State v. Walker

• Decision Date: 02 November 1995
• Docket Number: Nos. 1,CA-CR,s. 1
• Citation: 185 Ariz. 228,914 P.2d 1320
• Parties: STATE of Arizona, Appellee, v. Carolyn Ann WALKER, Appellant. STATE of Arizona, Appellee, v. Ronald G. TAPP, Appellant. 93-0057, 1 93-0109 and 1 93-0362.
• Court: Arizona Court of Appeals

Page 1320

914 P.2d 1320

185 Ariz. 228

STATE of Arizona, Appellee, v. Carolyn Ann WALKER, Appellant.

STATE of Arizona, Appellee, v. Ronald G. TAPP, Appellant.

Nos. 1 CA-CR 93-0057, 1 CA-CR 93-0109 and 1 CA-CR 93-0362.

Court of Appeals of Arizona,

Division 1,

Department C.

Nov. 2, 1995.

Review Denied April 23, 1996.

Appeal from the Superior Court of Maricopa County; Cause No. CR 91-00997; The Honorable Michael D. Ryan, Judge.

Grant Woods, Attorney General by Paul J. McMurdie, Chief Counsel, Criminal Appeals Division, Phoenix, for Appellee.

Debus & Kazan, Ltd. by Larry L. Debus, Tracey Westerhausen, Phoenix, for Appellant Ronald G. Tapp.

Miller & Miller, Ltd. by Richard K. Miller, Phoenix, for Appellant Carolyn Ann Walker.

OPINION

NOYES, Judge.

In February 1991 a grand jury in Maricopa County indicted twenty-one persons, most of whom were legislators or lobbyists, for criminal conduct that was captured on audio and video tape during a sting operation known as "Azscam." Two defendants went to trial: State Senator Carolyn A. Walker and lobbyist Ronald G. Tapp. Their trial began in April and concluded in November 1992. Walker was tried on ten felony counts and was found guilty of two, filing a false campaign contribution statement and conspiracy. Tapp was tried on twenty-three felony counts and was found guilty of twelve, most of which were bribery charges. Walker was sentenced to prison for four years to be followed by three years on probation and was ordered to pay restitution of $24,660. Tapp was sentenced to prison for concurrent terms ranging from four to ten years and was ordered to pay restitution of $46,080. Each filed appeals, which we consolidated. We have jurisdiction pursuant to Arizona Revised Statutes Annotated ("A.R.S.") sections 12-120.21(A)(1) (1992), 13-4031 (1989), and 13-4033(A) (Supp.1995).

I. Facts

Trial lasted six months and most of the evidence consisted of about four hundred audio and video tapes. The State played tapes for the jury from May to September. As required by law, we view the evidence in the light most favorable to sustaining the verdicts, resolving all reasonable inferences against Appellants. State v. Atwood, 171 Ariz. 576, 596, 832 P.2d 593, 613 (1992), cert. denied, 506 U.S. 1084, 113 S.Ct. 1058, 122 L.Ed.2d 364 (1993).

Stedino and Bartlett

The operation that developed into Azscam began in 1989 when Joseph Stedino, a con artist whose life experience included three trips to prison and recent undercover work for the FBI, asked a local law enforcement contact about social gambling in Phoenix. The contact called James Keppel, Chief Deputy of the Maricopa County Attorney's office. Keppel called Stedino and, after talking with him, said the County Attorney might hire him. Stedino came to Phoenix and had three interviews with Deputy County Attorney George Mount and Detectives Gary Ball and Dennis Davis of the Organized Crime Bureau of the Phoenix Police Department. In August 1989 the County Attorney hired Stedino as a salaried employee ($3,000 per month, plus all expenses) to work undercover in the Phoenix social gambling scene.

Stedino assumed the false identity of "J. Anthony Vincent" and claimed to be a Las Vegas "businessman" who was interested in bringing regulated casino gaming to Arizona. Stedino became a regular gambler and card dealer in Phoenix bars for the next four months and developed nothing of significant prosecutorial appeal--but he did meet the character who made the claims that began Azscam. In about December 1989 Gary Bartlett started telling Stedino that many Arizona legislators could be bribed and that he, Bartlett, was friends with many of them and knew their weaknesses.

The State had no information--not even any rumors--about bribery in the Arizona legislature, and it knew little about Bartlett other than he claimed to be a judge and was not, although he had once been a short-term magistrate for the Town of Guadalupe. But Bartlett was well known in the Phoenix social gambling scene, and the State decided to see if he was well known in the Arizona political scene as well. Stedino was directed to have Bartlett take him on two social visits to the State Capitol.

