Rep. Tucker Is Indicted; Denies Bribery Charges

A federal grand jury Thursday returned a 10-count indictment against Rep. Walter R. Tucker III, charging him with soliciting and accepting $30,000 in bribes while serving as mayor of Compton and then failing to report the money on his federal income tax returns.

Tucker, 37, issued a statement from his Washington office that proclaimed his innocence. “I unequivocally and categorically deny all charges that have been brought against me,” the statement said. “I have complete faith in God, who is my shield and my defense. I will not allow this matter to impede the important work that I am doing in the U.S. Congress.”

At a Los Angeles news conference where the indictments were announced, U.S. Atty. Nora M. Manella said that “while Congressman Tucker was acting as mayor of Compton in 1991 and 1992, over a period of a little more than a year, he accepted a total of $30,000 in bribes in connection with the construction and operation of a refuse incineration facility. The indictment further alleges that Mr. Tucker demanded a payment of a quarter-million dollars in exchange for his support of the project.”

Manella and other federal officials declined to discuss details of the investigation that led to the indictment. But sources familiar with the case said it is the result of a two-year undercover probe run out of the FBI’s Long Beach office that was sparked by a complaint from a local businessman who alleged that Compton officials were demanding bribes in return for approving his project.

That investigation is continuing, and authorities urged anyone with information about bribes being solicited in Compton to come forward.

“We are getting additional leads,” said Steven G. Madison, the lead prosecutor in the case. “And we are pursuing them.”

As the grand jury deliberated the counts against the Compton Democrat, Tucker continued to carry out his duties in Washington. Late Thursday, he cast a procedural vote in favor of President Clinton’s crime bill.

Attorney Johnnie L. Cochran Jr., who is representing Tucker, said his client “vigorously denies any wrongdoing. He’s going to litigate this matter, and he’s going to go to trial, no doubt about it.”

Responding to news of the indictment, some local leaders accused the Justice Department of targeting Tucker because he is black. Prosecutors denied the charge, saying they took action only after receiving the complaint.

Under the Hobbs Act, the federal law that prohibits officials from taking or soliciting bribes, Tucker could be sentenced to 20 years in prison and fined $250,000 for each of the eight bribery counts. The tax charges each carry maximum penalties of three years in prison and a $100,000 fine.

Federal sentencing guidelines recommend far shorter sentences, so even if Tucker is convicted, he would be unlikely to face those penalties.

According to Manella, the tax counts against Tucker are partly the result of his failure to report income from the bribes on his 1991 and 1992 tax returns. But Manella added that the “underreported income includes but is not limited to bribes,” suggesting that authorities believe that Tucker may have failed to report other income as well.

“I feel today’s indictment makes a strong statement that both fraud and greed are taxable,” said Rick Speier, who heads the Criminal Investigation Division of the Los Angeles office of the Internal Revenue Service. Speier, as well as FBI Special Agent Charlie J. Parsons, who heads the FBI’s Los Angeles field division, joined Manella at the news conference.

The decision to charge Tucker with income tax violations also suggests that federal officials do not believe he deposited the bribe money in campaign fund accounts. Tucker would not be required to declare money deposited in those accounts on his tax returns.

The indictment does not force Tucker to relinquish his congressional post. It merely details the charges against him. He can continue to do his job unless he is convicted.

Under House rules, members who hold committee chairmanships are forced to step down while they contest criminal charges--those rules are what forced Illinois Rep. Dan Rostenkowski to give up his powerful chairmanship of the Ways and Means Committee while he fights a 17-count indictment charging him with fraud, embezzlement and obstruction of justice.

But Tucker is a freshman congressman and does not hold any chairmanships. Nevertheless, the indictment is a blow to Tucker’s political career.

He was fired from his post as a deputy district attorney with the county in 1988 and later pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges in a case where he was accused of altering an official document and lying to a judge about it.

But three years later, he recovered and became Compton’s youngest mayor.

After holding that seat for less than two years, Tucker entered a hotly contested congressional campaign to succeed Mervyn Dymally. Tucker beat out Dymally’s daughter for that seat in the June, 1992, primary and took office the following January.

Tucker is seeking reelection to that seat. It is extremely unlikely that his trial could be concluded before Election Day. He is scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 22, after which a trial date will be set.

None of the charges in the indictment involve Tucker’s actions in Congress. They grow out of a volatile trash incineration debate that divided the Compton City Council in 1990 and 1991.

At the news conference, officials would not discuss the events that led up to their investigation, except to say that it was sparked by a complaint and that it involved Compton Energy Systems, a firm seeking to build a trash incineration plant in the city.

According to sources, an official from Compton Energy Systems came to authorities in the early 1990s to complain that Compton officials were demanding bribes in exchange for support of the trash incineration proposal.

