McKee’s Lt. Gov. Finalist Perik’s Husband Tied to Multi-Million Dollar Govt. Contract Controversy

McKee’s Lt. Gov. Finalist Perik’s Husband Tied to Multi-Million Dollar Govt. Contract Controversy

Liz Perik and her husband Michael have been mega-Democratic political donors. Now, she is one of Dan McKee’s five finalists to serve as Rhode Island Lt. Governor.

The Periks have made millions in political donations over the past two decades -- and Michael Perik's companies have received millions in contracts linked to federal grants.

The Des Moines Register conducted a multi-year investigation into a major controversy regarding questionable contracts to a company run by Liz Perik’s husband’s company. When GoLocal reached the Lt. Governor candidate to discuss the issues with the use of federal monies, she said, “I am eating dinner and it's Sunday night.” She did not respond to GoLocal's request for a return call.

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Focus on Perik's Company 

Michael Perik was a central figure in the scrutiny in Iowa.  He donated approximately $100,000 to then-powerful U.S. Senator Tom Harkin and other Iowa officials.

Perik's company received more than $6 million in contracts -- a central element in an education industry controversy.

But, the issue was far bigger than just Iowa and impacted education groups across the country and touched Rhode Island.

According to EdWeek, “Ms. [Faye] Taylor, a former Tennessee state education commissioner, was a member of the board of the Education Leaders Council, the Washington-based group that landed nearly $33 million in congressional earmarks for the project. But the council, which was started in 1995 as a conservative-leaning policy organization for state schools chiefs and other education officials, ran into leadership and financial trouble.”

And tied to much of the conflict were Perik’s companies — he has been a leader in the education industry — big business and big contracts.

“Two companies are the main vendors for Following the Leaders’ services: Achievement Technologies Inc. of Newton, Mass., which provides software that helps teachers monitor students’ skills using tests that are aligned with each state’s academic standards, and The Princeton Review, a New York City-based test-preparation company, which offers a Web-based tutorial program to help students sharpen their skills," reported EdWeek.

"Iowa has the largest number of schools in the program, Ms. Taylor said. The Iowa School Boards Association provides the program for some 225 schools there. An estimated 123 schools in Alaska participate in FTL, along with 48 in Tennessee, 35 each in Ohio and West Virginia, 34 in Mississippi, 24 in Illinois, 13 in Pennsylvania, and seven in Rhode Island,” reported EdWeek.

Perik served as Chief Executive Officer of Achievement Technologies from 2000 to 2006 and then sold the company. And, then Perik was CEO of Princeton Review starting in 2007 to 2010.

In March of 2010, the Register unveiled the business relationships between the range of companies, the federal earmarks and the campaign donations.

“Skills Iowa buys software from U.S. Skills, a company run by Michael Perik of Rhode Island. Over the past 10 years, Perik has contributed more than $1 million to various Democratic Party campaign committees around the nation,” reported the newspaper in 2010.

“Donations have included $25,000 to Gov. Chet Culver’s campaign committee and $13,800 to Harkin’s campaign committees and to Tom PAC, an organization Harkin uses to support other Democrats. State records indicate Perik has also contributed $31,000 to the Iowa Democratic Party,” reported the paper.

“In late 2004, after securing $30 million in federal funding, questions were raised about the for-profit’s relationship with its biggest vendors. The concern was that Following the Leaders was accepting financial support from the same companies it was giving taxpayer-funded contracts for software,” wrote the Register. 

“The for-profit companies were Achievement Technologies and the Princetown Review. Tax records show that in 2005 Following the Leaders spent almost 80 percent of its annual budget — $6.8 million —with the two companies as payments for “education consulting.”

Ultimately, according to the newspaper the FBI and the Iowa attorney general both conducted investigations. Overbilling was uncovered as well as questionable use of credit cards. The programs came unraveled after the inquiries.

 

 

Contributions Iowa, RI, and Across Country

The Register by 2010 had tracked approximately $100,000 to Iowa state and federal officials, but that pales in donations in Rhode Island and federal donations. In Rhode Island, the Periks have donated approximately $130,000 just to Rhode Island state candidates according to RI Campaign Finance reports, including $11,000 just to former Governor Gina Raimondo. 

The couple has made millions in federal donations -- more than 500 total donations according to Federal Election Commission.