Al Jazeera America has scooped everyone with a great story about an FBI sting that is reminiscent of the Argo movie. Apparently the FBI set up an elaborate scheme to snare powerful Democratic legislator Ron Calderon, under the guise of a fellow, who was an undercover FBI agent, who wanted to make movies but needed Calderon’s help to lower the threshold for movie producgtions to be eligible for special tax credits.
Here are a few choice excerpts from the Al Jazeera American article:
The story of the Calderon political dynasty begins in 1982, when Charles “Chuck” Calderon won the District 59 seat in the California State Assembly. In 1988, he led a group of five assemblymen in unsuccessfully challenging the leadership of powerful Speaker Willie Brown. The speaker stripped the challengers of their committee chairmanships and removed them from their choice offices. Continue reading