Posted on 11/20/2004 8:41:55 AM PST by NormsRevenge
Federal prosecutors want financial records on incoming state Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata and several of his relatives and closest associates, according to a subpoena issued in a federal grand jury probe into possible public corruption. One such subpoena -- obtained by the Oakland Tribune on condition that the recipient remain anonymous -- names Perata, D-Oakland; his son, Nick Perata of Oakland; his daughter, Rebecca Perata-Rosati, and his son-in-law, Michael Rosati, both of Alameda; his former aide, Oakland lobbyist Lily Hu; political consultant Sandra Polka; Perata's friend and sometime business partner Timothy Staples of Sacramento; and several of these people's businesses.
Grand Jury Subpoena The subpoena seeks all financial records -- bills, receipts, contracts, checks, bank statements and so on -- as well as all internal or external correspondence -- letters, e-mails, contracts, phone records, recordings and so on -- involving these people and businesses. A grand jury has been convened at the federal building in San Francisco to review this evidence, the subpoena indicates.
BART spokesman Linton Johnson acknowledged Friday that the transit agency received a similar subpoena Nov. 8. "We have no financial records to provide them," he said, adding BART is checking to see whether any work records or correspondence are available.
Perata told reporters Thursday he hadn't been directly contacted by authorities about an investigation, but if he is, he'll cooperate fully.
Perata, 59, went to the Senate in 1998 after one term in the Assembly and two on the Alameda County Board of Supervisors. He has earned a reputation as a liberal lawmaker, especially in pushing bills that gave California the nation's strictest law controlling assault weapons. Sometimes his ideas -- taxing individual bullets to raise money for emergency rooms or taxing disposable diapers to fund recycling efforts -- have been met with derision.
But his reputation is that of a consummate deal-maker and formidable fund-raiser, someone who knows many people from whom he can call in favors -- he's often called "the Don."
And over the years, there have been allegations that Perata skates on the edge of propriety where his family, friends and money are concerned.
As previously reported by the Tribune, Perata's business ties to his children have sparked complaints. For example, Nick Perata's political consulting business, Exit Strategies, rented Alameda office space from the senator even as the senator paid the company hundreds of thousands of dollars for campaign and other work, and steered other campaigns its way. Perata also did business with one of Perata-Rosati's businesses that was based at an Alameda home her brother had bought from her father.
The state Senate Rules Committee in March declined to investigate Perata following published reports and complaints about his business dealings with Staples, a former college roommate and longtime friend. Records show Perata drew about $100,000 in pay from one of Staples' businesses even while steering political consulting work to Staples. The committee, chaired by outgoing Senate President Pro Tem John Burton, D-San Francisco, found the allegations didn't merit an investigation.
Polka has worked for the state Senate Office of Research and for Burton. She also has run ballot measure campaigns in which she has subcontracted work -- campaign literature and so forth -- to firms run by Nick Perata, Michael Rosati and Sean Staples, Tim Staples' son.
BART director Dan Richard noted Friday that Polka did political work for BART recently, helping to gauge public opinion on the agency's seismic needs and then consulting with the campaign for Measure AA, the agency's successful seismic-retrofit funding bond on the November ballot. Also, Hu did public outreach work for BART in recent years. Both women worked for BART under no-bid contracts, he recalled.
The businesses named in the subpoena are:
Perata Engineering, a political consulting firm run by the lawmaker himself;
Ascendant Solutions, Socratic Solutions and Staples Associates, all of which belong to Tim Staples;
BPR Productions and Vox Populi, both of which belong to Perata-Rosati;
Exit Strategies and NRP Productions, both of which belong to Nick Perata; and Lily Hu & Associates.
Allegations of some sort of kickback scheme involving Hu surfaced in court papers filed in 2003 as Hu sought a restraining order against her longtime romantic partner, Frank Wishom. In one document, Wishom -- who died later in 2003 -- wrote that "there is an investigation being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, who is investigating Ms. Hu's conduct in regard to her lobbying activities and her activities with politicians."
On Friday, a well-connected East Bay political source speaking on condition of anonymity said Wishom at the time was distraught over his breakup with Hu and didn't heed friends' advice to simply move on.
"It was clear when he came to me that he was going to pursue this thing further ... he said he was going to go over to the FBI," the source said. "He never shared any specifics, any evidence, that sort of thing."
Like others, this source assumes Wishom's word alone wasn't enough to spark an investigation, but combined with revelations about Perata's ties to Staples, could've brought about the probe now in progress.
Alameda County schools superintendent Sheila Jordan, a friend and political ally of Perata's who said she has not been subpoenaed or otherwise contacted by authorities about this probe, said she believes it's taking a toll on the senator and his family.
"He's one of those people who seems very powerful and seems very shielded from emotional impact. He's very directed and very strong," Jordan said. "But I think that this kind of assault by the press is very painful.
"Everyone in politics knows that as you advance, your personal life is open to more scrutiny," she said. "It's the ABCs of politics. When you go into politics, the first thing that anyone tells you ... is that you'd better look in your closets and see what's in there, because whatever's in there will become public.
"It would be hard for me to believe that Don Perata consciously did something illegal. I'd like to adhere to our democratic way of 'innocent until proven guilty,'" she said.
FRom the Sac Bee / Kevin Yamamura
http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/story/11493108p-12406317c.html
Leaks in Perata probe questioned
The state senator's attorney suspects political motives.
A former U.S. attorney representing state Sen. Don Perata charged Friday that federal investigators who leaked information from a grand jury probe of his associates may have political motivations intended to blunt Perata's scheduled rise to the top Senate post next month.
George L. O'Connell, who led corruption inquiries into state lawmakers when he ran the U.S. attorney's office in Sacramento from 1991 to 1993, formally asked that the San Francisco-based U.S. attorney's office examine illegal leaks related to an investigation of Perata's political allies in his Oakland-based district.
News reports first surfaced this week with details of a federal grand jury probe in which Perata associates received subpoenas soliciting information related to their business ties with the Democratic state senator. The investigation likely stemmed from allegations of political corruption against a Perata friend and Oakland city lobbyist who once worked for the legislator.
With Perata set to become on Dec. 6 the next Senate president pro tem - considered perhaps the state's second-most-powerful position behind the governor - O'Connell questioned the motives behind the leaks.
"I have to say the timing and and expanse of these leaks raises a real question as to why this is going on now," O'Connell said, "and whether or not there is some sort of agenda in orchestrating this series of leaks that could have the effect of interfering with the democratic processes of the state government."
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