rankling nearby residents. In the first six months of this year, police have been called to the club 17 times and made three arrests.

Rick's is also planning an expansion, which was news to City Council members yesterday. It already has been approved and given a permit by the Department of Construction and Land Use, and the matter won't come to the council.

The request to rezone the parking lot is unrelated to the expansion plan. Rick's already has parking for 46 cars on its lot.

Nicastro says she set a new money-raising record last month, taking in $51,000 in large part because of contributions connected to Colacurcio.

There is no fund-raising violation if each contributor donated $650 or less of his or her own money. However a violation would have occurred if someone donated Colacurcio's -- or anyone else's -- money in his or her name.

Nicastro said yesterday some of those donors "distantly related" to Colacurcio or his topless nightclub have asked for have their money back. "They are feeling harassed by the press," Nicastro said.

The Ethics and Elections Commission yesterday refused to disclose whether it would investigate a recent flood of campaign contributions from Colacurcio and his associates to the campaigns of the three City Council members.

The commission does not want to unduly influence the outcome of pending elections by announcing that a candidate is or is not under investigation, said the Terry Thomas, the commission's executive director.

Colacurcio said he's perplexed about all the fuss.

"You should see what the big stink is all about -- seven parking spots," he said.

"It's not like a quarter acre. ... It was zoned residential, but the owners of the property were not allowed to park there, and you could not build there. The person behind wasn't willing to buy. What were we supposed to do with it?"

P-I reporter Kathy Mulady can be reached at 206-448-8029 or kathymulady@seattlepi.com

Add P-I Local headlines to