Yucca Valley tied to Lewis Inquiry

Guy McCarthy and Andrew Silva, Staff Writers
Article Launched: 06/06/2006 06:48:00 PM PDT
San Bernardino County Sun

The High Desert town of Yucca Valley has been subpoenaed for records pertaining to the federal criminal investigation of ties between Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Redlands, and lobbying giant Copeland Lowery Jacquez Denton & White.

Yucca Valley joins a growing list of government entities that have been served subpoenas, including San Bernardino and Riverside counties, Redlands, Loma Linda, Twentynine Palms and the Cal State San Bernardino Foundation.

An FBI spokesman in Washington, D.C., confirmed Tuesday the agency is working more than 2,000 public corruption investigations, including the Jack Abramoff lobbying probe and several inquiries stemming from the bribery conviction of former San Diego Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham.

The clerk for Yucca Valley confirmed Tuesday her office has been subpoenaed for records pertaining to Copeland Lowery and Lewis in connection with a criminal investigation being conducted by the FBI, the federal Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the IRS.

Lewis is chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, which oversees about $900 billion in federal outlays. He has not been formally accused or charged with any wrongdoing. Lewis could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Patrick Dorton, a spokesman for Copeland Lowery based in Washington, repeated the perspective from the firm's founder, Lewis' friend and former San Diego congressman Bill Lowery.

"This is run-of-the-mill appropriations work," Dorton said Tuesday. "It's done all the time in Washington. Every day, every month, every year it happens."

Asked whether Copeland Lowery lobbyists are frustrated to find their routine work the subject of a federal criminal investigation reported in newspapers from New York to Los Angeles, Dorton said, ``I'm not going to comment on that.''

Documents released Tuesday by Yucca Valley include a federal subpoena from U.S. Attorney prosecutors in Los Angeles and correspondence from Copeland Lowery lobbyists and former Lewis staffers Jeff Shockey of Redlands and Letitia H. White.

Shockey, who returned to work for Lewis last year, earned $1.5 million over six years with Copeland Lowery and received a $600,000 severance package. Since Shockey was a part-owner of the firm, the $600,000 was a divestiture required by law.

White worked nearly 20 years for Lewis before leaving to work for Copeland Lowery in 2003. She earned lobbying fees of $850,000 that year and $3.5 million last year, earning her the title "K Street's queen of earmarks," The New York Times reported Saturday.

Lewis has passionately defended the practice of earmarking hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funds for local projects. But the practice is at least one reason for federal investigators' scrutiny. Some observers, including congressional watchdog groups in Washington, question whether Lewis and other lawmakers have traded earmarks for illegal payments from contractors and lobbyists.

Cunningham was sentenced to eight years in prison after he pleaded guilty to accepting $2.4 million in bribes. He resigned in disgrace in December.

Yucca Valley has had an agreement with Copeland Lowery since January 2003 on a retainer of $3,000 per month plus expenses.

That was increased in August 2005 to $3,500.

The firm lobbies not only Lewis, but also California's two U.S. senators and others who may have a role in issues of concern, Town Manager Andy Takata said.

Money for improvements to Highway 62 has been obtained and the firm has helped arrange important meetings with federal officials to help solve problems, he said.

"We felt they have done a good job for us," Takata said. "Jerry Lewis has been a very good Congressman for us all these years."

That was true long before the town hired Copeland Lowery, he said. 

House Appropriations chairman under fire
Did Rep. Jerry Lewis use his powerful position to enrich a friend?

By Aram Roston, Lisa Myers & the NBC Investigative Unit
Updated: 10:57 p.m. ET June 7, 2006

WASHINGTON - You may not have heard of him, but Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Calif., is one of the most powerful members of Congress, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, which controls hundreds of billions of dollars.

Tom Casey, CEO of the now-defunct computer software company Audre Inc., has told federal investigators what he says happened in 1993 when he asked for Lewis' help in getting money for the Pentagon to test software that converted engineering documents to computer formats.

Tom Casey: I just thought, in my opinion, it pressed the boundaries of what was ethical.

In an exclusive interview, Casey tells NBC News that after he made campaign contributions to House members of both parties, Lewis informed him the Pentagon would get $14 million for the testing, and that Casey even could write the language.

Lisa Myers: You were allowed to write language for an appropriations bill yourself?

Casey: Yes, I did. That was Congressman Lewis' suggestion.

Casey says Lewis repeatedly urged him to hire a lobbyist, former U.S. Rep. Bill Lowery, Lewis' close friend, and when that didn't happen, pressed for another favor.

Casey: Congressman Lewis asked me to set up stock options for Bill Lowery in our company.

Casey says Lewis suggested he issue the stock options in Canada — in someone else's name.

Myers: Did you view it as an effort to hide what was really going on?

Casey: It was intended to conceal his participation, yes.

Lewis calls that charge "patently false." Lowery says in a statement to NBC News, "We have absolutely no knowledge of that whatsoever." Casey never issued the stock options and acknowledges he has absolutely no proof that Lewis did anything illegal. 

Myers: You went bankrupt, you have every reason to be bitter. Why should anyone believe you?

Casey: I have absolutely nothing to gain, and there is a need for reform.

Still, Lewis' relationship with Lowery is central to the expanding criminal investigation. Some of Lowery's clients have received subpoenas. And a study by the public interest group Taxpayers for Common Sense reveals that those clients have had a remarkable success rate before Lewis' committee.

"Hundreds of millions of dollars have gone to this one firm's clients," says Keith Ashdown with Taxpayers for Common Sense.

Both Lowery and Lewis deny any wrongdoing. Lewis says he has no recollection of urging that his friend be hired as a lobbyist, nor any recollection of allowing Casey to write language for a bill. A source close to the criminal investigation of Lewis confirms for NBC News that Casey laid out the same allegations to FBI and Justice Department investigators during a recent interview.

Patrick Dorton, a spokesman for the Copeland Lowery Jacquez Denton and White lobbying firm, issued this statement to NBC News:

"Like many other firms, we work on routine bread-and-butter, run-of-the-mill appropriations that benefit cities and towns and hospitals and schools across the country. Our work is consistent with the laws, rules and regulations that govern Capitol Hill lobbying and is similar to work done every day, every month and every year by many in Washington."

This evening, after the NBC report aired, Congressman Lewis released the following statement:

"I have never recommended a lobbyist to any constituent, contractor or anyone seeking federal funds. I have absolutely never told anyone to provide 'stock options' or any other sort of compensation to someone who is their advisor or lobbyist. To do so would be extremely unethical, and it goes entirely against all of my principles of good governing.

"It is outrageous and false to suggest that I might have supported a program in order to provide some illicit benefit for a friend. This technology was primarily supported by the two Congressmen who represented the area, and had been endorsed by top members of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee - including the Democratic chairman. Although I was a junior minority member of the subcommittee at the time, I felt it was worthwhile to join in that support because the technology appeared to have promise.

"All of this information was provided to NBC in detail, and I am astonished that a top news organization would broadcast such unsubstantiated accusations.

"I have not been contacted by the Justice Department about any investigation. As I have said before, I have made every effort throughout my career to meet the highest ethical standards, and I am absolutely certain that any review of my work will confirm this."