Federal jurors said they relied on former state Rep. Tom Anderson's own words to convict him Monday of conspiracy, bribery and other charges related to political corruption.
Eleven jurors returned seven guilty verdicts around 1:30 p.m., finding Anderson, 39, guilty of all felony charges against him.
Witnesses testified Anderson took money to do the bidding of a private prison firm. In all, Anderson received $25,838 in 2004 and 2005, witnesses said. The money was supplied by the FBI through Frank Prewitt, a consultant for Cornell Cos., who secretly recorded his conversations with Anderson and a co-conspirator, former lobbyist Bill Bobrick.
Juror No. 9 was dismissed Monday after a closed hearing for reasons that weren't explained. Both sides agreed to go forward with fewer than 12.
Jurors at first were split over whether Anderson had been entrapped by the government, said several reached after the verdict.
Jury forewoman Wendy Gilbert of Valdez said the key evidence came from a July 28, 2004, recording of a conversation among Anderson, Prewitt and Bobrick -- the first after the conspiracy began, according to the government.
Jurors asked for it to be replayed on Monday and found that Anderson had an idea of what was expected of him from the start.
"They started talking about what he could do for Cornell," juror Travis Gardner of Chugiak said. And when Anderson was asked about his credentials, Gardner said, the first thing he said was that he's a legislator.
It didn't matter if Anderson would have taken the same actions anyway, such as getting on key budget committees, because he accepted money for doing so, said Gardner, 23.
Another juror said she felt prosecutors presented a "substantial amount of evidence."
Asked what was key in their decision, juror Marie Gieryic of Eagle River replied in an e-mail: "the recorded conversations of Anderson and others."
Those conversations, along with other evidence, showed "Anderson understood he was taking part in illegal activities," wrote Gieryic, a mother of three who works in a child care center.
MESSAGE TO JUNEAU
The verdict should help "reinject ethics" into the Legislature and send a message "that there is a significant price to pay for abusing the public's trust in this manner," she wrote. Legislators need to think twice before they sell out.
Anderson and his attorney seemed stunned by the verdict. When the jury left the room, Anderson uttered a weary sigh.
"I'm devastated," he said. He said he'd appeal.
"The prosecution has criminalized being a legislator over this past year. And I think I fell victim to that," Anderson said.
Anderson's attorney, Paul Stockler said Anderson will need to think over what to do next after consulting with his wife, state Sen. Lesil McGuire, and a circle of advisers.
"I'm speechless right now," Stockler said. "But when you go up against the government, you risk losing." Anderson never tied the payment of money to any official acts as a legislator, Stockler said. "He was always willing to help, and it had nothing to do with money."
For the reading of the verdict, the courtroom quickly filled with FBI agents, prosecutors and staff members.
McGuire wasn't there. She and other friends and family came to the trial but couldn't get to the federal building in downtown Anchorage in time after jurors announced they had reached a verdict, Anderson said.
McGuire was not accused of wrongdoing. In fact, prosecutors used the fact that Anderson hid the payments from her as further evidence of a shady deal.
NO ENTRAPMENT
With seven counts and an entrapment defense, the case was particularly complex, said Gilbert, the jury forewoman.
"There's a lot on the line and a lot on your shoulders, and you want to make sure you do the right thing," said Gilbert, a pipeline lab technician and mother of three. A common thread for jurors was that none knew much about the case beforehand from news coverage.
In the end, jurors concluded Anderson had not been lured to commit crimes by a government agent. He was not "entrapped."
Juror Gardner, who works for a trucking company, said the case was a lesson in Alaska politics. "I didn't even know what lobbying was," he said. But it didn't make him cynical, he said. Businesses should have a way to get their interests heard -- just not by paying legislators, he said.
The public corruption case against Anderson provided the first real test for the FBI and prosecutors in their ongoing investigation of Alaska state legislators. Three other politicians are awaiting trial, though the schemes alleged in those cases are different. Those cases involve allegations of bribes paid by executives with oil field services contractor Veco.
Lawyers for indicted former Reps. Bruce Weyhrauch and Pete Kott, whose trial is set for Sept. 5, said the guilty verdict won't have any impact on their strategy because the facts are so different.
State Rep. Vic Kohring, whose trial is set for Oct. 22 and who is stepping down from his post next week, said he was saddened for Anderson but that his own resolve to fight the charges against him had not waned.
Nick Marsh and Joe Bottini prosecuted the case against Anderson. They didn't comment on the verdict, nor did the FBI in Alaska. The only government statement came out of Washington, D.C.
"Anderson has been held accountable for his crimes thanks to the hard work of federal prosecutors and FBI agents, and the Department of Justice will continue its pursuit of public corruption at all levels of government," U.S. Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher said in a written statement.
KEY WITNESS
One of the government's main witnesses was former lobbyist Bobrick. Gardner said jurors didn't find Bobrick that believable. Bobrick pleaded guilty in May to conspiracy in the scheme and agreed to cooperate with the government in the hope of getting a lighter sentence.
Bobrick told jurors about a series of checks he wrote to Anderson or his consulting business that went far beyond the initial payments revealed before the trial: $3,000 on Feb. 14, 2005, $1,500 on Feb. 25, 2005, and more, on into June 2005. In all, Bobrick passed nearly $24,000 through to Anderson, and Prewitt gave him another $2,000 directly, according to their testimony.
Bobrick testified he had an idea for a political Web site that he had hoped would become a real business with Anderson, but it never did. Anderson was paid "for being a legislator," Bobrick told jurors.
But, as jurors indicated, Anderson's own words were most damaging.
On a Nov. 16, 2004, recording of a meeting in his Anchorage legislative office, Anderson brought up money and told Prewitt he didn't want to split the next payment with Bobrick.
Anderson served in the state House from 2003 to this year. He didn't run in 2006.
U.S. District Court Judge John Sedwick set sentencing for Oct. 2. Anderson faces certain prison time and significant fines.
Find Lisa Demer online at adn.com/contact/ldemer or call 257-4390.
