OAKLAND -- Now several years old, the sprawling federal corruption probe of state Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata has spurred him to spend more than $1 million on legal defense, clouded his two decades in public life and swept up close associates and his adult children.
The investigation into the East Bay lawmaker's political and business affairs has largely operated out of sight in recent years, although FBI agents have searched his home and his son's.
But public records, subpoenas and interviews with officials and others contacted by the FBI show that it has remained very much alive.
A grand jury has heard testimony and issued subpoenas to numerous businesses and government agencies that dealt with Perata. And agents have talked to potential witnesses and collected records about many issues championed by the senator.
These include bond measures for seismic work on a Bay Area transit system, billboards along freeways and federal approval of an airport roadway.
One common theme is that campaign contributors and associates often stood to gain from Perata's actions, and subpoenas and the FBI's questions suggest that the government has been looking for any money that may have illegally flowed back to him or has not been properly disclosed.
Beyond pledging to cooperate with authorities, Perata has maintained silence, although his representatives have questioned whether partisan politics may have fueled scrutiny of one of the state's most powerful Democrats.
"This investigation is unfortunate . . . unfair and wholly arbitrary," said his spokesman, Jason Kinney. "We are confident that he has always operated appropriately and in the end this will be resolved in his favor. . . . There is no there there."
One political expert says that such a long investigation cries out for resolution. "I think it is time for the feds to fish or cut bait," said Barbara O'Connor, director of the Institute for the Study of Politics and Media at Cal State Sacramento.
Federal officials will not discuss their investigation, but legal experts say one question is whether Perata enriched himself through a quid pro quo deal. They also say corruption cases can take years to develop.
"Allegations swirl around political figures all the time, and the U.S. attorney's offices and the FBI look into some of them and often conclude there is nothing to do," said former federal prosecutor Rory Little, a professor at UC's Hastings College of the Law. "And new allegations come in . . . and they look again. . . . You do not go up against a prominent politician until you have proof beyond a reasonable doubt."
