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FPPC Complaint Reveals Maloof Lawyer Funding Effort To Stop Sacramento Kings Arena

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — The Maloof saga appears to not be over as a complaint filed with a state political watchdog has led to the discovery the family's attorney is funding an effort to stop construction of a new arena.

They no longer own the Sacramento Kings, but the Maloof family is back in Sacramento arena headlines, along with Scott Zolke of the law firm Loeb and Loeb.

New revelations related to a complaint to the Fair Political Practices Commission show Zolke's law firm paid an undisclosed $25,000 toward a new political effort to stop the Kings' downtown arena by putting it on the ballot.

Zolke has not returned requests for comment.

Joe Maloof denied his family's involvement in a phone call this afternoon.

"I knew nothing about it, absolutely nothing about it," he said. "We've moved on with our lives. We're going very well. We love the city of Sacramento, wish them all the best. We have nothing but good wishes for Sacramento. We hope they get the arena done, and we're going to move on."

The complaint filed with the FPPC by a pro-downtown arena group led to the discovery, which now shows a previously hidden, lengthy money trail—one that stretches from paid arena-ballot signature gatherers and leads to the Maloof's Loeb and Loeb attorneys.

Although the money trail could grow longer, the FPPC will be asking the law firm to disclose who paid them to issue its $25,000 check.

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