Robbins Reaches Agreement With State Ethics Panel : Fines: Fair Political Practices Commission says the former lawmaker will pay $15,000 for concealing money from an extortion scheme.

Former state Sen. Alan Robbins, now serving the remainder of a federal prison term in a Hollywood halfway house, has reached an agreement with a state ethics watchdog panel to pay $15,000 in fines for failing to accurately report his income.

Officials with the state Fair Political Practices Commission said Robbins will pay maximum penalties for concealing money he gleaned from an extortion scheme that landed the former Van Nuys Democratic lawmaker in prison in 1992.

At the same time, the FPPC plans to fine former California Coastal Commissioner Mark Nathanson $10,000 for not disclosing hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes he took from landowners seeking permit approvals.

An FPPC spokeswoman said the panel will meet March 3 to decide whether to give final approval to the fines.

Three of the eight FPPC counts against Robbins result from his guilty plea in 1991 that he used his office to extort bribe money from victims in exchange for official Senate action.

In those 1988 cases, San Diego businessman Jack Naiman paid Robbins $20,000 and former Capitol lobbyist Clayton Jackson funneled $32,800 to Robbins through former state Sen. Paul Carpenter (D-Downey) and public relations executive Jennifer Goddard.

Testifying in a federal trial last year, both Robbins and Goddard played key roles in convicting Jackson and Carpenter on charges of political corruption. Jackson was sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison, while Carpenter has fled the country to avoid a prison term.

The remaining five counts against Robbins stem from his failure to disclose income he received from loan repayments or from the sale of property.

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All of the counts allege that Robbins failed to report his income in 1988 and 1989 as required by the Political Reform Act, which is meant to guarantee full financial disclosure by politicians.

Of the $16,000 maximum fine that Robbins faced--$2,000 per count--he stipulated that he will agree to pay only $15,000.

Nathanson, who is serving a sentence in federal prison for extorting bribes from individuals seeking Coastal Commission permits, did not contest the FPPC’s accusations and agreed to pay the maximum $10,000 penalty.

The five counts he faces include soliciting and taking $208,000 in bribes in 1987 and 1990 in exchange for approving construction of a swimming pool and home renovations in the highly restricted coastal zone.