The Associated Press July 10, 2007, 7:52AM ET text size: TT
Former Alaska lawmaker guilty of briberyANCHORAGE, Alaska
A former Alaska lawmaker was convicted Monday of taking thousands of dollars from a corrections company consultant in exchange for his help in the Legislature.
"I'm devastated," former state Rep. Tom Anderson said after the federal jury announced its bribery verdict.
Anderson, 39, was accused of conspiring to take money he thought was coming from a private prison firm, Cornell Industries Inc.
The money was supplied by the FBI through an informant working for Cornell who secretly recorded his conversations with Anderson and a coconspirator, former municipal lobbyist Bill Bobrick.
Anderson was one of four current or former state lawmakers facing federal bribery indictments. The other three face trial this fall for charges related to Anchorage-based oil field services company VECO Corp.
"I think the prosecution has criminalized being a legislator over the last year," Anderson said. "I think I fell victim to that."
Minutes after Anderson's conviction, Gov. Sarah Palin signed into law an ethics reform package for state officials. Palin said the law will help re-establish the public's trust, noting Anderson's case revealed a broader problem with public officials.
"I believe it could be a precursor for what's to come, and it's unfortunate," she said.
Anderson's family, including his wife, state Sen. Lesil McGuire, were not present for the verdict.
Anderson said they couldn't get to the downtown Anchorage courthouse in time after it was announced the jury had reached a verdict.
Judge John Sedwick ordered Anderson to surrender his passport and scheduled sentencing for Oct. 2.
Anderson was arrested Dec. 7 and charged with seven felonies, including conspiracy, bribery, money laundering and interfering with commerce, a charge connected to a demand for payments. He faces a maximum penalty of 115 years in prison and a $1.75 million fine.
Department of Justice officials in Washington said Anderson was held accountable for his crimes.
Anderson "corrupted his elected office when he took official actions in exchange for bribery payments," Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher said. "His illegal conduct impaired the integrity of the oath he took to represent citizens of the state of Alaska."
Bobrick pleaded guilty in May to bribing Anderson. He agreed to testify against Anderson in exchange for prosecutors' request for lenience at sentencing.
Anderson was accused of accepting nearly $26,000 he thought was coming from Cornell through Frank Prewitt, a former corrections department commissioner and an FBI informant who was a $150,000-per-year consultant for Cornell.
The Houston-based company operated halfway houses in Alaska and hoped to build a private prison and a juvenile psychiatric treatment center in Alaska.
The defense argued that Anderson backed Cornell without being on the take and that Prewitt wore a wire to bag a legislator and deflect investigators from his legal problems.
Prosecutors contend Bobrick and Anderson trolled for cash in conversations with Prewitt, using a phony Web-based newsletter as a front for Cornell to funnel payments to Anderson.
Anderson, finishing his first term as a Republican legislator from east Anchorage, was strapped for cash, prosecutors said, as he romanced McGuire, who was then a state representative.
He owed child support payments and was looking for a payoff of about $3,000 per month when the Legislature was not in session.