Maybe He Knows How Much Time You Get for Good Behavior

FIRST TO KNOW: Imagine how you’d feel if you waved the proverbial white flag at federal prosecutors and the first person to hear the details of your prison sentence was not you, but your archrival?

Ah, politics.

Former Assemblyman Pat Nolan, who pleaded guilty Feb. 18 to a racketeering count, was not happy upon discovering that Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco) apparently knew of his 33-month sentence before he did.

“That just stinks,” the Glendale Republican told a gathering of supporters in Burbank last week. “It’s just wrong.”

According to Nolan, he and his wife, Gail, were at his attorney’s office when the lawyer phoned federal authorities with the news that Nolan would plead guilty to soliciting bribes. At that point, Nolan said, he thought he was facing a possible 24- to 27-month sentence.

“Gail and I got up to leave and a call came in from Assemblyman (Jim) Brulte’s office. I picked up the phone and Jim said, ‘Willie (Brown) just told me that you’ve agreed to plead guilty and the terms of the agreement are 33 months,” Nolan said.

“I hadn’t been told how many months in prison. He knew the details of the deal before I left my lawyer’s office,” Nolan said. “It’s absolutely outrageous.”

But Nolan stopped short of alleging outright that Brown--with whom he’d developed a love-hate relationship over the years--was somehow in cahoots with officials trying to nail the conservative Republican.

In fact, throughout the evening, Nolan was careful not to cross an invisible line he had drawn for himself, unbeknownst to the supporters gathered to hear the defense case he presented--complete with FBI transcripts and sting videotape.

Fearing that federal prosecutors might retaliate by going after him for perjury or placing him in a prison far from his family, Nolan never actually came out and said he lied in pleading guilty. Instead he portrayed himself as “a political prisoner” of federal agents who were “constantly skewing things.”

He plans to spell out the whole story in the book he says he’ll write in prison--and publish after his release.

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REAPING THE BOUNTY: Just to keep everything on the up and up, the Fair Political Practices Commission requires state legislators to disclose what sorts of gifts, loans, investments and income they’ve received in the past year.

The annual financial-disclosure statements released in Sacramento this week reveal the usual goodies being accepted: football game tickets, candy, Ringling Bros. circus tickets, free airport parking, tie tacks, dinners, drinks and so on.

Some members, however, were more fortunate than others in hauling in the good stuff.

State Sen. Don Rogers (R-Tehachapi), who represents portions of the Antelope and Santa Clarita valleys, was the recipient of a whirlwind 13-day tour to Mexico City; Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Santiago, Chile.

With the California Foundation on the Environment and the Economy paying $7,555 for Rogers’ expenses, he met with a host of officials who advocated deregulation and privatization of the natural-gas industry.

And state Sens. David A. Roberti (D-Van Nuys) and Newton R. Russell (R-Glendale) got to travel to Spain and Italy together last year--putting aside their partisan differences for the good cause of representing California to foreign business leaders.

Roberti’s campaign committee paid for much of the travel expenses, but once on foreign soil, the two senators each accepted $1,750 worth of lodging, meals and beverages from an Italian business and educational foundation.

And in Spain, both Roberti and Russell uncovered some real bargains, the disclosure forms show. As tokens of appreciation, the two senators received from their Spanish hosts ties valued at $10, silver-plated commemorative bowls valued at $10, tie pins valued at $5 and other gifts.

That’s some exchange rate Spain has these days.

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TUNING IN: Cable News Network (CNN) has heightened the profile of congressional candidate Richard Sybert, once a Cabinet-level official in Gov. Pete Wilson’s administration, by singling out his campaign for special coverage.

The first of what Sybert expects to be several CNN reports on his campaign to secure the GOP primary and then defeat U.S. Rep. Anthony C. Beilenson (D-Woodland Hills) was broadcast Tuesday.

CNN focused on the Sybert campaign because it is an extremely well-funded effort (Sybert, an attorney and toy company executive, has loaned his campaign nearly $410,000) to unseat a leader of the House of Representatives. Beilenson is the second-highest-ranking Democratic member of the powerful Rules Committee.

Sybert said the CNN report reflected what GOP insiders already know: that he will be mounting a highly professional and competitive campaign against Beilenson, who has represented the 24th Congressional District since 1976.

And the four-minute CNN piece apparently got some couch potatoes off their duffs. “We got calls from people who saw the piece and now want to help,” Sybert said.

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KORMAN’S FOURTH: Speaking of well-financed campaigns, Sang Korman, the wealthy Korean-American businessman from the Conejo Valley, has thrown his hat into a local congressional race for the fourth time.

All told, Korman has spent more than three-quarters of a million dollars of his own money running for seats held by Beilenson and U.S. Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley). In 1992, Korman came in second in the 24th District GOP primary, scoring 24% of the vote. On Wednesday, Korman filed his nomination papers for a fourth bid.

Also running in the GOP primary are Mark Boos Benhard, a media relations executive, and Robert Hammer, a banking consultant.

Korman could not be reached for comment, but Sybert said he did not expect Korman’s candidacy to have a significant impact on the race. “He’s run three times before,” he said. “What is different about this time?”

But others are wondering if Korman’s presence won’t make the GOP primary a more costly affair--both in cash and self-inflicted political mayhem--while Beilenson rests on the sidelines waiting for the main event.