Oh my, oh my, oh my...you knew this day would come.

The article in today's News-Times about the latest in the Galante saga doesn't quite tell the complete story.

A Danbury businessman indicted last year in a federal probe of mob influence in the trash industry is facing new state charges of making illegal campaign contributions, his lawyer said Friday.

James Galante planned to turn himself in at the Bethany state police barracks Friday to face six counts of illegal campaign contributions, his attorney, Hugh Keefe, said.

Galante allegedly made about $38,000 in contributions to three political action committees in 2002 through straw donors, Keefe said. The PACS were not identified, Keefe said, and he would not disclose whom the alleged contributions were for.

Come with me to the Hartford Courant, get the DETAILS, and prepare yourself for a new round of excuses from two of the most honest Republicans in Connecticut that I know.

An indicted garbage executive who has been linked to state Sen. Louis DeLuca is likely to be arrested, perhaps as early as today, on charges of hiding campaign contributions to DeLuca and two other political figures, people familiar with the case said this week.

The charges are expected to be filed by state prosecutors and reflect allegations that garbage executive James Galante, in 2002, tried to disguise the fact that he was the source of nearly $40,000 in campaign contributions.

The funds went to DeLuca, R-Woodbury, state Sen. David J. Cappiello, R-Danbury, and an elected Republican municipal official from western Connecticut, where Galante operates a variety of trash hauling businesses. The people familiar with the case would not confirm the identify of the municipal official.

Hmm...an ELECTED MUNICIPAL OFFICIAL FROM WESTERN CONNECTICUT. Now who could they be talking about?

In cases of bundled donations, individual contributors typically exceed the legal $1,000 contribution limit by passing money through third parties. In Galante's case, he is accused of contributing $15,000 to DeLuca, $15,000 to Cappiello and $8,000 to the municipal official. The people familiar with the case said he passed the money in $1,000 increments through employees of his various trash businesses, their family members or their friends.

The filing of campaign finance charges should have a minimal legal impact on Galante, who already faces substantial prison time if convicted of an array of federal racketeering, tax and other offenses. He is accused in a federal indictment, returned in June 2005, of using New York mob muscle to carve up the western Connecticut trash business and inflate prices. He denies the charges and is scheduled to be tried in a year.

But there could be political ramifications for the politicians if they are linked to illegal contributions.

Hopefully, the well-known ELECTED MUNICIPAL OFFICIAL FROM WESTERN CONNECTICUT can do a better job in damage control than Cappiello.

Cappiello said that in 2002, Galante was a respected businessman who was widely known for his charitable giving - although he had recently been jailed on a tax charge. During that time, Galante had donated $3 million to causes in Cappiello's Senate District such as the American Red Cross and a local high school. "He was a philanthropist - at least I thought he was," Cappiello said.

More recently, after reading a Courant report about Galante contributions to a DeLuca political action committee, Cappiello said he became concerned about contributions he had received. He said he began "Googling" the names of donors to his political action committee. As a result, he said he learned that one of his contributors had been indicted with Galante.

With that knowledge, Cappiello said he contacted state and federal authorities, whose identities he would not disclose.

"I met with them a few times, and they informed me that, yes, indeed, that there were contributions to the PAC that were illegal," Cappiello said.

Googling Dave, Googling? Come on, my daughter can whip up a better whopper than that...and she can't walk yet.

I can't wait to hear the the well-known ELECTED MUNICIPAL OFFICIAL FROM WESTERN CONNECTICUT'S excuse.

Gotta go...I have go look at someone's campaign financial statements (and PACs) from the last six years. While I'm at it, maybe I should take a look at the history of the ice rink (extra seats, inspections). I want to be prepared when the you-know-what hits the fan.