Yolo County Sheriff Indicted in FBI Sting

Yolo County Sheriff Rod Graham became the first elected official to be indicted in a three-year political corruption probe when a federal grand jury charged him Friday with offering to “manufacture” crime statistics in exchange for campaign contributions.

The payments came from a developer working with the FBI who reportedly told Graham that he hoped to convince officials of the need for a big marina project on the Sacramento River by showing them that the proposed site was a haven for criminal activity.

Graham, in a brief written statement, said the indictment came as “no surprise” because his former undersheriff, Wendell Luttrull, had implicated him last month after agreeing to plead guilty in a related case.

Now on sick leave while recovering from a bleeding ulcer, the 47-year-old sheriff said, “I intend to have my day in court.”

Charged with six counts of bribery, extortion and conspiracy, Graham faces a maximum sentence of 75 years in federal prison and a fine of more than $1 million.

Sources familiar with the federal investigation say the indictments of the two law enforcement officials are the first of many expected to emerge from an FBI sting operation dubbed Brispec (for bribery--special interest), aimed at uncovering corruption in the Legislature.

These sources, who asked not to be identified, said they expect a number of lawmakers and legislative aides to be charged with violations of federal extortion and bribery statutes over the next several months.

The FBI has developed strong cases against several targets of the probe, the sources said. U.S. Atty. David F. Levi, who is in charge of the investigation, is proceeding cautiously while FBI agents continue to pursue leads developed after a late-night raid of Capitol offices last August.

Drug Use Probed

The investigators are routinely asking witnesses about possible drug use in the Capitol, according to two of the sources. The Internal Revenue Service has also been brought into the investigation.

Levi refused to comment on any future indictments at a press conference called to announce Friday’s grand jury action.

The latest indictment charges that in 1986, Graham and Luttrull approached Marvin Levin, a partner in Lighthouse Marina, a proposed $600-million marina and condominium development in a largely undeveloped stretch of riverfront in West Sacramento.

The two law enforcement officials offered to “manufacture” the crime statistics in return for $3,650 in contributions to Graham’s reelection campaign, according to the indictment. It also charges that the pair agreed to launder the money to conceal the source.

At the time, Levin, a one-time Capitol lobbyist, was secretly working with the FBI to help set up an elaborate undercover operation. In the sting, FBI agents posing as businessmen offered lawmakers and their aides campaign contributions and other payments in exchange for help with special-interest bills that would benefit phony companies set up for the sting.

Meetings Recorded

Wearing a tape recorder stuffed into a cowboy boot, Levin recorded a series of meetings with Graham and Luttrull at Sacramento area restaurants, Levin told The Times last year. At one of those sessions, Levin gave Luttrull an envelope containing 20 $100 bills, an illegal cash contribution that was later deposited in a campaign raffle fund in order to hide the source, according to court documents.

At another meeting, Levin gave the sheriff a check for $1,650 written on the account of Gulf Shrimp Fisheries Inc., one of the FBI’s sting companies. Luttrull cashed the check and turned over the proceeds to Graham, according to a statement Luttrull filed as part of his guilty plea last month. The sheriff gave Luttrull about $400 to cover his campaign expenses, Luttrull said.

At a later dinner meeting attended by Graham, Levin said, he went over the details of the arrangements he had made with the sheriff as FBI agents sat at a nearby table, recording the conversation on videotape with a camera concealed in a purse.

Levi has repeatedly applauded Levin’s conduct and did so again Friday, praising the developer for “coming forward as all citizens must if the laws are to be faithfully executed.”

Graham joined the Yolo County Sheriff’s Department as a deputy 20 years ago. He was elected sheriff in 1982. In his reelection campaign four years later, he spent $24,330 and won 54% of the vote.

Luttrull was Graham’s top assistant until last Aug. 1, when he stepped down, citing personal reasons. In the 1986 campaign, he was Graham’s chief fund-raiser. Friction later developed between the two, and Luttrull threatened to run against Graham in the next election.

Plea Bargain

Last month, Luttrull pleaded guilty to one count of extortion. The maximum penalty for the offense is 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. In exchange for his guilty plea and his continued cooperation with prosecutors, he was promised a sentence of no more than six months in a halfway house.

Under federal law, it is a crime for a public official to demand campaign contributions or other payments in return for official action.

The sting operation came to an abrupt halt on Aug. 24, when about 30 FBI agents armed with search warrants swept into the Capitol, retrieving documents from the offices of Assemblyman Pat Nolan (R-Glendale); Karen Watson, a Nolan aide; Assemblywoman Gwen Moore (D-Los Angeles); Tyrone Netters, a Moore aide; Assemblyman Frank Hill (R-Whittier), and Sen. Joseph B. Montoya (D-Whittier). All have been identified as targets of the probe, as has former Sen. Paul Carpenter, now a member of the State Board of Equalization.

The FBI funneled more than $74,000 to elected officials and their aides in the course of the sting operation, as agents posing as businessmen pushed for the passage of bills that supposedly would help them build a shrimp processing plant in the Sacramento area.