Mayor Marvin Pratt said the just concluded John Doe investigation into his campaign finances, as well as reports he was behind in his bills were politically motivated by his opponent Tom Barrett.

Barrett, however, denied Pratt’s allegations, saying it was the mayor who is responsible for his predicament, not him.

Speaking at a news conference Monday in front of his Northside home, with his wife Dianne by his side, Pratt charged that the investigation into his finances and questions about his integrity that have dominated the media were timed to sway voters during the critical weeks leading up to the April 6 election.

Noting he was exonerated by a federal probe late last year regarding city hall corruption, Pratt believes the allegations levied against him three weeks ago—particularly reports of a $116,000 discrepancy in his campaign’s bank account—came at the "11th hour" to see if his detractors could "get him."

The $116,000 gap was blamed on bookkeeping errors by the Pratt campaign, which hired former IRS investigator Michael Span two weeks ago to look into the discrepancies in the candidate’ finances.

"I accept responsibility for mistakes made," Pratt said at the news conference, adding he was going to move ahead with his campaign now that the County District Attorney’s office filed a civil complaint against him for campaign finance law violations.

During an earlier news conference that day, District Attorney E. Michael McCann said Pratt would be fined $2,500 for not reporting campaign-related payments, and making unexplained payments to himself from the campaign fund.

Pratt said the payments were reimbursements for expenses he paid out of pocket.

Pratt said he would pay the fine. He has already filed an amended finance report with the City Election Commission.

Rodney Cubbie, Pratt’s attorney, reportedly said the mayor many campaign expenses out of his own pocket, adding the campaign probably owes him money he may never recover.

According to reports, the complaint says Pratt had not publicly disclosed 53 checks he received and deposited in his campaign account, including $2,500 each from Chaudhry Asifrana and his wife; a $1,000 check from attorney and adviser John Daniels, and $500 from Milwaukee County Board Chairman Lee Holloway.

The secret John Doe probe was prompted by a complaint filed by a Southside citizen last November.