Ex-Compton Councilwoman Says She Was Framed by FBI

In her first public appearance since being indicted Aug. 31 by a federal grand jury on charges of extortion, former Compton City Councilwoman Patricia Moore said she was framed by FBI agents as part of a policy to attack black elected officials.

Moore said she was entrapped by an FBI agent whom she had planned to start a business with and perhaps marry. The money she allegedly accepted from him seemed to her repayment for cash she spent on him during trips they took to Mexico, she said.

“They laid a trap,” she said during a news conference Friday at Our Lady of Victory Parish in Compton.

Moore is accused of accepting $62,000 in bribes from two firms that were doing business with the city while she was in office. The indictment also charges her with failing to file tax returns. She contends that she was under duress when she confessed to extortion charges late last year. She has since changed the plea to not guilty to clear her name, she says.

Each of the 23 extortion charges against Moore carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Willfully failing to file tax returns carries a maximum charge of one year in prison and a $25,000 fine.

Moore and U.S. Rep. Walter R. Tucker III, former mayor of Compton, have been targeted in a federal investigation of city officials. Jury selection is under way for the trial of Tucker, who is charged with accepting $37,000 from a businessman in exchange for Tucker’s political influence while mayor.