Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Nextel Lobbyist Hit With 12 Felony Counts- "How Business Gets DONE" -We Alter The Paper Work.

From: Marcelrf <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 05 Mar 2004 09:13:55 -0500

Sacramento -- State prosecutors filed charges Tuesday against a former
senior official in former Gov. Gray Davis' administration, alleging she
doctored documents related to a $95 million government contract awarded
to the Oracle Corp. but later rescinded.

State Attorney General Bill Lockyer said at a news conference that no
additional charges were expected and that no crimes had occurred in the
actual awarding of the contract. It was not known whether the FBI, which
also launched a preliminary investigation of the matter, had reached any
conclusions about the contract's handling.

Kari Lynn Dohn, who was Davis' policy director, faces 12 felony counts
stemming from allegations that she made six alterations to state records
that were submitted to a legislative panel that conducted hearings after
the Oracle contract was signed.
The deal between the state of California and Oracle was one of the
biggest controversies of the Davis administration and was the chief
ammunition critics used to paint Davis as running a "pay to play"
administration.

In 2001, Davis officials signed a $95 million software licensing
agreement with Oracle, without taking bids from any other companies. It
was signed just before the close of the second quarter, enabling the
Redwood City software manufacturer to book the deal as revenue.

But the contract was rescinded after questions were raised about its
timing. Subsequent state hearings revealed that administration officials
had agreed to the contract despite the objection of staff experts and
without studying whether the software was even needed.

The hearings also revealed that within days of the contract's being
signed, an Oracle lobbyist had given a $25,000 campaign contribution
check to a Davis administration government employee -- rather than a
campaign committee worker. Davis ultimately fired four people in his
administration who handled the deal.

However, Lockyer said, "what we have found is no evidence of illegality
with respect to the contract by either the state officials involved or
the company."

In response, Steve Maviglio, a spokesman for the former administration,
said: "What we said then, we say now -- there was no wrongdoing
whatsoever with the contract." Maviglio also said that the state case
was "replowing old ground" and that the former governor supported Dohn.

The charges against Dohn stem from six alleged alterations she made to
her computerized schedule and internal administration reports submitted
to a legislative committee. State prosecutors allege she made some
alterations after the committee began the hearings and still more
changes after her testimony.

Prosecutors did not offer additional detail on how she allegedly changed
the documents, but a question that has endured has been whether evidence
showing Oracle chief executive Larry Ellison's involvement in the
contract negotiations was omitted. Dohn testified in 2002 that the
Oracle lobbyist, Ravi Mehta, had told her Ellison might call the
governor to lobby him on the deal.
Prosecutors would not say what they had learned about the roles others
played in the contract negotiations. Locker would only say: "There is no
evidence of wrongdoing in the contracting process."

State law makes it a crime to falsify evidence submitted in an official
proceeding or to falsify public records in general. The felony complaint
contains 12 counts against Dohn -- 2 for each alleged alteration,
because of the two different laws they allegedly violated. The charges
carry penalties of anything from probation to as much as 15 years in
prison.
Dohn's attorney, Allen Ruby of San Jose, said: "She's innocent of all
the charges, and she will be exonerated."

Since October 2003, Dohn has worked as a lobbyist for a top Los Angeles-
based advocacy firm, Rose & Kindel, whose clients include major
corporations including AT&T, JP Morgan and Nextel Communications. Both
Ruby and the firm said Dohn would remain an active lobbyist while she
defends herself against the charges.

"While we are not familiar with the circumstances surrounding this
matter, we have great faith in Kari," the firm said in a prepared
statement. "Her friends and colleagues will be standing by to help as
best we can."
Dohn is expected to surrender to authorities this morning for booking.

Lockyer was also closely questioned about the timing of the announcement
on the same day of the California primary, when attention will be
focused on elections and news of the charges would take a backseat.
Lockyer said he had been prepared to file the case weeks ago but instead
waited to give Davis administration officials time to review the
evidence in case they wanted to object to its use on grounds of
executive privilege

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2004/03/03/BAG7F5CP691.DTL

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