Loudoun Official Tried To Capitalize On Contacts

Tulloch, who is running for reelection to represent the Potomac area, declined repeated requests to be interviewed and responded to written questions with a short statement, saying that any suggestion of a possible conflict of interest "is entirely without merit." He added that he will "continue to fully cooperate" with investigators.

"I have always acted in a manner consistent with both the letter and the spirit of the law," Tulloch wrote. "I am not going to provide details relating to my marketing, business, and personal discussions that are unrelated to my service on the Board of Supervisors."

Tulloch has previously defended his business ventures, saying he needs additional income to supplement his current earnings. He works full time as a food service manager at Sodexho, and his part-time job as a supervisor pays $22,400 a year. In addition to the Harley dealership, he has considered opening a pizza franchise in the county and has looked into an ice cream shop.

"Quite frankly, what I earn here at the county and what I earn as a Sodexho manager is not enough to do what I do," he said in an interview last year.

Tulloch has portrayed himself as a dealmaker, describing his role in one real estate venture in South Carolina, where he owns property. "You put the deal together and people buy it and you get paid a service fee but never own the properties," he said last year.

In a brief interview this year, Tulloch said, "How I finance my life . . . doesn't affect my public life."

Name-Dropping

Last winter, Tulloch dropped into a real estate office in Surfside Beach, S.C. Bill McKown, a property manager, said Tulloch wanted to talk about opportunities in South Carolina. "He said to me, 'Listen, we are looking for tracts. I got this national developer up there that I deal with, and we are looking for 100-acre tracts and above to develop,' " recalled McKown, referring to a developer from Northern Virginia.

Another South Carolina businessman, developer Matt Scalise, said that when he told Tulloch last year that he was involved in developing a spa and health club as part of a 60-acre oceanfront resort, Tulloch mentioned Sheila Johnson. "He kept bringing up the fact that Sheila was a potential candidate to become a partner. . . . He was talking to her supposedly on my behalf," Scalise said.

Tulloch suggested that he was "somewhat of an adviser to her," Scalise said, adding that Johnson's involvement "never materialized." He and McKown, a Surfside Beach Town Council member, said they became skeptical of Tulloch's claims.

Johnson, when asked about a potential investment in South Carolina involving Tulloch, said, "This is the first I've ever heard about it."

Through a spokeswoman, she declined to answer further questions, saying in a statement that she "wants to preserve the integrity" of the federal investigation. Johnson "has always complied with all local, state and federal rules which govern the provision of gifts and gratuities to public officials," the statement said.

A top executive of hers said Tulloch was involved in a business discussion involving Johnson's WNBA team. Curtis Symonds, the team's chief operating officer, said Johnson directed him to contact Tulloch about the names of potential corporate sponsors. The meeting took place in the fall, according to Tulloch's calendar.