Payday Lender's Board Adds Ex-Lobbyist

The payday lender Advance America Cash Advance Centers Inc. has appointed Tony S. Colletti, a veteran lawyer and lobbyist, to its board of directors.

Advance America in Spartanburg, S.C., announced the appointment Friday. Mr. Colletti is a former executive vice president of the Community Financial Services Association, a trade group representing payday lenders. He handled state and federal legislative affairs for the group from 2004 to 2007, when he opened the Chicago public affairs firm Colletti & Associates.

Mr. Colletti's 30 years of experience include being a "government relations specialist" and practicing "business and real estate development law for a number of firms and associations," according to Advance America.

Billy Webster, Advance America's chairman, called Mr. Colletti "one of the premier government relations experts in the United States" in a press release.

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