The Bribery and Special Interest (BRISPEC) sting operation was a

sting operation In law enforcement, a sting operation is a deceptive operation designed to catch a person attempting to commit a crime. A typical sting will have an undercover law enforcement officer, detective, or co-operative member of the public play a role ...

conducted by the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

that investigated

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...

in the

California State Legislature The California State Legislature is a bicameral state legislature consisting of a lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members; and an upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members. Both houses of the Legislatur ...

from 1986 to 1988. The operation, later known as Shrimpscam in the press, involved setting up dummy companies by the FBI. The FBI set up a West Sacramento-based

shrimp Shrimp are crustaceans (a form of shellfish) with elongated bodies and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – most commonly Caridea and Dendrobranchiata of the decapod order, although some crustaceans outside of this order are refer ...

processing company. Then the fake companies lobbied for special-interest legislative bills favoring themselves. In addition, money was offered to legislators to see if any of them could be bribed in return for their support. A couple of the bills were actually passed by both the

Assembly Assembly may refer to: Organisations and meetings * Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions * General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...

and

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...

, but were

veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president or monarch vetoes a bill to stop it from becoming law. In many countries, veto powers are established in the country's constitution. Veto ...

ed by

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

George Deukmejian Courken George Deukmejian Jr. (; June 6, 1928 – May 8, 2018) was an American politician who served as the 35th governor of California from 1983 to 1991. Of Armenian descent, Deukmejian was a member of the Republican Party and he also served ...

, who was tipped off in advance. The operation resulted in the conviction and imprisonment of 12 public officials, among them were five state elected officials, including Board of Equalization Member

Paul B. Carpenter Paul Bruce Carpenter (February 24, 1928 – January 24, 2002) was an American psychologist and politician. Early life Born in Sioux City, Iowa, Carpenter attended the University of Iowa and received a doctorate degree in experimental psy ...

(D), State Senators

Joseph B. Montoya Joseph Bernardino Montoya Jr. (April 30, 1939 – June 21, 2022) was an American politician who served in the California State Legislature from 1973 to 1990. He served in the State Assembly from 1973 to 1978 from 50th and 60th districts, and in ...

(D),

Alan Robbins Alan Robbins (born February 5, 1943) is a former American politician in the state of California. Robbins is most noted for his arrest and conviction on racketeering charges and serving five years in a federal prison.Jacobs, Paul, and Gladstone, Ma ...

(D), and

Frank C. Hill Frank C. Hill III (born February 19, 1954) is a former American politician and convicted felon. A Republican, he served in the California State Assembly and California State Senate The California State Senate is the upper house of the Californ ...

(R), and Assemblyman Pat Nolan (R). In addition, Coastal Commissioner Mark L. Nathanson, insurance lobbyist Clayton R. Jackson and several legislative aides were also convicted in connection with the operation. Speaker Willie Brown (D) and Assemblymember Gwen Moore (D) were also targeted by the operation, but emerged unscathed. Brown had a $1,000 campaign contribution shoved under his door returned to the donor. As a former member of the National Guard, this has led to accusations over the years that Brown was a federal informant and used his influence with the FBI to target his political opponents with process crime entrapment. Moore's office was raided as part of the sting operation, but she was eventually acquitted of any wrongdoing. Nolan was eventually pardoned by President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of ...

on May 15, 2019.

References

External links

* {{US federal public corruption law Political corruption investigations in the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation operations Political scandals in California California State Legislature