FBI Probers Haven’t Forgotten the Republicans

SACRAMENTO — Anyone watching the federal investigation of political corruption in the Capitol over the last three years has to be surprised by the latest developments--ex-Sen. Alan Robbins blurting out a confession of bribery and extortion; the Van Nuys Democrat going on to divulge the bombshell that he had been working undercover for the FBI trying to implicate other political figures.

Those hooked on Sacramento’s long-running political corruption show might also be wondering, what next? More sensational disclosures? What about rumors that the investigation, with its elaborate sting operation, is really nothing more than a Republican plot to bag Democratic lawmakers?

The sudden demise of Robbins has revived talk of partisan influences at work. The thesis, popular among Democrats, is simple: Since 1981, the top prosecutors in Sacramento, including U.S. Atty. George L. O’Connell, have been appointed by Republican presidents.

The conspiracy theorists note that all three legislators who stand convicted of corruption--former state Sens. Paul Carpenter and Joseph B. Montoya and now Robbins--are Democrats. Moreover, they point out, neither of the two Republican lawmakers identified as targets of the sting--Assemblyman Pat Nolan of Glendale and Sen. Frank Hill of Whittier--has been indicted.

O’Connell bristles at the suggestion that the continuing probe is politically motivated.

He asserts that he will follow the evidence without regard to party affiliation wherever it leads him, and there is still plenty of evidence to follow.

At the time of Robbins’ disclosures, federal agents carted boxes of documents out of the office of lobbyist Clayton R. Jackson, who was named by Robbins as an accomplice to his illegal acts. Robbins has pleaded guilty to two felonies, tax evasion and using his office as a racketeering enterprise to extort bribes from lobbyists and a San Diego hotel developer.

When the corruption probe first came to light more than three years ago, prosecutors had no idea that they would be at it today. They had no hint that they would be delving into the activities of a major lobbyist and a member of the Coastal Commission, Mark L. Nathanson, who was also named as an accomplice by Robbins.

Any investigation on this scale, knowledgeable sources say, assumes an impetus of its own, suddenly sending agents off in unexpected directions when new information develops or a potential witness comes forward.

Despite the diversions and political doubters, the fact is that federal probers have kept their Hill and Nolan files open. Just this summer, agents were digging into the activities of the two Republicans, trying to determine whether there was a case to be made against them. Both lawmakers had accepted money from FBI agents masquerading as Southern businessmen who sought special legislative favors as part of the federal sting. And both insisted that they had done nothing improper.

However, the probe of the Republicans came to a temporary halt last fall while prosecutors completed their successful prosecution of two former Democratic legislative aides, Tyrone Netters and Daryl Freeman, and while investigators were tied up managing their hidden “asset”--a cooperating Sen. Robbins.

The federal authorities would like to wrap up their probe of Hill and Nolan as soon as they are able. After all, it has been 3 1/2 years since Hill took a $2,500 honorarium from an undercover FBI agent and since Nolan took $10,000 in campaign contributions.

Other matters have taken precedence.

Meanwhile--overlooked or forgotten by many along the way--Karin L. Watson, a former legislative aide to Republican Nolan, is awaiting sentencing, although it has been more than two years since she pleaded guilty to extorting $12,500 from one of those undercover FBI agents posing as a businessman.

Watson’s plea was part of a deal she cut with the government. In return for her cooperation in the investigation of others, she will serve six months in a halfway house--rather than up to 20 years in federal prison.

But the deal was conditioned on her continued cooperation with the U.S. attorney’s office here, and every few months the federal prosecutors and her attorneys have quietly agreed to extend her sentencing date while her usefulness continues.

Whether Hill or Nolan will be charged or cleared in the investigation has yet to be determined. But as long as Watson continues cooperating, the answer to the skeptics is that the two Republican lawmakers remain targets.