Gulf Shrimp Fisheries Inc

Paul Carpenter, a member of the state Board of Equalization linked to the FBI's Capitol sting operation, had no dealings with the front company that donated $20,000 to his 1986 campaign, a spokesman said Tuesday. Carpenter, at his first public meeting since federal agents raided the Capitol on Aug. 24 and searched the offices of four lawmakers and their aides, declined to be interviewed.

The day after the Legislature gave final approval to a bill benefiting a bogus company set up by the FBI, an aide to the measure's author received a $2,000 contribution to his local election campaign from the phony firm, according to records obtained Thursday. Tyrone Netters, an aide to Assemblywoman Gwen Moore (D-Los Angeles), reported the $2,000 contribution from Peachstate Capital West Ltd.

In early 1986, a stocky, gregarious man with a deep Southern drawl arrived in the state Capitol on a mission. Calling himself Jack Gordon, he told legislators he needed a law passed to help his Alabama company get a special break on state-backed loans to finance a new shrimp-processing plant near Sacramento. Like many outsiders with a financial stake in legislation, he hired a lobbyist and began passing out thousands of dollars in campaign contributions.

As an outgrowth of its Capitol sting operation, the FBI is investigating Yolo County Sheriff Rod Graham because of a check he allegedly received from a phony company set up by agents for their undercover activities, according to sources familiar with the investigation.

The day after the Legislature gave final approval to a bill benefiting a bogus company set up by the FBI, an aide to the measure's author received a $2,000 contribution to his local election campaign from the phony firm, according to records obtained Thursday. Tyrone Netters, an aide to Assemblywoman Gwen Moore (D-Los Angeles), reported the $2,000 contribution from Peachstate Capital West Ltd.

Federal law enforcement officials abruptly ended the sting phase of their undercover investigation into alleged Capitol corruption on Aug. 24 because a top aide to Assembly Republican Leader Pat Nolan of Glendale refused an offer to turn informant, sources familiar with the FBI operation told The Times Monday.

The FBI's late-night raid of Capitol offices this week was the culmination of a "classic sting operation" that used two phony companies and a legislative staff member armed with a hidden recording device to uncover corruption in the Legislature, sources said Friday.

A dummy company set up by the FBI slipped $1,000 in cash under the door of an aide to Assembly Speaker Willie Brown, but she promptly returned the money because it is illegal to accept cash contributions, the Speaker said Thursday. The attempted donation took place two years ago but Brown said he did not learn about it until Wednesday. The "company," Gulf Shrimp Fisheries Inc., replaced the cash donation with a $1,000 cashier's check. "Can you imagine stuffing 10 $100 bills under someone's door?"

As an outgrowth of its Capitol sting operation, the FBI is investigating Yolo County Sheriff Rod Graham because of a check he allegedly received from a phony company set up by agents for their undercover activities, according to sources familiar with the investigation.

John Shahabian, a state Senate aide who turned informant after being caught in the FBI's Capitol sting operation, was an intermediary for campaign contributions in 1986 but "never got a dime personally," his attorney, Donald H. Heller, told The Times on Thursday. Heller's comment is the first indication he has given of the role Shahabian was playing when he was snared by federal investigators in their probe of Capitol corruption.

John Shahabian, a state Senate aide who turned informant after being caught in the FBI's Capitol sting operation, was an intermediary for campaign contributions in 1986 but "never got a dime personally," his attorney, Donald H. Heller, told The Times on Thursday. Heller's comment is the first indication he has given of the role Shahabian was playing when he was snared by federal investigators in their probe of Capitol corruption.

Paul Carpenter, a member of the state Board of Equalization linked to the FBI's Capitol sting operation, had no dealings with the front company that donated $20,000 to his 1986 campaign, a spokesman said Tuesday. Carpenter, at his first public meeting since federal agents raided the Capitol on Aug. 24 and searched the offices of four lawmakers and their aides, declined to be interviewed.

Early last fall, a husky state Senate aide named John Shahabian drove out to the Federal Building a few miles north of the Capitol for a 7 a.m. meeting. Shahabian thought that he was going to be helping a developer overcome some environmental questions the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had raised about a project. Instead, he was led through a side entrance of the building, past a door bearing the Fish and Wildlife insignia and into a room filled with FBI agents.

Four legislators who are prominent targets of the FBI's investigation into political corruption have received thousands of dollars in personal income from businesses seeking to influence the course of legislation in the state Capitol, public records show. The four lawmakers, who all are in a position to help decide the fate of certain bills, reported receiving a total of $161,474 in honorariums from special-interest groups during 1986 and 1987.

Assemblyman Frank Hill (R-Whittier) received a sizable honorarium this year from one of the phony companies set up by the FBI as part of its sting operation aimed at uncovering corruption in the Capitol, sources familiar with the probe told The Times. It was the first specific indication of why Hill is a subject of the FBI investigation.

Federal law enforcement officials abruptly ended the sting phase of their undercover investigation into alleged Capitol corruption on Aug. 24 because a top aide to Assembly Republican Leader Pat Nolan of Glendale refused an offer to turn informant, sources familiar with the FBI operation told The Times Monday.

An FBI dummy corporation funneled nearly $12,000 in campaign contributions to Assembly Speaker Willie Brown and two others through a pair of intermediaries who said Wednesday they were unaware they were participating in a federal sting operation.

Early last fall, a husky state Senate aide named John Shahabian drove out to the Federal Building a few miles north of the Capitol for a 7 a.m. meeting. Shahabian thought that he was going to be helping a developer overcome some environmental questions the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had raised about a project. Instead, he was led through a side entrance of the building, past a door bearing the Fish and Wildlife insignia and into a room filled with FBI agents.

In early 1986, a stocky, gregarious man with a deep Southern drawl arrived in the state Capitol on a mission. Calling himself Jack Gordon, he told legislators he needed a law passed to help his Alabama company get a special break on state-backed loans to finance a new shrimp-processing plant near Sacramento. Like many outsiders with a financial stake in legislation, he hired a lobbyist and began passing out thousands of dollars in campaign contributions.

A dummy company set up by the FBI slipped $1,000 in cash under the door of an aide to Assembly Speaker Willie Brown, but she promptly returned the money because it is illegal to accept cash contributions, the Speaker said Thursday. The attempted donation took place two years ago but Brown said he did not learn about it until Wednesday. The "company," Gulf Shrimp Fisheries Inc., replaced the cash donation with a $1,000 cashier's check. "Can you imagine stuffing 10 $100 bills under someone's door?"