Prometheus 6

Quote of note:

Shelley's troubles revolve around a politician's stock in trade: delivering "pork barrel" spending to his district and collecting campaign donations from political supporters. And an aspect of the Perata inquiry involves something that hits home hard: family. Like many elected officials, Perata has family members   his son and daughter   who work on his campaigns.

FBI Presence Shadows Legislature's New Session
Sacramento's climate is clouded by inquiries tied to the secretary of state and Senate leader.
By Dan Morain

Times Staff Writer

January 3, 2005

SACRAMENTO   For the first time since the Capitol's "Shrimpgate" scandal more than a decade ago, California legislators open their session today knowing that the FBI is hovering not far away.

By issuing subpoenas, conducting searches and convening grand juries in Oakland and Sacramento, the feds have made their presence unmistakable as they investigate dealings by the new state Senate leader, Don Perata, and Secretary of State Kevin Shelley, a former legislator. Both men are Democrats.

The scope of the inquiries, which are not connected, is not known. But interviews and documents that have become public suggest that the FBI is examining Perata's business and political activity in Oakland, his hometown, and Shelley's procurement of state money for a nonprofit group when he was an assemblyman from San Francisco.