Probation Sought for Ex-Compton Officeholder

Former Compton City Councilwoman Patricia Moore should be spared from serving time behind bars for her conviction on federal extortion and income tax charges, her lawyers said in a memorandum filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court.

Although the federal probation office has recommended a 33-month prison term for Moore, her attorneys asked federal Judge Consuelo B. Marshall to show “extreme leniency” and place her on probation.

Alternately, they requested that Moore be sentenced to a community facility so she can help “the homeless and needy” of Compton and continue to receive treatment for severe depression.

Moore, who served on the Compton council from 1989 to 1991, was convicted last year of extorting more than $60,000 from two local businesses.

Hidden FBI video recorders caught her accepting bribes from one of the firms, Compton Energy Systems, whose owner was cooperating with the FBI in a probe of corruption.

In a 58-page document, defense lawyers Thomas A. Mesereau Jr. and Cheryl C. Turner said Moore had expressed remorse over her actions. But they continued to maintain that she was the victim of government misconduct, selective prosecution and racial bias.

Those were issues raised by the defense and rejected by Marshall during pretrial proceedings.

During her trial, Moore testified that she was set up by an undercover government operative, Stan Bailey, who became her lover, put her in debt and sexually abused her before disappearing.

Jurors interviewed after the trial said they were not impressed by her testimony. They said the FBI videotapes showed her to be a greedy politician trading her vote for money.

In their appeal for leniency, Moore’s lawyers also contended that her safety could be jeopardized if she is sent to prison because the government has disclosed that she once served as an FBI informant.

After discovering that she was under investigation in 1994, Moore negotiated a deal with prosecutors and agreed to work undercover for the FBI. She backed out of the agreement after several months and was subsequently indicted.

“Given Ms. Moore’s notoriety, the government’s labeling her as an informant, as well as her severe psychiatric and mental problems, the potential for victimization while in prison is significant,” her lawyers wrote.

They also reminded the judge that since her conviction Moore has lost her home to foreclosure, has income tax problems and “has had her reputation thoroughly destroyed by this case.”

Moore’s sentencing is set for March 10. In a separate motion filed Tuesday, her lawyers asked for an eight-week extension because of injuries Moore suffered in a bathroom fall this month.

A physician’s letter said she is being treated for lower back pain with massage and ultrasound therapy and medication.