In December 2005, a state agency aired several public service announcements touting the benefits of preschool. The agency chair was criticized by some who felt that the ads (which cost $18 million) were a way of using public resources to support ballot measure activities, since the ads ran ran during the signature gathering process for a ballot measure initiative that would have expanded the accessibility of preschool.Read more »
A city treasurer was indicted on 39 counts of money laundering, bribery, wire fraud and public corruption, alleging that he used his elected office and political influence to funnel money from city projects to family and friends between 1998 and 2003. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and ordered to pay $639,000 in restitution.
In April of 2009, a southern California sheriff beat a number of federal corruption charges, only to find himself still being treated harshly by the court on the one lone witness tampering conviction. He was sentenced to 66 months in prison and ordered to pay a $125,000 fine within a year. The judge said he gave the sentence to promote respect for the law, to be deterrence to others and to establish a just punishment.Read more »
In 2006, a prominent southern California mayor was sentenced to nearly 16 years in prison and ordered to pay over three-quarters of a million dollars in restitution. The mayor was convicted of some 20 public corruption-related charges.Read more »
In 2006, Congressmember Randy "Duke" Cunningham was sentenced to 8 years in prison and ordered to pay $1.8 million in restitution for his role in a "pay to play" scandal.Read more »
(Four-page tipsheet): Provides a handy reference on the kinds of issues that ought to trigger a conversation with agency counsel or the Fair Political Practices Commission.
This fictional vignette offers thoughts on how an official might respond should a campaign supporter ask for something in return for campaign support. Download video »
In 2006, Congressmember Randy "Duke" Cunningham was sentenced to 8 years in prison and ordered to pay $1.8 million in restitution for his role in a "pay to play" scandal.
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