Robbins Begins Five-Year Term in Prison : Corruption: Former state senator enters the federal camp at Lompoc, where he will be on work duty. The head of the facility calls it Spartan.

Former state Sen. Alan Robbins became just another inmate Monday afternoon when he reported to the federal prison camp at Lompoc to begin serving a five-year sentence for racketeering and income tax evasion.

“It’s not the gulag,” said the camp’s administrator, Todd Craig, referring to severe conditions in labor camps in the former Soviet Union. “But it is a minimum-security work camp, and we expect an honest day’s work from the inmates, and the amenities are limited.”

Craig emphasized that conditions at the camp are Spartan, and he sought to dispel the idea that Lompoc is “the country club” of the federal prison system. Another camp at Lompoc, since upgraded to a higher security unit, acquired that reputation during the 1970s when it housed several aides to President Richard M. Nixon who had been convicted for their roles in the Watergate scandal.

At the camp where Robbins was sent, he will join other inmates who work five days a week, seven hours a day, doing farm labor, landscaping or performing duties at the facility’s powerhouse.

Like all new prisoners, Robbins began several days of orientation after having his picture and fingerprints taken and being examined by the camp physician.

A man who had amassed millions of dollars through real estate investments while serving in the Legislature and who was accustomed to having a maid, the former lawmaker was handed his bedding and told to make up his assigned bunk in an Army-style dormitory.

He was issued standard prison work clothes and will be expected to keep his area clean, Craig said.

Meals at the facility are wholesome with large portions but no steaks or prime rib--more like hamburger, chicken and pork chops, Craig said.

The one distinguishing feature of the work camp, 40 miles northwest of Santa Barbara, is its relatively open environment--it is surrounded by a split-rail fence, not the usual prison fence topped with razor wire.

The camp allows visitors, but only on weekends and holidays. No conjugal visits are allowed anywhere in the federal prison system, Craig said.

With good behavior, Robbins will be able to cut the time he serves by up to 54 days each year. Also, U.S. Atty. George L. O’Connell can ask the court to reduce the sentence further in return for Robbins’ continuing cooperation with authorities who are investigating political corruption in the state Capitol.

Robbins pleaded guilty to two felony counts last December, telling the court that he had used his office to extort cash and campaign contributions from a number of victims. Before he resigned from office in November, Robbins had cooperated with investigators--at times wearing a hidden device to record conversations. When he entered his plea, he implicated others in his actions, including California Coastal Commissioner Mark L. Nathanson, who has since resigned his post.

Robbins said that he and Nathanson conspired to extort almost $250,000 from a San Diego hotel developer who was trying to stop a rival project.

This month, Nathanson pleaded not guilty to eight felony counts, including extortion, racketeering, obstruction of justice and filing false tax returns.