SACRAMENTO — A document disclosed Friday offered new details about the federal law enforcement inquiry into the activities of incoming state Senate leader Don Perata and an array of his relatives, associates and their businesses.
A subpoena issued by a federal grand jury meeting in Perata's hometown of Oakland is one of several delivered in recent weeks as part of an FBI probe apparently focused on activities there. The scope and target of the investigation are not clear.
The subpoena was obtained by the Oakland-based East Bay Express newspaper and posted Friday on its website.
Perata's attorney, Sacramento criminal law specialist George L. O'Connell, said Friday that Perata had done nothing improper. Perata on Thursday denied wrongdoing and said he had not been contacted by federal authorities.
The name of the entity that received the subpoena is blotted out on the website. But images of most of the three-page document offer a list of individuals of interest to law enforcement. It requests that the recipient provide records of payments, correspondence and other documents involving the individuals and their businesses.
Among those:
* Lily Hu and her Oakland-based lobbying business. The investigation apparently dates to 2003, when Hu's estranged and embittered companion contacted the FBI with an array of allegations related to Hu and politicians.
Hu, who worked briefly as an aide to Perata and ran for the Oakland City Council in the 1990s, represents several clients before Oakland officials, including some who are among Perata's major backers.
All together, Hu's clients have donated at least $400,000 to Perata's campaigns over the years, campaign finance reports show.
This year, Perata carried legislation, which was signed into law, to help open the way for a developer, Signature Properties, to purchase a prime piece of waterfront land in downtown Oakland. Signature wants to build 3,000 homes and various retail outlets on the 60-acre parcel. Hu has represented Signature in Oakland. Signature has donated $63,000 to Perata over the years.
The legislation, SB 1622, passed unanimously and had no opposition.
Mark Stice, Signature's general counsel, said law enforcement personnel had not contacted the company. Stice said the proposed development still required approval from various local agencies.
Hu's attorney, Doron Weinberg, said his client had done nothing improper.
