Tapes Add New Twist to Corruption Case : Sacramento: Lawyer for indicted lobbyist produces secretly recorded material that he claims shows his client was the victim of an extortion attempt by ex-Sen. Alan Robbins.

A lawyer for indicted lobbyist Clayton R. Jackson on Thursday made public transcripts of secretly recorded tapes that he says show ex-Sen. Alan Robbins repeatedly demanded a payoff from Jackson to stop a bill from moving through the Legislature.

The fragments of the conversations were released as part of an effort to turn the tables on federal prosecutors, who last month obtained an indictment of Jackson on political corruption charges.

In a document filed in Federal District Court, Jackson’s lawyer, Donald H. Heller, contends that the exchanges show that his client was not the perpetrator of a bribe alleged by prosecutors but rather the victim of a shakedown by Robbins, who was working undercover at the direction of an FBI agent.

Robbins is serving a five-year sentence, after pleading guilty to charges of racketeering, tax evasion and bank fraud. His cooperation could lead to a sentence reduction.

The transcript of one 1991 meeting at a Sacramento-area restaurant quotes Robbins as telling Jackson that he has an “idea I’m toying with” on how to steer a controversial workers’ compensation issue to his insurance committee, where it would likely die.

“Quantify for me how important it would be moving the whole thing,” Robbins said.

Later, Jackson finally seems to give in to Robbins’ demands and indicates a willingness to pay a “quarter,” which attorney Heller said was a reference to $250,000 sought by Robbins.

Jackson earlier this week pleaded not guilty to a 10-count indictment charging him with racketeering, mail fraud and money laundering.

Among the racketeering charges, the grand jury accused Jackson of offering Robbins a $250,000 bribe in 1991 so that the lawmaker, then chairman of the Senate Insurance, Claims and Corporations Committee, would take the insurance issue away from another committee.

Heller is using the taped conversation in an effort to demonstrate that Jackson, a lifelong California resident, is not a flight risk and should remain free without posting bail.

According to the court document, Jackson, 50, has known since December, 1991, that the government planned to indict him. Two months later, Jackson “specifically, unequivocally and absolutely rejected a government plea offer.”

Heller said that as part of the federal effort to gain a plea bargain, Jackson was provided with three tapes by the government.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney’s office said late Thursday: “We have not seen the document, and we have no comment.”

Robbins’ lawyer, Michael L. Lipman, also said he could not comment on the government’s evidence in the case against Jackson.

The transcripts are taken from tapes that prosecutors made available to Jackson shortly after FBI and IRS agents raided his office in late 1991 and it became clear he was a target. The sharing of evidence with a potential defendant has become a standard practice for the U.S. Attorney’s office here.

At a recent news conference, Heller said that prosecutors sought his client’s cooperation in connection with unnamed public officials. But he said he was not going “to roll over and plead guilty.”

Heller also challenges the government’s allegation that Jackson arranged a $13,500 campaign contribution to Robbins from GTECH, the major contractor for the California Lottery, in exchange for his taking official action on a bill.

But Heller contends “there is not evidence that any contribution by any of Jackson’s clients” was tied to the legislation.

In the same indictment, the grand jury charged former Sen. Paul B. Carpenter, 65, with 11 counts of mail fraud, money laundering and obstruction of justice.

At his arraignment in federal district court on Tuesday, Carpenter also pleaded not guilty.