Posted on 11/23/2004 8:56:25 AM PST by NormsRevenge
SACRAMENTO (AP) - The children of the Oakland Democrat in line to become the next leader of the state Senate asked the Justice Department and FBI to investigate leaks about a corruption investigation involving them and their father.
Attorneys for Nick Perata and Rebecca Perata Rosati sent a letter to Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller on Monday urging federal authorities to question and order lie detector tests for law enforcement officers involved in the probe.
They also asked for permission to take sworn statements from the officers.
"These leaks are criminal and constitute violations of the very laws that these offices have sworn to uphold," said the letter from attorneys Elliot Peters and Cristina Arguedas. "They are unfair because they pervert the grand jury process. And they are scurrilous because Nick Perata and Rebecca Perata Rosati have never engaged in any form of criminal conduct."
Perata and Rosati are the son and daughter of Sen. Don Perata, who is in line to become the state Senate's president pro tem when lawmakers meet Dec. 6 to elect their leaders for their 2005 session.
The Senate president pro tem is generally considered to be the second most powerful official in California government after the governor.
In another development, federal agents have requested records from a company that hired a Perata friend to promote its products, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday.
Authorities demanded information from Falcon Waterfree Technologies, a company that employed Perata's friend, Timothy G. Staples.
In 2001, Perata asked Oakland schools superintendent Dennis Chaconas to meet with Staples, the Times said. Chaconas has told the Times that Staples asked him to consider installing urinals made by Falcon in Oakland schools.
"We did receive a subpoena a few days ago, and of course we are gathering the documents to comply with the subpoena," Falcon President Jay Troger said in a statement. "We don't have very much, but what we have we're certainly in the process of turning over."
Federal authorities have also subpoenaed records from the Bay Area Rapid Transit District, which would have received money from a $1-billion bond campaign and a bridge toll increase that Staples raised money to promote, the Times said.
BART spokesman Linton Johnson said Monday that the transit system had been subpoenaed about Perata and other people he declined to identify.
Several newspapers have reported that a federal grand jury is investigating whether the elder Perata received payoffs directly or through an intermediary in exchange for exerting influence at Oakland City Hall.
The East Bay Express, a weekly newspaper that covers Oakland and the surrounding area, obtained a copy of a grand jury subpoena. Among other things, the subpoena sought records of payments to Perata, his son, daughter, son-in-law, one of his college friends and Lily Hu, a former Perata aide who is now a lobbyist in Oakland.
Perata has denied any wrongdoing and has also asked for an investigation to determine the sources for the stores.
Spokespersons for the Justice Department and FBI declined to comment Monday.
U.S. seeks records from firm and transit agency that used senator's associate as a promoter
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-perata23nov23,1,5853419.story?coll=la-headlines-california
Dan Morain and Robert Salladay, Los Angeles Times
As part of an investigation surrounding incoming state Senate leader Don Perata (D-Oakland), federal agents have requested records from at least one company that hired a longtime Perata friend to promote its products. Authorities have demanded information from a company that employed the friend, Timothy G. Staples, as it sought a contract with the Oakland school district for its products. In addition, federal authorities have subpoenaed records from the Bay Area Rapid Transit District, which would have received revenue from a $1-billion bond campaign and a separate bridge toll increase that Staples raised money to promote. Perata was substantially involved in the campaigns for both ballot measures.
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