Corruption Case of Sen. Montoya Goes to the Jury

SACRAMENTO —  A federal court jury began considering the fate of state Sen. Joseph B. Montoya on Tuesday in the first trial of a sitting California legislator on corruption charges in 24 years.

The jury began its deliberations after receiving a detailed explanation from U.S. District Judge Milton L. Schwartz on the complex extortion and racketeering indictment against Montoya.

Schwartz, delivering 62 separate instructions to the jury, said Montoya can be found guilty of attempted extortion even if he never received a payment or carried out any promise of legislative action.

Furthermore, the fact that several of the charges against the Whittier Democrat stem from an undercover FBI investigation “has no bearing” on whether Montoya broke the law, the judge said.

“This has been a difficult trial in a number of ways,” Schwartz said after the 12 jurors left the courtroom to begin their deliberations. “It has been lengthy, it has been technical in a number of aspects and it has required a severe degree of concentration.”

Montoya is charged with eight counts of extortion, one count of racketeering and one count of money laundering. The racketeering charge alleges that the senator engaged in a pattern of corrupt behavior based on the eight episodes involved in the extortion counts.

Schwartz’s instructions were the first time the jury was informed that the judge had thrown out two federal bribery counts, which duplicated two of the extortion charges. Schwartz ruled two weeks ago that the bribery statute cited by prosecutors does not apply to a state legislator.

U.S. Atty. David F. Levi, who personally helped try the case, has accused Montoya of using his elected post in attempts to extort more than $36,000 in campaign contributions and honorariums from individuals seeking legislative action.

“I feel that we got our evidence in,” Levi said in an interview after the jury began its deliberations. “We put forward our case.”

But defense attorney Bruce Kelton said prosecutors relied on “innuendoes,” not hard evidence. “I don’t think the government proved their case,” he said.

The last legislator tried on corruption charges in California was Assemblyman Lester A. McMillan, who was accused of accepting a $10,000 bribe from a Culver City businessman. The Democratic legislator from Los Angeles was acquitted in July, 1965, in a trial presided over by then-Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Joseph A. Wapner.

If convicted, Montoya faces a maximum of 20 years on each of the 10 counts. He also could face fines of up to $250,000 for each extortion count, up to $500,000 for the money laundering charge and forfeiture of up to $8,000 on the racketeering count.

After the jurors filed out, Montoya went down the hall to another courtroom where U.S. District Judge Lawrence K. Karlton began hearing arguments Tuesday on the constitutionality of Proposition 73, a campaign finance measure approved by voters in 1988.

During his trial, Montoya’s attorneys portrayed the senator as a “reformer” because he was one of three legislative co-authors of the campaign finance initiative, which limited political contributions and banned the transfer of campaign donations between candidates.

But in the Proposition 73 lawsuit, labor unions and Democratic leaders charge that the measure violates the First Amendment, favors incumbents and discriminates against challengers who are members of minority groups.