Ex-Sen. Hill’s Convictions Upheld by Court
A federal appeals court Monday upheld former state Sen. Frank Hill’s convictions for taking $2,500 from an undercover agent to line up Republican support for a phony bill.
Hill, a Republican from Whittier, was convicted in June, 1994, of extortion and money laundering and sentenced to 46 months in prison. He was one of five legislators convicted in an FBI investigation of corruption at the state Capitol.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the convictions in a 3-0 ruling. The court rejected defense arguments that the federal investigation violated California’s constitutional sovereignty and that there was inadequate evidence of a trade of political favors for money.
The court also upheld the conspiracy conviction and 21-month sentence of former Senate Democratic staff aide Terry Frost, charged with leading the undercover agent to Hill.
Lawyers for Hill and Frost could not be reached for comment.
The Hill-Frost case involved cash payments in return for lawmakers’ support of a bill to help a purported shrimp company. The company was actually an FBI front.
Get the L.A. Times Politics newsletter
Deeply reported insights into legislation, politics and policy from Sacramento, Washington and beyond. In your inbox three times per week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
