Carpenter Trial Recording Names Campbell, Ex-Aide

A secretly taped conversation played to jurors in a Capitol corruption trial portrays the top aide to former state Sen. William Campbell (R-Hacienda Heights) as “famous” for being an aggressive fund-raiser who takes “a cut” of potential campaign funds funneled to his boss.

The tape, played in federal court Thursday in the trial of former Orange County state Sen. Paul Carpenter, also describes Campbell as being “available” to receive a cut of the contribution money in return for a potential vote on a bill.

The comments about Campbell and his aide, Jerome M. Haleva, were made during an August, 1986, Sacramento breakfast meeting between a Carpenter aide and several undercover FBI agents investigating corruption in the Statehouse. During the restaurant meal, the aide, unaware he was being taped, suggested setting up a “one-to-one” meeting with Campbell but warned that Haleva should be avoided when making the arrangements.

“Can’t set it up through Haleva because Haleva will want a cut,” said Carpenter aide John Shahabian, who then started laughing.

A few moments later, Shahabian came back to the subject of Haleva.

“Jerry, I’m not kidding. You’ll end up paying Jerry too. He’s famous for it,” he said.

Neither Haleva, now a lobbyist, nor Campbell, now president of the California Manufacturers Assn., returned telephone calls to their Sacramento offices Friday.

No money was ever offered to Campbell or his aide, and neither has been charged in the FBI undercover probe of corruption in the Statehouse.

Carpenter, a Democrat and now a member of the State Board of Equalization, is charged with four counts of racketeering, attempted extortion and conspiracy. An FBI agent posing as an Alabama businessman has testified that intermediary Shahabian required a $20,000 campaign contribution for Carpenter’s help in passing a 1986 bill that would give a $1-million tax break to a phony shrimp-importing company.

Shahabian also told the agent that Carpenter would divvy up the $20,000 among other legislators to ensure that they voted for the bill. He suggested Campbell and Sen. James W. Nielsen (R-Rohnert Park) as likely Republican recipients, and promised that everyone involved would know the money was connected to their votes.

“They know. They’ll know. Everybody’ll know. Nobody will say it, but everybody’ll know. . . .” Shahabian said. “You tell Nielson who’s the minority leader and Campbell who’s sort of, just available and . . . you tell them one to one.”

Shahabian suggested that Campbell was a good possibility for cooperation because he would be leaving the Legislature if his bid for state controller at the time was successful.

“It’s not that he’s a force” in the Legislature, Shahabian said, explaining why Campbell would be crucial for winning a two-thirds vote needed for the bill in the 40-member Senate.

“It’s that you peel off . . . Y’know, you got to peel off three or four Reps (Republicans) to get a 27 vote on the bill. So he’s very peel-offable. He’s leaving.”

At first, Shahabian suggested arranging the Campbell meeting through Haleva, whose aggressive style and legislative adroitness earned him the nickname of the “41st Senator.”

Haleva also worked to raise campaign funds and arrange speaking engagements for Campbell, who consistently received the highest amount of legislative speaking fees each year. For his work, Haleva has been paid thousands of dollars out of Campbell’s campaign funds--payments that continued throughout the year, although both men are now in private business, records show.

Disclosure forms show that Campbell paid Haleva $21,624 during the last six months of 1989. Campbell then left office in December to become president of the CMA, one of the most powerful lobbying groups in Sacramento.

According to the 1989 report, Haleva used the money to pay for hotel rooms, meals and a $1,881 bill at a Nordstrom department store.

After Campbell left office, he used campaign money left over in his officeholder account to pay Haleva, now a lobbyist, another $69,043 for “professional, management and consulting services,” the reports show.

Those kinds of payments are never mentioned in the 1986 conversation, but Shahabian joked that Haleva would want “a cut” of any campaign money offered to Campbell in exchange for help on the shrimp bill.

“Jerry makes a lot of money. . . . “ Shahabian said.

“For collecting?” the operative asked.

“Right,” Shahabian replied.

“Does he ask, or does he what? Literally asks, what?” the operative inquired.

“Oh, yeah,” Shahabian answered.

Despite the discussion, Campbell, Haleva and Nielson never were approached with the bribe offer. Prosecutors say the full $20,000 went to Carpenter, with Shahabian receiving a $7,500 cut as a consulting fee through an outside business.

Haleva was recently cited by the Fair Political Practices Commission for failing to properly disclose the terms of a highly favorable loan he received three years ago from a City of Industry company that he later helped in its bid to win a lucrative state contract.

In the past, the political watchdog agency also forced Haleva and his former boss to amend their disclosure forms to show free limousine service they received during 1988 from a New Orleans firm that Haleva helped retain another contract with the state.