Bank records show that a secretive conservative group took payment from a Republican legislative candidate about the time it sent out independent mailers attacking his opponent.
    
The Western Tradition Partnership bank records show Dan Kennedy's 2010 winning campaign wrote WTP a check for $557.50 after WTP had filled mailboxes with attacks against primary opponent Debra Bonogofsky of Laurel.
    
Bonogofsky says the check is proof that Kennedy and WTP were illegally coordinating their campaigns.
    
Kennedy did not return a call seeking comment.
    
WTP now goes by American Tradition Partnership and is based in Virginia. A spokesman on Monday denied that the check shows coordination, and suggested the check from Kennedy may have just been a "donation."
    
The bank records were released under court order Friday to PBS' "Frontline," which published them.