ACORN manager sentenced to probation

LAS VEGAS (AP) - A former supervisor for the defunct political advocacy group ACORN was sentenced to a year of probation after prosecutors said she oversaw a program where canvassers were illegally paid to register Nevada voters during the 2008 presidential campaign.

District Judge Donald Mosley ordered Amy Busefink Monday to perform 100 hours of community service and pay a $4,000 fine as part of her probation. The fine was $3,000 more than recommended by state prosecutors, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Busefink pleaded no contest in November to two counts of conspiracy to commit the crime of compensation for registration of voters. She didn't admit guilt but acknowledged that prosecutors could prove their case against her.

The Nevada attorney general's office is still pursuing a case against ACORN, which dissolved after declaring Chapter 7 bankruptcy last year.

Busefink's attorney, Kevin Stolworthy, said she was glad to put the criminal case behind her.

"She's sorry that this happened on her watch," Stolworthy told the Review-Journal.

The debate over whether Busefink didn't anything wrong, however, is far from over.

A provision in the plea agreement will allow Stolworthy to make an appeal to the state Supreme Court about the constitutionality of the statute used to convict Busefink.

"Somebody needs to clean this statute up," Stolworthy said.

Nevada law states it is "unlawful for a person to provide compensation for registering voters that is based upon the total number of voters a person registers."

The Nevada attorney general's office says ACORN and Busefink authorized a Las Vegas field operative to run an illegal voter-registration program during the 2008 election cycle that encouraged workers to sign up voters through cash rewards.

ACORN, the Association of Com-munity Organizations for Reform Now, also set up an illegal quota policy that required workers to register a certain number of people per shift, according to authorities.

The field operative who created and ran the incentive program, Christopher Edwards, is serving three years of probation after pleading guilty to two gross misdemeanors. Edwards is expected to testify against ACORN under the plea deal.

ACORN officials claim Edwards was told not to run the incentive program. Busefink oversaw Edwards.

The program, called Blackjack or 21-Plus, rewarded employees with $5 extra per shift if they turned in 21 or more completed voter registration cards.

ACORN faces 13 counts of compensation for registration of voters. A trial is scheduled for April 25 before Mosley.

ACORN faces fines up to $5,000 per count if convicted. The state would then have to fight in bankruptcy court to claim money from the defunct organization.