Snyder Criticizes Probe of Donations : Politics: Former councilman calls money laundering investigation a ‘conspiracy to defame me.’ He has not been charged.

Former Los Angeles Councilman Arthur K. Snyder on Wednesday angrily lashed out at investigators probing alleged campaign money laundering, saying they are involved in a “conspiracy to defame me” and “fabricating” an impression he helped a Taiwan-based shipping firm funnel illicit contributions to state and local politicians.

Evergreen America Corp., part of a group of companies that includes the world’s largest container ship operator and an international airline, agreed this week to pay a $895,000 penalty for illegal political donations--the largest such fine in U.S. history.

In an interview, Snyder acknowledged he has counseled Evergreen officials regarding campaign contributions and that the firm’s top Los Angeles manager, William Wang, is his brother-in-law. But he said: “They have received no advice from me except that they should obey the law,” including statutes, which the firm now admits violating repeatedly, that limit contributions.

The Evergreen case appears to figure in a complex, ongoing series of probes centered around Snyder and his law office, although Snyder has not been charged and denies any wrongdoing. Beyond the Evergreen case, accusations of money laundering--illegally hiding the true source of a candidate’s financial backing--are pending against the comptroller in Snyder’s law firm and one of his clients, Bell Cab Co.

On Tuesday, the city Ethics Commission approved the Evergreen settlement, and officials released documents linking Snyder’s relatives to the scheme. And Wednesday, the resilient and powerful City Hall lobbyist and fund-raiser struck back, saying he is innocent, but that investigators are on a crusade to bring him down.

“They’re barking up the wrong tree. . . . I had absolutely no knowledge that it was taking place,” he said in a telephone interview from his Bunker Hill law office.

Snyder is identified in public records as an intermediary who passed along some of the contributions Evergreen now admits were illegally channeled through employees and their friends and relatives. Snyder said he could not recall handling the donations, suggesting they may merely have been forwarded through his office.

He also said he knew nothing of the alleged involvement of his wife, Delia Wu Snyder, and her Taiwanese relatives in the laundering scheme. He portrayed himself as being at the edge of his wife’s large, tightknit family and not well-informed about the family’s financial affairs. “They’re a very close group of people,” he said.

He said he was “dismayed” that his relatives may have been unwittingly drawn into something improper, but insisted it had nothing to do with him.

Delia Snyder and her attorney could not be reached for comment.

He said he has no idea how Evergreen and Bell Cab both came to be involved in the same alleged illegal activity. “I resent the heck out of the fact that I told a client what the law was and he should obey, and I get blamed when he doesn’t,” he said.

Snyder claimed that the 2-year-old city Ethics Commission, which is working jointly with the state Fair Political Practices Commission on the probes, “wants to put me away.”

“The Evergreen (case) is being used to get to me . . . they have found something that is along the edges, but it really is not me. I obey the law.”

He said investigators have used harassing tactics, including threatening to deport his relatives and take away their children. He also said they have failed to release evidence favorable to him, including statements by William Wang that Snyder was not involved in any illegal activity.

“Why the Ethics Commission keeps fabricating this . . . they have absolutely no evidence that I’ve done anything wrong,” he said. “It’s disgraceful, potentially libel . . . a conspiracy to defame me.”

Dennis Curtis, president of the Ethics Commission, said Snyder’s charges were ridiculous. “We follow leads and we don’t have any targets or vendettas against anyone,” he said. “We can’t help it if Mr. Snyder’s name pops up on various occasions.”

Darryl East, chief of enforcement for the FPPC, said Snyder’s charges were “untrue, outrageous and, if anything, delusional.” Officials with both agencies said they could not comment on any possible investigation of Snyder.

Investigators have noted that during the period of the laundered contributions, Snyder represented a large, Evergreen-related Little Tokyo developer, Mangrove Estates, which has a massive commercial, hotel and residential project pending. Snyder denied any connection between the project and the Evergreen contributions. He also downplayed Evergreen’s involvement in the project, saying he does not think the firm is involved and could not recall who pays his fees. “I have some Dutch guy’s name on the documents,” he said.

Despite his complaints, Snyder, who has been through a series of investigations in his career, said the current controversy might not be all bad. “Usually, after a story like this runs in the paper, we get two or three new clients,” he said.