The legal troubles of FCC Chairman Kevin Martin's chief of staff, Dan Gonzalez, were the subject of a lengthy story in the New York Times business section Thursday.
The Times story was a feature on his investment and membership on the board of energy company McCube Petroleum, which has come under ongoing scrutiny as part of a fraud investigation involving a total of $54 million in investments. Some lenders claim he and others personally guaranteed millions in loans. Gonzalez has denied the claims, said The Times.
There is no evidence Gonzalez committed any crime or violated ethics laws, says the paper, pointing out that he got the OK from the FCC's ethics office. But it points out that Gonzalez has been a key figure in shaping FCC policy for Chairman Martin and that commission officials—none were named—were surprised at what they considered his carelessness in involving himself with the company.
An FCC spokesman had not returned a call about the story, but the news of Gonzalez involvement was not new, having been reported on by Multichannel News' Ted Hearn back in December.
