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Delaware gubernatorial candidate calls for investigation into primary rival's campaign finances

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Delaware gubernatorial candidate calls for investigation into primary rival's campaign finances


WILMINGTON, Del. — The chief executive of Delaware’s largest county is calling for a federal investigation into the campaign finances of the state’s lieutenant governor, who is his chief rival for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination.

New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer held a brief news conference Monday to respond to a forensic review commissioned by the state Department of Elections that uncovered significant improprieties in the campaign finances of Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long.

“Delawareans, all of us, deserve to be able to trust our elected officials and know that rules and laws apply to everyone, and apply to everyone equally,” Meyer said, decrying what he called Hall-Long’s “near-decade long illegal conduct.”

The forensic review, conducted by a retired FBI senior executive who is a certified fraud examiner, found that Hall-Long and her husband had received payments totaling $33,000 more than what she purportedly loaned to her campaign. It also found that Hall-Long’s husband and former campaign treasurer, Dana Long, wrote four campaign checks to himself but falsely reported that they had been written to someone else.

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Jeffrey Lampinski, the fraud examiner, also determined that, from January 2016 to December 2023, Dana Long wrote 112 checks from his wife’s campaign committee account to himself or to cash, and one check to his wife. The checks totaled just under $300,000 and should have been reported as campaign expenditures. Instead, Lampinski found, 109 were never reported in initial finance reports, and the other four, payable to Dana Long, were reported as being made to someone else.

“The report found that Ms. Hall-Long broke the law,” Meyer said. “The report provides evidence that she tried to cover it up, and was still covering it up until the last moment, when she asked our state election commissioner to keep the report detailing the illegalities confidential and not to release these findings to the public.”

A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Delaware declined to comment on Meyer’s call for a federal investigation.

Hall-Long’s campaign released a statement describing Meyer’s remarks as “totally unjustified.”

“Matt Meyer’s press conference today was a desperate political attack to distract the voters from the issues that matter most,” Hall-Long said in the statement. “As I’ve always done, I have voluntarily cooperated with the Delaware Department of Elections and I will continue to do just that.”

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Hall-Long has been under intense scrutiny since September, when she abruptly announced the postponement of a campaign event with Democratic Gov. John Carney that was to be held the next day, saying she needed to “attend to a personal, private matter.”

In reality, her campaign was in disarray after people brought in to lead the campaign discovered major discrepancies while reviewing years of finance reports. The scandal led to the resignations of Hall-Long’s campaign manager, chief fundraiser and campaign treasurer — who had replaced Dana Long as treasurer only five months earlier.

In late September, Hall-Long said she was working with “independent campaign finance experts and forensic accountants to thoroughly audit the finances.”

In October, she issued a “campaign audit update” declaring that an accounting firm hired “to audit records and receipts” found “no wrongdoings or violations.” She has refused to release a copy of the purported audit.

In fact, according to documents included in the report commissioned by the state elections commission, the firm hired by Hall-Long relied exclusively on information that she provided, conducted no audit, and made no determination about wrongdoing.

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“We will not audit or otherwise verify the data you submit to us,” Karen Remick, owner of Summit CPA Group, wrote in a Sept. 21 letter to Hall-Long’s campaign committee.

“Our engagement does not include any procedures designed to detect errors, fraud, theft, or other wrongdoing,” Remick added.

In November, Hall-Long submitted amended campaign finance reports covering a period of several years, acknowledging that she and her husband had made campaign-related expenses using personal credit cards and loans that had not been properly reported.

According to election officials, however, the amended reports still do not bring Hall-Long into compliance with state campaign finance laws. In an email earlier this month, election commissioner Anthony Albence assured Hall-Long that he would not refer the matter to Democratic Attorney General Kathy Jennings, but that he expected Hall-Long’s committee to take “prompt corrective action.”



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Delaware

State Police Investigating Fatal Crash in Wilmington

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State Police Investigating Fatal Crash in Wilmington


The Delaware State Police are investigating a fatal crash that occurred last night in Wilmington that left one man dead.

On December 24, 2024, at approximately 7:28 p.m., a blue 2009 Hyundai Elantra was traveling northbound on Thompson Bridge Road, north of Guyencourt Road. For reasons under investigation, the Hyundai traveled into the southbound lane of Thompson Bridge Road, and into the path of a black 2015 Mazda 6 that was traveling southbound. As a result, the front of the Hyundai struck the front of the Mazda in the southbound lane of Thompson Bridge Road. After the initial impact, the Mazda traveled in a northeast direction and came to a stop near a tree line. The Hyundai remained in the roadway due to being disabled and was subsequently struck by a white 2018 Kia Sportage traveling southbound on Thompson Bridge Road.

The preliminary investigation revealed the two occupants of the Hyundai were outside of the vehicle after the initial collision, and one of the occupants was struck by the Kia.

The driver of the Hyundai has not been determined at this time. The Hyundai was occupied by a 22-year-old man from Wilmington, Delaware, and an unidentified man. The 22-year-old man was taken to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His name is being withheld until his family and relatives are notified. The second occupant of the Hyundai was taken to an area hospital by EMS, where he was admitted for critical injuries.

The driver of the Mazda, a 45-year-old man from West Chester, Pennsylvania, was not injured.

