Coelho Leads in Outside Fees

California House members Monday reported collecting large amounts of honorariums and free trips from special interest groups in 1988, with House Majority Whip Tony Coelho (D-Merced) leading the pack at $90,100 in appearance fees.

Along with Coelho, who reported the third-highest total of all 435 House members, three other Californians were also in the top 10. They were Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles) at $71,750, Robert T. Matsui (D-Sacramento) with $53,500 and Vic Fazio (D-Sacramento) at $47,500.

Coelho, who ranks third in the House Democratic leadership, earned honorariums far in excess of those reported by Speaker Jim Wright of Texas and Majority Leader Thomas S. Foley of Washington, who rank first and second. Coelho’s finances have been questioned by House Republicans in connection with a 1986 junk bond purchase and his large honorarium earnings are expected to draw further GOP fire.

Contributed to Charity

By law, members of Congress must give away all honorariums exceeding 30% of their salaries. Thus Coelho, according to the financial disclosure reports made public Monday, contributed $63,575 of his honorariums to charity--most of them small contributions of no more than $250 each to a wide variety of groups, mainly in his home district. Among the recipients was the so-called “Coelho fund” at UCLA.

Among the fees that Coelho received from 53 speeches was $2,000 from Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc., the junk bond specialist, which recently settled a huge securities fraud case with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission. Drexel also paid Coelho’s air fare from Iowa to Los Angeles for the speaking engagement.

Drexel was the underwriter of the $100,000 junk bond that Coelho purchased in 1986 with the assistance of Thomas Spiegel, the chief officer of Columbia Savings & Loan Assn. in Los Angeles, which has heavily invested in Drexel junk bonds. Spiegel is also known to be under investigation by the SEC and a federal prosecutor in New York.

Among Coelho’s many free trips were a 5-day jaunt to Tel Aviv, which was paid for by a group known as Project Interchange. He also reported trips to Miami and Palm Beach paid for by the American Trucking Assn., and to Palm Springs courtesy of the Tobacco Institute.

Coelho placed most of his assets into a blind trust early last year, and any transactions thereafter are not listed on his report. Coelho refuses to discuss any of his investments in detail, even those he held before creating the blind trust. However, he did report on his 1988 form that he paid off two loans last year by refinancing his home.

Connections to Groups

In most cases, there are clear connections between the Californians who collected speaking fees and trips and the groups that donated them. Waxman, who heads a subcommittee on health and the environment, reported fees for several speeches before health-care organizations.

But other Californians reported gifts that suggested no such connections.

Rep. Wally Herger (R-Yuba City), who sits on the House Agricultural Committee, reported taking a 13-day trip to South Africa and a 10-day trip to Turkey, both paid for by foreign-policy think tanks. A spokesman for Herger said that on the trips he “met with key agricultural leaders, both in the private and public sector,” to help open export markets.

Other Californians who received free trips included Mervyn M. Dymally (D-Compton), who visited Africa, Saudi Arabia, Tokyo and Brazil; Al McCandless (R-Bermuda Dunes), who traveled to Greece and Cyprus, and Matsui, who reported 22 trips paid for by a variety of organizations.

Rep. Carlos J. Moorhead (R-Glendale) received free trips to Las Vegas and Los Angeles courtesy of the National Assn. of Broadcasters and the National Cable Television Assn. Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-Panorama City) received a free trip to Israel from the American Friends of Tel Aviv University.

CALIFORNIANS IN THE HONORARIUM DERBY

Total Given to Congressman Honorariums Charity Douglas H. Bosco (D-Occidental) Filing delay sought Wally Herger (R-Yuba City) $3,500 $0 Robert T. Matsui (D-Sacramento) 53,500 26,650 Vic Fazio (D-Sacramento) 47,500 20,650 Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) 2,000 2,000 Barbara Boxer (D-Greenbrae) 14,500 0 George Miller (D-Martinez) 30,250 3,500 Ronald V. Dellums (D-Berkeley) 22,754 0 Pete Stark (D-Oakland) 39,000 15,000 Don Edwards (D-San Jose) 0 0 Tom Lantos (D-San Mateo) 20,500 3,000 Tom Campbell (R-Palo Alto) Not in Congress Norman Y. Mineta (D-San Jose) 25,600 0 Norman D. Shumway (R-Stockton) 13,550 0 Tony Coelho (D-Merced) 90,100 63,575 Leon E. Panetta (D-Monterey) 22,265 0 Charles Pashayan Jr. (R-Fresno) Filing delay sought Richard H. Lehman (D-Sanger) 28,500 1,650 Robert J. Lagomarsino (R-Ojai) 1,000 1,000 William M. Thomas (R-Bakersfield) 30,700 4,000 Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley) 2,000 0 Carlos J. Moorhead (R-Glendale) 19,950 6,000 Anthony C. Beilenson (D-Los Angeles) 0 0 Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles) $71,750 $45,729 Edward R. Roybal (D-Los Angeles) 0 0 Howard L. Berman (D-Panorama City) 14,500 0 Mel Levine (D-Santa Monica) 35,400 9,120 Julian C. Dixon (D-Los Angeles) 6,000 0 Augustus F. Hawkins (D-Los Angeles) 7,150 0 Matthew G. Martinez (D-Monterey Pk) 6,000 0 Mervyn M. Dymally (D-Compton) 28,219 2,000 Glenn M. Anderson (D-San Pedro) Filing delay sought David Dreier (R-La Verne) 27,500 1,000 Esteban E. Torres (D-La Puente) 6,822 0 Jerry Lewis (R-Redlands) 24,150 0 George E. Brown Jr. (D-Colton) 11,700 0 Al McCandless(R-Bermuda Dunes) 0 0 Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove) 10,000 0 William E. Dannemeyer (R-Fullerton) 8,570 0 C. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach) Not in Congress Bill Lowery (R-San Diego) 27,000 500 Dana Rohrabacher (R-Lomita) Not in Congress Ron Packard (R-Carlsbad) 3,000 0 Jim Bates (D-San Diego) 21,471 0 Duncan L. Hunter (R-Coronado) 15,500 0

Source: Common Cause