Top Lobbyist, Ex-Senator Are Indicted

A federal grand jury on Friday indicted one of the Capitol’s premier lobbyists and a former state senator on a variety of political corruption charges, marking new ground in a years-long investigation of state government corruption.

The 12-count indictment names lobbyist Clay Jackson, 50, and former state Sen. Paul B. Carpenter, 65.

Among the charges is an allegation that, in 1991, Jackson offered former state Sen. Alan Robbins of Van Nuys a $250,000 bribe to influence worker’s compensation legislation.

Jackson and Carpenter also are charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and to launder money. Carpenter is charged with obstructing justice.

The 23-page indictment alleges that Jackson turned his firm--SRJ/Jackson, Barish & Associates--into “a vehicle for bribing and offering bribes to elected officials.”

In announcing the indictment at an afternoon news conference, U.S. Atty. George O’Connell said the case “demonstrates the kind of corrosive effect that not just campaign contributions, but illegally paid campaign contributions, can have on the system.”

Many of the charges appear to be based on the cooperation of Robbins, who made a deal with federal authorities to settle the case against him. Robbins is currently serving time.

Lawyers for both Jackson and Carpenter denied wrongdoing and questioned Robbins’ credibility.

O’Connell said Robbins virtually became a tool for Jackson’s lobbying business and abdicated his responsiblity to his constituents.

“I tell you that Alan Robbins has described himself as being on retainer to Clay Jackson during the years in question,” said a grim-faced O’Connell.

“He described himself as not really being the chair of the Senate Insurance Committee; the chair of the Senate Insurance Committee when it came to these issues was Clay Jackson.”

The political corruption probe first came to light in 1988 when federal agents raided the Capitol offices of several lawmakers. It has evolved into the farthest-reaching probe of corruption ever in state government, leading to the imprisonment of two state senators and convictions of others connected with the Legislature.

The investigation of Jackson, whose office was raided by federal authorities in 1991, signaled a shift in the federal probe, which had been focused primarily on elected officials.

Trying to head off the indictment, Jackson’s lawyer, Donald Heller, recently made an unusual--and unsuccessful--appeal to Justice Department officials in Washington.

The grand jury cited six examples of alleged racketeering. In four instances, Jackson allegedly offered or gave bribes to Robbins in return for his vote or other official action.

Robbins is currently serving a 60-month federal prison sentence and has been cooperating with federal authorities. He is in the El Dorado County Jail in Placerville, outside Sacramento.

O’Connell said Robbins’ cooperation was key to the indictments.

For the first time in the political corruption probe, which began in the mid-1980s, the explosive issue of worker’s compensation surfaced.

According to the indictment, from about July through November of 1991 Jackson offered Robbins, then chairman of the Senate Insurance Claims and Corporations Committee, $250,000 to transfer legislation to his committee so he could have greater control over it.

O’Connell said the money was not paid to Robbins, who was indicted in November, 1991. Sources close to the probe have said that as part of his cooperation with the government, Robbins wore a hidden recording device in the months before he was indicted.

The bulk of the charges revolve around an elaborate conspiracy that allegedly laundered campaign contributions through a Santa Monica public relations firm operated by Jennifer Goddard, a onetime aide to Robbins.

The grand jury alleged that Jackson induced unsuspecting lobbying clients to make contributions to Carpenter’s campaign committee, which Carpenter then paid to Goddard’s firm.

Carpenter already is awaiting a new trial on earlier corruption charges of extortion, attempted extortion, conspiracy and racketeering. Last year, a federal appeals court threw out his 1990 conviction on the grounds that the jury had not been properly instructed. Carpenter is scheduled to go to trial on those charges again on May 3.

Carpenter’s lawyer, Charles Bloodgood, acknowledged that his client received funds from Jackson and that some money was paid to Goddard. But he said it was all properly reported and none of it was “ever diverted to personal use by Mr. Carpenter.”

In recent weeks, the grand jury has stepped up its probe, focusing on Jackson and Carpenter, who went on to serve on the State Board of Equalization after leaving the Senate.

Despite the cloud because of the investigation, Jackson has remained one of the Capitol’s most successful advocates. His firm last year earned $2.1 million, according to state-required lobbying reports. Along with insurance interests, the company’s clients included national corporations such as Anheuser-Busch, B. F. Goodrich and GTECH, a Rhode-Island-based firm that holds California Lottery contracts.

Heller, Jackson’s lawyer, proclaimed his client to be “absolutely innocent of any wrongoing,” then lambasted Robbins, calling him evil and corrupt.

“As long as the sewers run,” Heller said, “Alan Robbins will never want for transportation.”

O’Connell said that, if convicted on all counts, Jackson could face 65 years in prison and a $2.5-million fine. If Carpenter is convicted on all counts, he could face 55 years in prison and a $2.75-million fine.

Times staff writers Virginia Ellis, Ralph Frammolino, John Hurst and Dan Morain contributed to this story.