Group Denies Link to Bill by Robbins

Officials of a thrift and loan industry trade group linked in press reports to the Alan Robbins political corruption case said Friday that they had no connection with a bill for which Robbins has admitted accepting a bribe.

“Our association was not involved in any active way whatsoever in the bill,” said Bernie Nebenzahl, general counsel for the California Assn. of Thrift and Loan Cos. “We weren’t involved in that piece of legislation.”

Robbins, who resigned his state Senate seat Tuesday, admitted taking bribes in connection with three bills, including a 1985 measure that shifted regulation of the credit insurance business from the Insurance Department to the Legislature.

The same day they announced Robbins’ intent to plead guilty, federal agents searched the offices of Clayton R. Jackson, Sacramento’s highest paid lobbyist. Jackson’s lawyer has acknowledged that his client is a target of the long-running federal investigation.

Jackson was the thrift association’s lobbyist in 1985. In lobbying reports filed with the secretary of state, the group listed the credit insurance bill among many Jackson was following for the association. And the group contributed $14,500 to Robbins between 1985 and 1987.

But Nebenzahl said the contributions were regular expressions of its support for the former lawmaker and were not connected to any particular bill. Unlike some other Jackson clients, he said, the thrift group did not allow the lobbyist to direct the association’s campaign contributions.

“We have a political action committee,” he said. “The committee reviews every request, makes a determination of the reasons why, the persons who get the contributions, and the amount of the contribution.”