Report: Dewhurst campaign manager allegedly embezzled funds

Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst's campaign manager allegedly stole at least $600,000, but possibly more than $1 million, from the Republican's campaign account.

According to the Dallas Morning News, Kenneth Barfield, who managed Dewhurst's 2010 reelection campaign for lieutenant governor as well as his failed bid for Senate this year, is accused of falsifying filings with the Texas Ethics Commission that reported a far higher total cash on hand than the actual total.

The accusation currently only encompasses Dewhurst's state campaigns, not his Senate race. But the discrepancies go back five years, and Dewhurst's campaign committee filed 11 amended reports with the state ethics commission, each of which shows steeply diminished actual total cash on hand, compared to what was originally filed.

Corrected reports filed with the state ethics commission stated that "it was recently discovered, unknown to the officeholder and the treasurer of the committee, that the contribution balance shown on the original report was false."

When confronted with the irregularities, Barfield reportedly offered to repay the money, according to the The Dallas Morning News, but when he was unable to do so, campaign officials took the issue to the ethics commission.

Dewhurst's spokesman, Rob Johnson, told The Dallas Morning News that the lieutenant governor was “shocked and dismayed that a former senior trusted adviser would steal from the campaign account for his own personal gain. The proper authorities have been contacted and we will work with them and trust that the matter will be handled appropriately.”

--This post has been updated.

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