When Stedino reported that Bartlett was warmly greeted by various legislators and aides at the Capitol, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office and the Phoenix Police Department decided to begin a sting operation to determine who, if anyone, in the Arizona legislature was predisposed to accept a bribe in return for his or her promise to vote in favor of pro-gaming legislation. The sting was financed by the "RICO" fund, a statutory creation of the legislature that was intended, in part, to supplement law enforcement budgets with assets seized from wrongdoers. See A.R.S. §§ 13-2314 and -2314.01 (Supp.1995), and -4315 (Supp.1995). All State payments to Stedino--and all payments by him to others--came from the RICO fund, as did other Azscam direct expenses such as furniture and equipment. (A County employee testified that RICO-fund expenditures on Azscam from August 1989 through April 1992 totaled $807,719.)

In February 1990 the State authorized Stedino to hire Bartlett as a lobbyist at $1,000 per week and to open an office. Stedino paid $10,500 for six months' rental of an office in the area of 24th Street and Camelback, bought furniture, and ordered a sign reading "Executive Offices of Gary L. Bartlett." The State wired the office for video and audio recording and set up a surveillance room in the adjoining office. The scam was that J. Anthony Vincent was a front man for out-of-state casino builders who planned to spend millions of dollars to bring regulated casino gaming to Arizona. Assisted by lobbyist Bartlett, Vincent would offer bribes to legislators in return for their promise to support legislation that would allow regulated casino gaming in Arizona.

The office was ready by March 15, but by then Stedino was having problems with Bartlett. For example, Stedino's written reports to the State advised that Bartlett "is about 15 years old emotionally" and "does not recall from hour to hour what he says."

Lobbyist Tapp

On March 21 Bartlett introduced Stedino to Appellant Ronald G. Tapp, a bail bondsman and lobbyist for the bail bond industry who had once run for the Arizona House of Representatives and been defeated in the primary by Donald J. Kenney. At their first meeting, Tapp told Stedino he could deliver Kenney's vote. Tapp and Stedino had many conversations over the next few days, and on April 2 Tapp agreed to be a lobbyist for Stedino.

The day after Stedino hired him, Tapp returned to the office and said, "You can go out and celebrate." When Stedino asked why, Tapp said, "I got the quarterback" and explained that he had met with Kenney and Kenney had said he could "produce 25 votes right now" for legalized gaming and that he would "direct you to people and tell you what their hot buttons are." Stedino said, "You got more done in one day than [Bartlett and I] got done in a month."

When Stedino asked if he had given Kenney anything, Tapp laughed and replied, "I bought lunch." When Tapp said it would take about $25,000 to fund Kenney's campaign, Stedino said he needed Kenney to know that if Stedino funded his campaign, he expected his vote. Tapp said there would be no problem with that. Tapp also said that one of the things he had told Kenney was, "I happen to like you and I happen to think that you're honest." Stedino said, "That's the best thing you can tell a guy."

After advising Stedino that Arizona laws place a $220 limit on an individual's contribution to one campaign, Tapp said: "Now there are gonna be some people, okay, that we can lay 5 to 10 thousand dollars down in envelopes and walk away, okay. We're gonna find some of those. There's no doubt in my mind." Later, when Stedino observed that "everybody has their price, everybody has a button," Tapp agreed. When the meeting ended, Stedino gave Tapp $500 "for what you did with Kenney," and Tapp agreed to set up a meeting with Stedino and Kenney.

During a phone conversation on April 8, Stedino told Tapp, in reference to legislators: "If they're not in your pocket, you can't count on their vote." Tapp said, "That's right." Stedino said, "I got to buy as many votes as I can buy." Tapp agreed. Tapp suggested that he work the Republicans and Bartlett work the Democrats, but Stedino fired Bartlett the next day, April 9. The sign for the office was changed to "Executive Offices of J. Anthony Vincent," and Tapp went on the Azscam payroll at $1,000 a week. Tapp also requested, and Stedino promised, that when casinos opened in Arizona, Tapp would handle the insurance business for casino employees. Tapp said that this business would yield commissions of about a million dollars a year.

During an April 23 office meeting, Tapp told Stedino, "When I start talking to people in earnest, I wanna make sure this is a secure facility. Otherwise we have no conversations." Tapp also said, "It would not hurt us if we employed someone to hang out in Rocky Point, Mexico with a long range camera and take necessary pictures that need to be taken." Stedino said, "Of who?" Tapp explained, "I discovered something. A lot of judges are hanging out in Rocky Point, Mexico ... and remember we can't do anything with the damn court systems in this state simply because these f___ers don't let them throw elections."

The next day, April 24, Tapp and Stedino had a three hour meeting during which they looked over a pamphlet of Arizona Senators and Representatives and decided whether to put a "B" next to the name for "buy," or a "P" for "possible," or a "DK" for Kenney to contact. Regarding several legislators, Tapp said he or she could be bought "but it has to be done with class," or words to that effect. Among Tapp's other assessments were: "I think we can probably control [her] without buying her, although I think that probably funneling some campaign...