A state Senate security officer, whose residence was the scene of a night of drinking and drug use that ended in gunfire and a death, was accompanied during police questioning by a lawyer for a politically connected lobbying firm who said he was a “family friend,” court records show.
A drug- and alcohol-fueled gun battle that left one man dead at the suburban Sacramento residence of a legislative security officer has shed light on the unusual power of a longtime Senate employee and ended the career of the Senate’s chief sergeant at arms. Two suspects in the robbery, kidnapping and ensuing gun play during the early morning hours of Dec. 22, 2012, stand trial on Wednesday in Sacramento County Superior Court.
The California Senate, Sacramento. (Photo: Trekandshoot, via Shutterstock)When the California state Senate reaches the end of its 2013-14 legislative session later this month, it will mark the end of a highly tumultuous period in the institution’s more than 150-year history. Allegations of bribery, corruption, international arms trafficking, racketeering, perjury, illegal drug use and nepotism among senators and Senate staff have marred the institution’s public image for more than a year.