A name from an old Kansas political scandal is at the center of a new Texas political scandal.

The Dallas Morning News reported today that Kenneth “Buddy” Barfield, an Austin political consultant who this year managed Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst’s failed run for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate, has been accused by Dewhurst of stealing at least $600,000 from campaign funds. The newspaper and The Associated Press report that they have been unable to contact Barfield for comment.

A criminal investigation is under way and here is a link to that story: http://dallasne.ws/Tuq0jv

Barfield, a former employee of Koch Industries, was also a key figure in reports in 1996 that linked a $1 million political ad blitz with Wichita billionaire Charles Koch that helped four Kansas Republicans get elected to Congress, including current Gov. Sam Brownback, who was elected to the U.S. Senate that year. Brownback and the other three Republicans said they had nothing to do with the ads.

Here is a link to a report on that controversy from 1996: http://bit.ly/W5DyAb