Atlanta Unfiltered

More than $90,000 improperly paid to U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal’s chief of staff has wound up in the hands of a Gainesville charity, campaign records show.

Chris Riley, Deal’s top congressional aide, had to return more than $90,000 to the campaign last year because the payments exceeded outside income limits for highly paid Congressional staffers. Roll Call, the Capitol Hill newspaper, originally reported the excess payments.

House rules limit outside income for senior staffers making six-figure salaries and require that they file disclosures of their personal finances. Riley did not disclose the payments from Deal’s campaign, which amounted to about $191,000 from 2004 through 2007.

Deal’s latest disclosure report, filed April 15, shows the congressman’s campaign account wrote a check in February for $91,124 to Good News at Noon. The Gainesville charity provides meals, shelter, counseling and other services to the homeless.

In May, Deal announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for governor. Riley left Deal’s congressional office to become manager of that campaign.