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Kinde Durkee investigation requires more time, prosecutors say

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Three months after the arrest of campaign treasurer Kinde Durkee on suspicion of mishandling political funds from a state lawmaker’s account, federal prosecutors said Tuesday they need more time to complete their investigation to determine whether other politicians lost money.

A federal judge on Tuesday granted the request of Assistant U.S. Atty. John K. Vincent to delay a preliminary hearing that had been scheduled for Friday for Durkee, and instead hold it Jan. 26.

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Durkee agreed to the postponement in a court filing in which Vincent wrote ‘the arrest in this case occurred at a time before the investigation was completed, and ... the case is complex given the number of clients of Ms. Durkee and bank accounts involved.’

Durkee was in charge of more than 360 bank accounts for almost 100 candidates. They include U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein and state Sen. Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana), both of whom believe they lost campaign funds to Durkee.

Durkee was arrested and jailed Sept. 2 on a mail fraud charge as part of allegations she took more than $677,000 in 2010 from the campaign account of Assemblyman Jose Solorio (D-Santa Ana) and covered up by filing false campaign reports.

‘The government needs additional time to conclude its investigation, including reviewing, analyzing and synthesizing materials that have recently been acquired and that it anticipates will be acquired in the relatively near future,’ Vincent wrote in the court filing Tuesday.

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--Patrick McGreevy, reporting from Sacramento

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