PHOENIX - Four state senators in Arizona have filed amended disclosure reports saying they received gifts from the Fiesta Bowl as the bowl faces criticism for giving lawmakers tickets to sporting events and picking up their costs for junkets.
The reports were filed Wednesday by Democratic Sen. Paula Aboud of Tucson and Democratic Sens. Robert Meza and Steve Gallardo of Phoenix. Republican Sen. John McComish of Phoenix filed his report on Thursday.
The four didn't list in earlier reports that they received gifts from the bowl, but now say they each got a gift worth more than $500 during one year.
McComish, Aboud and Gallardo didn't specify in their amended reports whether their gifts were for bowl tickets or bowl-related events. Meza's filing says his gift was for a bowl-related event in Los Angeles.
McComish said in an interview that the Fiesta Bowl scandal prompted him to check to see whether his disclosure report was correct - and it turned out it wasn't. He described the omission as an oversight, but he doesn't regret accepting the ticket to a University of Texas football game in Dallas during 2009.
"The reason for going was that the Fiesta Bowl is important to the state, and we were asked to go there to represent the government and talk to representatives of the Big 12 (Conference)," McComish said.
Calls to Aboud, Meza and Gallardo weren't immediately returned Thursday afternoon.
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