The FBI agreed to send an undercover agent to pose as a representative of that company after receiving the complaint. The agent, accompanied by company officials, then held numerous meetings with Tucker and other officials, offering them the bribes they demanded, sources said.

In addition to Tucker, sources said the FBI investigation targeted then-Councilwoman Patricia Moore. Moore was not indicted, and officials would not comment on whether she is cooperating with the probe.

The undercover agent delivered seven payments to Tucker, according to the sources and the indictment. Six payments, totaling $29,000, were in cash, while one was a $1,000 check, the indictment states.

According to the sources, at least some of the meetings were recorded on videotape. The payments began in June, 1991, and the final $10,000 payment was made on July 31, 1992, according to the indictment.

The proposal reached the City Council the next month and touched off an acrimonious council debate.

Tucker introduced the proposal from Compton Energy Systems, saying it was an idea that would bring jobs to the city and help reduce the need for landfills. But Tucker’s chief rival at the time, then-Councilman Omar Bradley, hotly denounced the plant, saying it was just another example of eco-racism.

“At that time, I was reading about odors and the toxicity of the ash,” Bradley said Thursday. “And I kept hearing about these pollution-generating plants being built in African American communities. So, yes, I was opposed.”

That day, however, Bradley, who is now the mayor, lost his usually firm majority. Councilwomen Moore and Jane D. Robbins sided with Tucker in a 3-2 vote to grant Compton Energy Systems an exclusive negotiating agreement with the city. Bradley and Councilwoman Bernice Woods opposed the proposal.

The agreement said Compton would not consider any other waste-to-energy plants for 360 days. That agreement has long since run out, but nobody in the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency--the lead agency in the matter--would comment on what came of the plant proposal.

Tucker’s indictment makes him the ninth sitting member of Congress to face criminal charges since 1990 and one of nearly 100 indicted since the nation began.

In those 200 years, charges against members of Congress have run the gamut of criminal offenses--from violations of campaign finance laws to perjury, treason and manslaughter.

In recent years, the Department of Justice has been criticized for targeting black officials for prosecution. Thursday’s indictment, which was approved by Justice Department officials in Washington, reignited that debate, with some critics accusing federal prosecutors of singling out Tucker because of his race.

Rep. Harold E. Ford (D-Tenn.), who was the subject of a long federal investigation that ended with his acquittal, termed the action against Tucker “a clear example of the leftover Reagan-Bush prosecutors who are overzealous and dominate these (U.S. attorney) offices.”

“Blacks have been singled out for many, many years,” Ford said, “and their cases do not receive proper review.”

In Compton, Royce Esters, president of the local chapter of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People, said he too viewed the charges with skepticism.

“It looks to me like some kind of conspiracy is going on here, some kind of entrapment,” Royce said. “Every time you turn around there’s some kind of indictment against a black leader, a black politician.”

Manella, however, vigorously denied that Tucker was singled out because of his race.

“As far as I am concerned, this office is an equal-opportunity prosecutor,” Manella said. “We pursue malfeasance under the federal statutes against persons regardless of race, gender, party affiliation or place of domicile.”

Times staff writer Jim Bornemeier contributed to this story.

Indicted Officials

Rep. Walter R. Tucker III becomes the latest member of Congress to face criminal charges in United States history. Here is a look at congressmen who have been indicted in the last five years:

* Dan Rostenkowski (D-Ill.)

Indicted: 1994

Charges: Mail fraud, embezzling public funds and tampering with a witness

Status: Remains in Congress, but forced to give up post as chairman of Ways and Means Committee

* Carroll Hubbard (D-Ky.)

Indicted: 1994

Charges: Obstruction of justice

Status: Convicted, no longer in Congress

* David Durenberger (R-Minn.)

Indicted: 1993

Charges: Padding his expense account

Status: Did not seek reelection to Senate

* Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas)

Indicted: 1993

Charges: Official misconduct, tampering with government records and physical evidence

Status: Found not guilty, remains in Senate

* Larry Smith (D-Fla.)

Indicted: 1993

Charges: Income tax and campaign reporting violations

Status: Convicted, no longer in Congress

* Albert Bustamante (D-Tex.)

Indicted: 1993

Charges: Racketeering and accepting illegal gratuity

Status: Convicted, no longer in Congress

* Nick Mavroules (D-Mass.)

Indicted: 1992

Charges: Bribery, tax evasion, influence peddling

Status: Pleaded guilty, no longer in Congress

* Joseph McDade (R-Pa.)

Indicted: 1992

Charges: Accepting illegal gratuities

Status: Pending, remains in Congress

* Floyd Flake (D-N.Y.)

Indicted: 1991

Charges: Conspiracy, fraud and tax evasion

Status: Charges dropped, remains in Congress

* Donald E. (Buz) Lukens (R-Ohio)

Indicted: 1989

Charges: Contributing to unruliness and delinquency of a minor

Status: Convicted, no longer in Congress