Judge Cuts Robbins’ Term, Cites Help in Ethics Inquiry

SACRAMENTO —  A federal district judge Monday slashed by more than half the public corruption sentence of former state Sen. Alan Robbins, acknowledging that the one-time San Fernando Valley political powerhouse was a valuable asset in the government’s ongoing pursuit of wrongdoing in the Capitol.

Judge Edward J. Garcia ordered that Robbins, now serving a 60-month term in the federal prison camp at Lompoc for racketeering and tax evasion, be released after 24 months.

Under federal prison rules, the former Democratic lawmaker could be released to a halfway house by fall and formally discharged early next year.

In seeking the sentence reduction, acting U.S. Atty. Robert M. Twiss said Robbins’ cooperation has “enabled the government to infiltrate the corrupt relationship between lobbyist and legislator in a manner that would have been impossible with other types of law enforcement techniques.”

Robbins’ sentence reduction serves as a signal to others implicated in the wide-ranging political corruption probe that, if they aid the government, they too could have their sentences reduced.

In a courthouse interview, Twiss said other corrupt officials “have the key to the door in their hands” if they follow Robbins’ lead and cooperate.

Otherwise “we’re going slam them the best we can.”

Judge Garcia said he was concerned initially that the government proposal was “overly lenient” in a case involving “abuse of public trust by a highly placed public official.”

But in the end, Garcia went along with the government, saying the U.S. attorney “knows better than anyone the value of the defendant’s assistance.”

Garcia noted that Robbins, who resigned from his Van Nuys area Senate seat in November, 1991, had been “publicly humiliated,” forced from “his lofty public office” and still must pay $475,000 in fines and restitution.

The federal judge also wanted assurances that Robbins would continue to be under court supervision for two years after his release from the prison system and that he would “still have a hammer of one-half million dollars in fines and restitution.”

As part of a plea bargain agreement, Robbins, 50, began cooperating with authorities in 1991. In a document filed with Garcia, Twiss spelled out how Robbins, who entered prison in June, 1992, helped bring several major indictments.

In one case, influential lobbyist Clayton R. Jackson was charged with racketeering, mail fraud and money laundering. He has pleaded not guilty and is set for trial in October.

During a four-month period in 1991, Robbins secretly tape-recorded conversations with Jackson, who lobbied for the insurance industry.

Twiss said Robbins made the recordings despite fearing for his physical safety.

The recorded conversations are an integral part of the government’s case against Jackson and former Sen. Paul B. Carpenter (D-Cypress).

Likewise, Twiss said Robbins was helpful in the indictment of former California Coastal Commissioner Mark L. Nathanson. In June, Nathanson pleaded guilty to racketeering and tax fraud charges and is now cooperating with the government. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 24.

If the Nathanson case had gone to trial and Robbins had testified, Twiss said, the ex-lawmaker would have “hit a home run.”

The cooperation was not without cost to Robbins.

Twiss described Robbins’ confinement as “more difficult than one would ordinarily expect.” He cited how Robbins was moved to the El Dorado County Jail near Sacramento for four months so he would be close to investigators. Because he was cooperating, Robbins was placed in solitary confinement in a cell lighted 23 hours per day. He also reportedly was harassed by other inmates.

An official with the jail east of Sacramento said he was baffled by the reference to the 23 hours. All the cells in the facility are equipped with night lights that remain lit to allow guards to check on inmates, said Lt. Ernest Hillman of the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Department.

A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office said that the lights in Robbins’ cell were turned off for only one hour each day.

Under the deal Robbins negotiated with the government, prosecutors had to seek the sentence reduction by Aug. 1.

Robbins’ sentence can be further reduced by 54 days a year for good behavior, making him eligible for release next February.

Prison authorities have the option of transferring him to a halfway house in the Los Angeles area up to six months before his release.

That would mean that Robbins could leave the federal prison camp at Lompoc in time to observe Thanksgiving in a halfway house.

Robbins did not appear in court but his lawyer acknowledged that he had unsuccessfully sought to reduce the financial penalties. Asked how long his client would be cooperating, Michael L. Lipman described it as “kind of a deal in perpetuity.”

In urging a sentence reduction, Lipman noted that he had turned over to authorities letters on Robbins’ behalf from his longtime constituents, family members and former Sen. Ed Davis (R-Santa Clarita).

The letters were not immediately made public.

Robbins still faces sentencing on three counts in a Los Angeles federal case in which he admitted giving false statements on bank loan applications.