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CD-ROM Aktief 1995 #3
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1994-02-22
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SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS
Copyright 1990, San Jose Mercury News
DATE: Thursday, October 11, 1990
PAGE: 13B EDITION: Morning Final
SECTION: Editorial LENGTH: 20 in. Medium
ILLUSTRATION: Photos (3)
SOURCE: By DAN WALTERS
MEMO: Commentary
Dan Walters is a political writer for McClatchy Newspapers.
UP THE POWER CHAIN
INVESTIGATORS TARGET ROBBINS' LAND DEALINGS
EX-STATE Sen. Joseph Montoya is serving a stretch in federal prison for
using his office to shake down lobbyists for money.
Ex-state Sen. Paul Carpenter is awaiting sentencing after being convicted
of doing the same thing.
Now, according to the Los Angeles Times, federal prosecutors are aiming
at state Sen. Alan Robbins. The Times reported recently that Robbins'
far-flung personal business dealings are under investigation.
There is more than coincidence involved in these investigations. Federal
investigators, expanding on their years-long undercover ''sting'' operation
in the Capitol, have focused on a small clique of politicians who have been
personally, politically and financially intertwined for years.
Montoya, Carpenter and Robbins all achieved power within the Senate
during the early 1980s after helping David*Roberti*in a successful coup that
toppled James Mills, the longtime president pro tem of the Senate.
Robbins was rewarded with chairmanship of a new Senate Insurance
Committee, Montoya became chairman of the Business and Professions Committee,
and Carpenter became Democratic caucus chairman. The positions gave them
leverage with lobbyists, and in the cases of both Montoya and Carpenter, the
exercise of that leverage is what juries found felonious.
While no one has questioned*Roberti's*personal integrity, he was fully
aware of the reputations of his political partners for slick dealing. He
tolerated it, or ignored it, in return for loyalty.
The catalyst for these inside moves was Jerry Zanelli, a veteran Capitol
figure who had worked for*Roberti,*left the official payroll to become a
lobbyist, returned to*Roberti's* staff at the time of the coup, and has since
become a lobbyist again.
Zanelli was associated with Carpenter in an Orange County political
machine headed by Louis Cella -- who went to federal prison in the mid-1970s,
was frequently paired with Robbins in political dealings in the San Fernando
Valley, and, as a lobbyist, has often tapped Montoya to carry his clients'
bills. Zanelli's lobbying office was raided by federal agents at one point in
the investigation.
One example of their interconnected interests is a subject of the current
investigation of Robbins.
Several years ago, Robbins was promoting a bill that would make it
virtually impossible for Marina Del Rey, a coastal enclave near Los Angeles,
to become a city. Marina Del Rey landlords opposed incorporation, because
they feared it would lead to rent control. Robbins began promoting the
measure just days after buying a major interest in a Marina Del Rey apartment
complex. Zanelli was retained as a lobbyist by the anti-city interests, and
Montoya wound up as the author of their bill.
Like the Marina del Rey incident, many of Robbins' business deals now
under scrutiny involve real estate along the Southern California coast, and
also involve the state Coastal Commission, which oversees development along
the shoreline.
The Times reported that Coastal Commission member Mark Nathanson and
Robbins are being investigated for allegedly trying to extort $250,000 from a
San Diego hotel developer who was trying to block a rival hotel from being
constructed.
It's by no means certain that Robbins, who is considered to be one of the
Capitol's wiliest operators, will ever face indictment. But the Times
disclosure indicates that the federal investigation of Capitol*corruption*is
still going strong and that investigators are moving up the political food
chain.
Montoya's case was relatively easy to make because he was greedy and
blunt in his demands on federal undercover agents. Carpenter's case was a
little more difficult because Carpenter is smarter and avoided the direct
trade of money for official action, but jurors were persuaded that he was
guilty of selling access to his office.
Robbins' situation is infinitely more complex, involving purely private
business affairs and actions, if the allegations are true, that are indirect
at best. He's never been one to grub for campaign funds or even speaking
payments; his focus has always been on his extensive real estate and other
business holdings that may be only tangentially connected to politics.
It's fascinating stuff.
CAPTION: PHOTO: Sen. Alan Robbins
PHOTO: Carpenter
PHOTO: Montoya
KEYWORDS: OPINION US CONGRESS OFFICIAL ETHICS
END OF DOCUMENT.