Chvala charged with 20 felonies, including extortion, in Capitol misconduct probe

Milwaukee County District Attorney E. Michael McCann, special prosecutor in the investigation, filed the complaint, accusing Chvala of three counts of extortion; seven counts of misconduct in public office; five counts of filing false reports with the state Elections Board; one count of making an illegal campaign contribution; three counts of making political contributions exceeding the legal limits; and one count of conspiring to make campaign contributions exceeding the legal limits.

Chvala, of Madison, became the second Senate Democrat charged in the caucus investigation that has had the Capitol under a dark cloud since the secret John Doe investigation was launched in June of 2001.

Sen. Brian Burke (D-Milwaukee), co-chairman of the Joint Finance Committee, faces 18 felony counts, accusing him of soliciting campaign contributions in his Capitol office, filing false expense claims, and withholding or concealing records under subpoena.

Nearly $1 million in legal fees have been charged to taxpayers in the caucus investigations, and the legal billings come at a time when the state is facing a $1.3 billion deficit in the coming biennium.

The taxpayers picked up a $10,000 legal tab for Chvala, but when that payment surfaced, the majority leader had the Milwaukee law firm representing him reimburse the state.

The charges against Chvala were set in motion Monday when Dane County Circuit Judge Sarah B. O'Brien, the presiding judge in a secret John Doe investigation spanning more than a year, signed off on them. Chvala tried but failed to obtain a temporary restraining order in court Wednesday, claiming conflict of interest by McCann.

Chvala has been a main target of the investigation since it was launched in June of 2001, following reports that legislative aides, employed as caucus workers, were running political campaigns from the Capitol, using state resources on state time.

In the months that followed, the focus on Chvala intensified, as lobbyists complained of shakedowns. Speaking anonymously, several told the Journal Sentinel that Chvala told them that if they didn't give money to Senate Democrats facing tough re-election campaigns, their bills would not pass the Senate.

Since then, the Journal Sentinel reported on two so-called "pay to play" instances, where Chvala demanded campaign contributions for colleagues in exchange for action on bills.

One concerned a 1997 budget amendment to turn a 114-year-old Lake Geneva estate, called Black Point, into a state-owned tourist site. According to sources, Chvala told William O'Connor, the lobbyist representing Illinois residents who owned the estate, they had to contribute to the campaigns of Sens. Rod Moen (D-Whitehall) and Kim Plache (D-Racine) to ensure the amendment's adoption.

The other concerned Indiana-based Golden Rule Insurance. Sources told the Journal Sentinel that in 1996, Chvala was irate when he discovered a Golden Rule executive gave a $500 campaign contribution to Tom Metcalfe, who was running against Chvala. Sources said Chvala told Golden Rule's lobbyist, former Assembly Democrat Dismas Becker from Milwaukee, that his clients better contribute to Senate Democrats of his choosing in the future, they would suffer the consequences.

Dane County District Attorney Brian Blanchard began the caucus investigation, but shortly thereafter, appointed McCann as special prosecutor with the job of investigating Chvala and the Senate Democratic Caucus staff.

Blanchard explained at the time that he discovered that he had unwittingly received minor assistance from a Senate Democratic Caucus worker, who helped him format nomination papers when he first ran for district attorney in 2000.

Complete coverage of this story will appear online later tonight and in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in the morning.

You'd think all the heads rolling over F.U. Ament and the County pension scandal would have convinced the political scam artists to lay low for awhile. Apparently I gave them too much credit for intelligence. Also from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel . . .

Chvala shook down lobbyists, some claim

Last Updated: Oct. 16, 2002
Spivak & Bice

An Indiana insurance company and a Lake Geneva mansion are two of the areas that prosecutors focused on as part of their investigation of state Senate Majority Leader Chuck Chvala.

Sources tell us that the Milwaukee County district attorney looked into allegations that the Madison Democrat shook down officials from the Indiana-based Golden Rule Insurance.

Among those talked to, sources say, was Dismas Becker, an ex-lawmaker-turned-lobbyist for Golden Rule. Becker, who declined comment on Wednesday, was called into the Milwaukee County Courthouse several months ago to discuss a 1996 conversation he had with the Senate majority leader.

Becker told prosecutors that Chvala was irate because an executive with Golden Rule had made a $500 contribution to Tom Metcalfe, who was then running against Chvala. The Senate leader's reaction was to demand that in the future, contributions be made to Democrats of Chvala's choosing.

Otherwise, Becker told prosecutors, Chvala made it clear that there would be hell to pay, our sources tell us.

"If they think they had it bad the last biennium, they're going to have it worse next biennium," Chvala supposedly told Becker.

Not only that, sources say, Becker told prosecutors that Chvala wanted him fired by Golden Rule, a plum lobbying assignment. Becker did not lose the client.

According to campaign records, executives with the firm gave four donations to Chvala totaling $2,000 in 2000. They also made four contributions for a total of $1,600 to then-Sen. Alice Clausing, a Menomonie Democrat whom Chvala raised money for during that election.

DA investigators were intrigued enough with Becker's allegations that they later interviewed Brent Embrey, a lobbyist who was Becker's boss at the time and now works for the Indiana attorney general.

Embrey recently confirmed that he came to Milwaukee to talk with an investigator with the DA's office. But he said he was unaware that Chvala wanted Becker fired and that he never had any problems dealing with Chvala.

"I didn't personally have any kind of antagonistic relationship with Senator Chvala," Embrey said in an interview with us.

Still, sources say, about a month ago prosecutors told Becker that his allegations were being shared with Chvala as part of the wide-ranging probe of Capitol corruption. In white-collar crime cases, it's not unusual for prosecutors to disclose some of their evidence to the targets of the probe before charging.

The Milwaukee County and Dane County district attorneys have spent more than a year investigating whether lawmakers and caucus staffers did campaign work with state resources and on state time. The probe later was expanded to include lobbyists' complaints that legislative leaders sold action on bills for campaign contributions - a practice known as "pay to play."

To date, only one legislator, Sen. Brian Burke, has been charged in the scandal. Burke, who has maintained his innocence, is facing 18 felony charges for a variety of wrongdoing.

This week, Chvala tried unsuccessfully to bounce Milwaukee County DA E. Michael McCann from the case, claiming that the longtime prosecutor had a conflict of interest. McCann is expected to charge Chvala today.

Previously, we disclosed that McCann's office was pursuing allegations about a pay-to-play deal over a Lake Geneva mansion.

Investigators had talked this summer to several people involved in the passage of a 1997 budget amendment to turn the 114-year-old estate called Black Point into a state-owned tourist site.In an interview, William Petersen, the Chicago lawyer who owns the 13-bedroom summer cottage, said he has been interviewed by Milwaukee investigators about contributions he made to a couple of Senate Democrats, he said, at Chvala's urging.

Sources say Petersen's lobbyist on the deal, William O'Connor, has told prosecutors that the Senate leader told the lobbyist to have Petersen funnel money to vulnerable Senate Democrats to ensure the measure would not be derailed. Within weeks, Petersen cut checks for $500 each to Sens. Rod Moen of Whitehall and Kim Plache of Racine.

"I never heard of them," said Petersen, 75. What interest did he have in the races determining control of the state Senate? "None whatsoever."

Chvala, who didn't return calls Wednesday, has denied wrongdoing in this matter.

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