Ron Brown’s Son on Probation for Illegal Donation

WASHINGTON — The son of the late Commerce Secretary Ron Brown was placed on three years’ supervised probation Friday and fined $5,000 for making an illegal contribution to a Senate campaign.

Michael A. Brown, 32, had pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of making a contribution that exceeded the $2,000 limit on individual donations to a candidate.

U.S. District Judge Ricardo Urbina also ordered Brown to perform 150 hours of community service and pay $7,818--in addition to the fine--to cover the cost of supervised probation.

Brown, a Washington lawyer, admitted in an Aug. 28 plea that he gave $2,000 to his secretary and $1,000 apiece to two co-workers, to donate to the 1994 reelection campaign of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.).