Adaptability Put to the Test by FBI Sting

Politicians remind me of insects.

Some bugs can adapt to each new pesticide and become tougher and smarter through evolution. Similarly, in political Darwinism, the fittest survive to coexist with each new generation of reform.

Then there are the bugs that are attracted to bright light and are seared; likewise the politicians drawn to easy money who can get burned.

Assemblyman Pat Nolan (R-Glendale) and Sen. Frank Hill (R-Whittier) are the latest political moths to be singed by the FBI sting. Whether they took money illegally, as charged in federal indictments issued Tuesday, will be determined by a jury.

So far in the seven-year investigation of Capitol corruption, juries have convicted two state officeholders--former Sens. Joseph B. Montoya (D-Whittier) and Paul Carpenter (D-Long Beach). The conviction of Carpenter, who served on the State Board of Equalization at the time of his indictment, was overturned and he awaits a retrial, plus prosecution on new charges. In addition, former Sen. Alan Robbins (D-Van Nuys) pleaded guilty after turning FBI informant. Four former legislative aides have been convicted or pleaded guilty and a fifth, lobbyist Terry E. Frost, was indicted Tuesday along with Nolan and Hill. Two others, Coastal Commissioner Mark Nathanson and lobbyist Clayton Jackson, also have been indicted.

That totals seven people convicted and five more facing trial. And the probe continues. There is suspicion and a sour mood here.

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“We’re operating on the theory that everybody’s wired,” says one staffer, referring to recording devices. Another political veteran observes: “Any time you know there are people wearing wires around town, that is inevitably going to change relationships. What are you going to do, frisk your friend before lunch?”

That obviously is what Jackson should have done to his longtime friend, Robbins. The lobbyist was led on long walks through Capitol Park by the “wired” lawmaker as they discussed a bribery and money laundering scheme, according to a recently released FBI affidavit.

One particularly telling exchange is almost comical in hindsight. Robbins is asking Jackson, the confidant he is stinging, to find a money launderer for the senator’s expected bribe:

Robbins: “Obviously, we don’t have Paul Carpenter.” (Both men laugh.)

Jackson: “Yeah. . . . We don’t have much around here anymore. (Laughs.) . . . I’ll give that some thought. I’m not sure I’d trust anybody in here anymore.”

Robbins: “Well, you be real careful.”

Jackson: “Yeah, I know.”

Robbins: “You be extremely real careful. More than real careful who you trust around this place.”

Jackson: “Yeah. Yeah. . . . It’s gotten real wacko in there.”

The senator may have been trying to slip Jackson a friendly, subtle warning not to trust even him. Regardless, the lobbyist fell into the pile of political moths.

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It is ironic that the FBI sting probably began with the goal of snagging arguably the toughest, smartest politician in Sacramento: Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco). Anyway, that is my theory of its genesis, based on some knowledge of attitudes toward Brown within the Ronald Reagan Administration in the mid-1980s. The Speaker certainly believes he was the main target.

Brown is one of those adaptable types who has learned how to raise huge sums of campaign money and also enrich himself while operating within the law. At least, nobody has ever caught him crossing the line and many have tried.

The Speaker put it this way five years ago after voters had adopted the latest political reform: “It’s an annoyance, not a problem. All my life I’ve been involved in trying to overachieve, and no matter what the rules are, I’m going to play by the rules and win under those rules.”

Brown always has had one basic rule for himself and his staffers, according to a longtime associate: Never say anything privately that you wouldn’t want to read in a court transcript.

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Politicians and lobbyists are divided whether the FBI sting has significantly changed the way they operate. People are more cautious now. Fewer conversations mix a discussion of a bill’s merits with talk of an upcoming fund-raiser. That could be construed as extortion or a bribe.

But there has been no letup in solicitations of money from special interests. Legislative candidates raised $31.1 million for last November’s elections, a near record, and already are hitting lobbyists hard for 1994.

The toughest and smartest have learned to adapt.