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The driver of the Kia, a 31-year-old woman from Lincoln University, Pennsylvania, was taken to an area hospital by EMS for non-life-threatening injuries.

The roadway was closed for approximately 5.5 hours while the scene was investigated and cleared.

 

State Police Investigating Fatal Crash in Wilmington

 

The Delaware State Police Troop 2 Collision Reconstruction Unit continues to investigate this incident. Troopers are asking anyone who witnessed this collision to please contact Master Corporal R. Kunicki by calling 302-365-8417. Information may also be provided by sending a private Facebook message to the Delaware State Police or contacting Delaware Crime Stoppers at 1-800-847-3333.

If you or someone you know is a victim or witness of a crime, or you have lost a loved one to a sudden death and need assistance, the Delaware State Police Victim Services Unit / Delaware Victim Center is available to offer you support and resources 24 hours a day through a toll-free hotline at 1-800-VICTIM-1 (1-800-842-8461). You may also email the Victim Services Unit at [email protected].

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The post State Police Investigating Fatal Crash in Wilmington appeared first on Delaware State Police – State of Delaware.

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Bob Dylan’s ex-wife is from Delaware? He has family history with the First State

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Bob Dylan’s ex-wife is from Delaware? He has family history with the First State


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Bob Dylan’s new biopic, “A Complete Unknown,” is a reminder that an ex-wife of the music legend is from Delaware, although she doesn’t appear to be in the film.

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But more than that, Dylan, who is now 83, has also performed in the Small Wonder multiple times, and his son has gigged here, too.”A Complete Unknown” hits theaters Christmas Day. Whether or not you plan to see the film, here’s a look at Dylan’s history with Delaware.

Bob Dylan takes Firefly record from Paul McCartney

Most Delawareans probably recall Dylan’s last concert in the First State, held at Firefly Music Festival in The Woodlands of Dover on June 17, 2017. Dylan became the oldest performer to headline the festival at age 76, a title previously held by Sir Paul McCartney, who played Firefly on June 19, 2015, just one day after his 73rd birthday.

Bob Dylan’s ex-wife Sara Dylan is from Delaware

Just like Dylan’s new movie is titled “A Complete Unknown,” very little is “known” about his ex-wife Sara Dylan. But we do know she was born in Wilmington as Shirley Noznisky and married the folk legend in 1965. The couple divorced in 1977, according to People.com. The pair had four children together, including The Wallflowers frontman Jakob Dylan and director Jesse Dylan.His ex-wife inspired songs such as “Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands” from Bob Dylan’s landmark double-album “Blonde on Blonde” and “Sara” from 1976’s “Desire.”

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Sara Dylan was directed by Bob Dylan in his movie  

Sara Dylan played the role of Clara in the 1978 film that Bob directed and starred in titled “Renaldo and Clara.” The film is described on IMDB as “Bob Dylan on tour with the Rolling Thunder Revue in 1975; concert footage, documentary interviews and bizarre improvised character scenes.”

Jakob Dylan followed in Bob Dylan’s Delaware footsteps

Like father like son, Jakob Dylan’s band The Wallflowers also performed on the main stage at Firefly (although they didn’t headline it as the elder Dylan did). But Jakob has bragging rights for being the first Dylan in the family to play Firefly because he was there in the festival’s inaugural year, which is the first and only year it was held in July. The Wallflowers played Firefly on opening day: July 20, 2012.

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Bob Dylan played other Delaware concerts before Firefly

Although Firefly was Dylan’s biggest concert in the First State, it certainly wasn’t his first rodeo here. The superstar graced the stage at the Bob Carpenter Center in Newark on Nov. 20, 1999, and April 12, 2013. Sandwiched between those shows, he played a concert at the legendary Kahunaville in Wilmington on June 8, 2004, per Setlist.fm.

What is Bob Dylan’s ‘A Complete Unknown’ about?

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“A Complete Unknown” is a biopic about Bob Dylan starring Timothée Chalamet and Elle Fanning. The film follows Dylan’s four key years from 1961-1965. According to IMDB’s cast list, it looks like Sara Dylan isn’t featured in the film.  

The project includes footage shot nearby in Cape May, New Jersey, this past May. Vintage cars took over the streets for the film, and signage changed the Jersey city into the scene of the 1965 Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island.

That Folk Festival scene was inspired by Dylan’s historic moment when he famously flipped the script and played an electric set at the festival, a move that was met with a chorus of boos from the crowd, History.com reported.

Where can I watch Bob Dylan’s ‘A Complete Unknown?’

For theater locations, visit fandango.com.

News Journal reporter Ryan Cormier contributed to this report, and so did Kaitlyn McCormick of the Cherry Hill Courier-Post, a sister publication of The News Journal.

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If you have an interesting story idea, email lifestyle reporter Andre Lamar at alamar@gannett.com. Consider signing up for his weekly newsletter, DO Delaware, at delawareonline.com/newsletters. 





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Fire heavily damages logistics business in Newark, Delaware

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Fire heavily damages logistics business in Newark, Delaware


Fire heavily damages logistics business in Newark, Delaware – CBS Philadelphia

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Fire ripped through a logistics business in Newark, Delaware Tuesday afternoon.
Chopper 3 was over Main Street around 2 p.m.
Firefighters arrived to find flames shooting from the two-story building that was heavily damaged.
No one was injured.

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