Feb 10, 1:53 PM EST


FBI raids lobbying firm with ties to Pa. lawmaker



WASHINGTON (AP) -- A Virginia-based lobbying firm tied to Rep. John Murtha has been raided by federal authorities.

Patrick Dorton, a spokesman for PMA Group, said Tuesday the company is cooperating with authorities, but offered few other details.

ABC News first reported Monday that the firm in Arlington, Va., was raided in November by the FBI.

Murtha, D-Pa., chairs the powerful defense appropriations subcommittee, which funds military operations. Matt Mazonkey, a spokesman for Murtha, said the congressman has "absolutely not" been contacted by any federal agency.

"No one is suggesting that Jack Murtha is involved, has anything to do with this. Period," Mazonkey said.

FBI officials in Washington had no immediate comment.

Taxpayers for Common Sense, a watchdog group, said Murtha obtained $38 million in federal earmarks for PMA's clients in the last fiscal year. The firm was founded in 1989 by Paul Magliochetti, a former top aide on the committee Murtha chairs.


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END of Associated Press Release