Was Hiring Mistress A Crime?

ABC News is reporting that FBI agents have questioned witnesses to determine whether Rep. Tim Mahoney violated federal laws by putting his former mistress on the congressional payroll.

Investigators are focusing on whether Mahoney, 52, made false statements when he put Patricia Allen, 50, in his congressional office.

West Palm Beach agents flew to Washington D.C., in December to question Mahoney staffers. They have also interviewed people in Florida, but the probe does not appear to have reached a grand jury, ABC concluded. An FBI official could not be reached for comment.

Mahoney, D-Palm Beach Gardens, admitted to having multiple affairs. But, he said, "I haven't violated my oath of office. I haven't broken any laws."

ABC News broke the story in October that Mahoney, a multi-millionaire venture capitalist, secretly used his own money to pay Allen and her attorney $120,000, and promised her a $50,000 a year job for two years at his campaign advertising agency so she wouldn't file a sexual harassment lawsuit.

ABCNews.com also reported how he also helped a Martin County official, with whom he was having another affair, win a $3.4 million FEMA hurricane cleanup reimbursement grant. Mahoney appealed directly to Administrator R. David Paulison while doing little to aid other counties in his district with similar requests, Mahoney staffers said.

Mahoney was elected in 2006 after his predecessor, Republican Mark Foley, sent lewd Internet messages to teenage Congressional pages.

Staffers say Mahoney met Allen at a campaign stop and arranged for her to volunteer with the campaign. Allen also appeared in a Mahoney campaign television commercial, criticizing his opponent.

Allen was hired to work on Mahoney's congressional staff in Florida, at a $36,000 yearly salary. After complaints about the affair circulated in Washington, Allen was moved to the campaign staff.

Allen broke off the affair when she learned Mahoney had other mistresses, so the congressman retaliated by firing her, according to published reports by ABC, MSNBC and the Associated Press.

"You work at my pleasure," Mahoney told Allen on a Jan. 20, 2008 telephone call that was recorded. ABCNews.com has Web links to the audio recording.

After the report, Mahoney called for a House Ethics Committee investigation of his own conduct and predicted he would be cleared of wrongdoing. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also called for an investigation.

Allen and her attorney have not returned repeated telephone calls to the media.