FBI Probes Allegations of Bribe-Taking in Compton : Inquiry: Former top officials are among targets, sources say. Records of major city agencies may be subpoenaed.

Federal prosecutors are preparing subpoenas for records of nearly a dozen Compton city departments as part of a sweeping federal investigation into allegations that top city officials accepted bribes, according to sources familiar with the investigation.

The subpoenas are said to target records from virtually every major city department, including the city attorney, the city manager, the Department of Public Works, the Community Redevelopment Authority, the Planning Department, the city clerk and the Police Department.

Among the targets of the investigation, sources said, are Rep. Walter R. Tucker III (D-Compton), who served as Compton’s mayor in 1991 and 1992, and Patricia Moore, a well-known community activist and former Compton city councilwoman who narrowly lost a campaign for mayor last year. Other city officials also have come under investigation and could be the subjects of criminal prosecutions as well.

Moore, who learned of the investigation Wednesday, has denied any wrongdoing. Aides to Tucker referred calls to Johnnie L. Cochran Jr., one of Los Angeles’ most prominent criminal defense lawyers, who declined to discuss specifics of the case.

“I will be representing his interests, but I cannot comment right now,” Cochran said, adding that he needed to meet with Tucker to discuss how to proceed.

According to sources familiar with the investigation, Moore and Tucker are the subjects of an FBI investigation and sting operation that has been under way for more than two years and has been run out of the FBI’s Long Beach office.

Those sources said an undercover agent posing as a businessman has been the central player in that investigation. The agent, according to the sources, offered Tucker, Moore and possibly other officials bribes to have items placed on Compton City Council agendas, among other things. At least some of the agent’s meetings with those officials were secretly videotaped, sources said.

The tapes of those sessions are among the evidence that federal prosecutors have amassed and are weighing as they consider whether to seek indictments against the two former city officials, sources said.

Internal Revenue Service agents also are on the case and are seeking documents from some firms connected to the city, sources said. Bribes, like any other source of income--legal or illegal--are taxable. Failure to report the income is a federal offense.

News of the investigation began circulating through Compton City Hall on Thursday, but most workers seemed unaware of the inquiry. The city’s top leaders expressed shock about the inquiry, which comes amid national criticism of the Justice Department for prosecuting what some feel is a disproportionate number of black elected leaders.

Although no Compton officials accused the FBI or the Justice Department of pursuing the current investigation because of the fact that at least two of its subjects are African American, several suggested that the allegations may grow out of Compton’s notoriously bitter political infighting.

Tucker and Moore are both gearing up for election battles this year. Tucker is seeking reelection to Congress, while Moore is pursuing a state Assembly seat.

“I really believe this is the work of political enemies,” said Councilwoman Yvonne Arceneaux, a longtime Tucker supporter who questioned whether rivals of Tucker or Moore sparked the inquiry. “This is an election year. I would hope the FBI would not be involved in a witch hunt. I am going to put more faith in the system than that.”

Even Moore’s political nemesis, Mayor Omar Bradley, who defeated the then-councilwoman in the mayor’s race last June, was reluctant to criticize his former colleague.

“There will always be people who want to take your place,” he said, “no matter their motivations.”

Moore and Tucker are two of Compton’s best-known public officials, and they were allies during the time they served together on the City Council. That allegiance was frayed last year, however, when Tucker withdrew his support for Moore’s mayoral bid and instead endorsed his younger brother.

The current inquiry is not the first time either politician has generated controversy. In 1988, Tucker was fired from the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office and pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges after he was accused of altering an official document and lying to a judge about it. But Tucker comes from what may be Compton’s equivalent of a political dynasty--the family has been described as the “Kennedys of Compton.”

A lawyer and Baptist minister, Tucker burst upon the political scene in April, 1991, when he won a bruising election and followed his father’s footsteps to become Compton’s youngest mayor. He was elected to Congress from the 37th District in November, 1992.

Moore, meanwhile, has attracted fierce supporters and equally outspoken opponents. Although backers speak of her eloquence and courage, she drew sharp criticism last year when she spoke at a funeral for a slain Compton police officer and used the occasion to blast the LAPD. The Compton department, she said at the funeral, is “not like the L.A. four (police) officers who would beat somebody senselessly.”

Moore steadfastly refused to apologize for those remarks.

As they pressed forward with their investigation, agents and Justice Department officials also scrambled to discover the source or sources of leaks about the case. The Wall Street Journal reported some details of the investigation Thursday, and agents rushed to bring the undercover phase of the investigation to a conclusion before more information appeared in the media.

Officials expressed grave concern about the leaks and said an internal review has been launched to determine who was responsible. That inquiry is said to focus on FBI and Justice Department officials in Washington, who are reviewing the case to determine whether indictments should be pursued in Los Angeles.

Legal experts said that if prosecutors are indeed preparing to issue subpoenas, that suggests a grand jury could soon begin hearing the case. Although drafted by prosecutors, subpoenas are orders for witnesses to appear before the grand jury on a certain date or to turn over documents for presentation to the grand jury.

The grand jury, a panel of 23 citizens, decides whether to approve filing criminal charges against suspects. But the mere fact that subpoenas are being sought does not necessarily indicate that prosecutors are moving toward indictment, legal analysts said.

In some cases, grand juries are used to collect evidence and once the process is complete, prosecutors elect not to request an indictment.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Steven G. Madison is coordinating the federal investigation in Los Angeles. Madison declined to comment on the probe Thursday, or even to acknowledge that an investigation is under way.

Likewise, spokesmen for the FBI and IRS declined to confirm or deny the existence of a criminal investigation. That is standard practice for federal law enforcement agencies.

Federal law prohibits the “offering, giving, soliciting or receiving a bribe.” Penalties for violating that law vary depending on a number of factors, including how much money was at stake and whether the official receiving the money was an elected leader or otherwise high-ranking official.

Although the FBI has been investigating the bribery allegations for more than two years, the inquiry appears to have been carried out under extreme secrecy. Mayor Bradley and all four of his City Council colleagues said they were unaware of the probe, adding that they have never been contacted by the FBI or by federal prosecutors.

“I don’t know why the FBI would want to mix into politics unless there was something happening in our city where people were pocketing money,” said Councilwoman Jane Robbins. “Hey, we don’t have that kind of money.”