Moore Cleared; Ex-Aide, Lobbyist Indicted in Sting

The U.S. attorney investigating political corruption in the state Capitol cleared Assemblywoman Gwen Moore of wrongdoing Tuesday, but a federal grand jury indicted a former aide to the Los Angeles Democrat, as well as a onetime lobbyist.

U.S. Atty. David F. Levi said he decided not to prosecute Moore, once a principal target of the probe, because “the evidence developed from the investigation when viewed in its entirety did not warrant the filing of criminal charges.”

In a nine-count indictment, the federal grand jury charged former Moore aide Tyrone H. Netters with extortion, conspiracy, racketeering, money laundering and income tax evasion. Darryl O. Freeman, a former legislative aide and lobbyist, was charged with aiding and abetting extortion, and conspiracy.

Although Levi refused to comment on the possibility of further prosecutions, sources familiar with the investigation said the probeis continuing.

The 49-year-old Moore, who is running for a seventh Assembly term, has been under a cloud since August, 1988, when federal authorities raided the offices of four legislators, including Moore. Agents seized records of two bills Moore carried for a bogus company set up by the FBI as part of an elaborate sting.

Two elected officials, Sen. Joseph B. Montoya (D-Whittier) and former Sen. Paul Carpenter (D-Norwalk), were convicted this year on extortion and racketeering charges for taking money in exchange for helping move Moore’s bills through the Legislature. Two legislative aides have pleaded guilty as a result of the investigation.

Moore was elated upon learning she would not face prosecution.

“The main thing right now is hopefully I’ll be able to put my good reputation back to where it was before all this came up,” Moore said in a telephone interview. “You forget about it, but it’s always there, sort of like a bad tooth. . . . I knew I had done absolutely nothing wrong,” she said.

Moore’s attorney, Harland Braun, said her decision last summer to testify in her own defense before the grand jury was a turning point for the lawmaker. “If we hadn’t done it,” Braun said, “we may have had an innocent person indicted.”

Levi said it was significant that Netters and Freeman were indicted.

“The role that staffers and lobbyists play in the whole system we’ve been looking at is a critical one,” Levi said. “They are people who in many instances make the system go, by insulating the principal (lawmaker) and to some extent operating without the knowledge of the principal.”

According to the indictment, Netters took cash, personal checks and campaign payments for himself and others between 1986 and 1988 totaling $14,700 from the phony FBI companies.

Netters, 36, is now a $43,488-a-year computer consultant with the Assembly. He refused to comment and referred questions to his attorney, former state Sen. Bob Wilson, who said: “I’ve gone over all the facts and it’s my belief that Tyrone is innocent. I’m disputing any facts that lead to the conclusion that a crime took place. I believe this case will be won in front of a jury.”

The 43-year-old Freeman, now a manager for a computer company, indicated he had no warning of the indictment, but would not comment until he had talked to his attorney.

If convicted, Netters faces a maximum of 163 years in prison and a fine of up to $3.25 million. Freeman could be sentenced to as much as 40 years and fined $500,000 if found guilty.

The indictments were the latest to emerge from an investigation of Capitol corruption that began five years ago under the FBI code name of Brispec, shorthand for “Bribery-Special Interest.” During the probe, FBI undercover agents, posing as Southern businessmen, sought help in passing legislation that ostensibly would have helped their bogus companies set up a shrimp processing plant near Sacramento.

Moore became a target of the sting in 1986 when she agreed to carry the first of the bills that supposedly would have allowed the FBI’s phony company to begin operating in California.

The measure in theory would have made it easier for the Alabama firm to finance a plant here.

With the help of Netters and Freeman, the bill won legislative approval, only to be vetoed by Gov. George Deukmejian, who had been alerted to the sting by the FBI.

According to the indictment, Netters worked with Moore to secure the passage of a second bill in 1988 that was also vetoed by the governor.

Netters steered campaign contributions to Moore, including $5,000 from Gulf Shrimp in 1986 that she later returned. Two years later, Moore kept a $2,000 contribution from a second FBI company, Peachstate Capital West.

Because Moore carried the legislation that was crucial to the federal sting, she has continued to be a central figure in the investigation. She was called to testify for the defense in the Montoya case, and explained why she kept the $2,000.

“They bought tickets, they came to my fund-raiser, they ate my food and so I kept the money,” she said.

However, from the first revelation of the federal investigation, she has steadfastly proclaimed her innocence and predicted she would be vindicated.