Monday, July 23, 2012

ATLANTA (AP) -- Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal has agreed to pay $3,350 to settle three ethics complaints filed against him over his 2010 gubernatorial campaign.

The state ethics commission also dismissed four additional complaints against the Republican governor on Monday. They included a charge that raised questions about how Deal's campaign paid for private aircraft use when he was co-owner of North Georgia Aviation, and a charge that he improperly used funds from his gubernatorial campaign to pay legal fees stemming from a federal probe relating to his term as a U.S. congressman.

Under the consent agreement reached between Deal and the commission, the governor admitted to "technical defects" in multiple financial disclosure reports. An investigation by commission staff found a total of 53 violations and imposed a fee of $50 per violation.

(Copyright 2012, The Associated Press)