Time for ‘New Honesty,’ Carpenter Jurors Say : Corruption: They hope the ex-senator’s conviction will help clean up Capitol politics. Prosecutors want him to spend about six years in prison.

Members of the jury that convicted former Sen. Paul Carpenter on corruption charges called Tuesday for a “new era of honesty” in the California Legislature.

At the same time, prosecutors said they will seek a prison sentence of 15 years for the Norwalk Democrat in the hope he will spend at least six years behind bars.

The 11-member jury that voted to convict Carpenter on four counts of racketeering, extortion and conspiracy met again Tuesday morning and ordered the former senator to return a $20,000 campaign contribution he extorted from an undercover FBI agent.

Jurors “agonized” over their decision to convict Carpenter, said Teresa Murphey, a Sacramento antique dealer who acted as jury spokeswoman. After reaching their verdict, she said, jury members hoped it would prompt other politicians to root out corruption in the Legislature.

“I think that we’re all ready for a new era of honesty in California politics . . . ,” Murphey told reporters. “That’s the message I think we’re trying to send out.”

During the trial, jurors received a civics lesson on how campaign contributions from special interest groups often have a substantial influence on members of the Legislature.

Juror Greg Bland, a supermarket clerk in Placerville, said he came away with the conclusion that the state should institute public financing of campaigns to replace the current system of campaign donations. Such a proposal is part of Proposition 131 on the Nov. 6 ballot.

“You just wish all the money wasn’t even involved in this,” Bland said.

Although members of the jury would not discuss details of their deliberations or verdict, Bland said they found Carpenter used his Senate position to extract campaign contributions from lobbyists on at least four separate occasions.

Jurors said they also found it difficult to believe Carpenter’s testimony during three days on the stand, including his explanation that he accepted $20,000 from the undercover agent because he was conducting a “reverse sting.”

“Former Sen. Carpenter’s testimony was a significant piece of evidence,” Murphey said.

Assistant U.S. Atty. John P. Panneton, the lead prosecutor in the case, said that legislators and other Capitol insiders have not realized how harshly many members of the public view the influence of money on the Legislature.

“Many people who are associated with the process are out of touch with the 12 people sitting on that jury,” he said. “The issue of campaign financing and special-interest contributions is at the heart of this.”

To drive the point home, the government is considering whether to attempt to seize the salary and campaign contributions that Carpenter received during the 10-year period he ran his Senate office as a “racketeering enterprise,” Panneton said.

Under the broadly written federal law, anyone convicted of racketeering can be forced to forfeit all money gained in the operation of the illegal “enterprise.”

Panneton said prosecutors also are considering whether to go after the salary and campaign contributions received by former Sen. Joseph B. Montoya, who was convicted earlier this year on a similar racketeering charge.

Montoya, a Democrat from Whittier, is serving a 6 1/2-year prison sentence for his conviction on seven corruption charges. Because Montoya’s crimes came under current federal sentencing rules, he is likely to serve six years in prison.

Panneton said the government wants to put Carpenter in prison for a similar period. Because Carpenter’s crimes were committed before sentencing guidelines were rewritten, it would require a 15-year prison sentence under the old rules for him to serve six.

Leo McElroy, a spokesman for Carpenter, said the senator had not decided whether to appeal his conviction, in part because of the tremendous legal costs involved. “Is it worth it, being free and broke?” he asked.

McElroy said the verdict was a “deep shock” to Carpenter, adding, “We’ve seen in the courtroom a framework in which any legislator who took a contribution would be convicted.”

Times staff writer Paul Jacobs contributed to this story.