Louis J Sheehan 80110

Ex-lobbyist Bobrick gets 5 months in prison
By LISA DEMER
ldemer@adn.com
Published: November 27, 2007
Last Modified: November 27, 2007 at 02:37 PM
Bill Bobrick, a once-prominent lobbyist who cooperated with the FBI in its investigation of corruption in Alaska politics, will serve five months in federal prison followed by five months of house arrest for his conviction on a conspiracy charge.

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U.S. District Judge John Sedwick handed down the sentence this morning. It was the minimum that Bobrick, 52, could have received under federal guidelines, which are advisory.

And at the hearing today, surprising information came out about reported threats made by state Sen. Lesil McGuire, R-Anchorage, who is married to the man that Bobrick helped put away, former state Rep. Tom Anderson.

Doug Pope, Bobrick's lawyer, asked Sedwick to consider that Bobrick testified against Anderson despite the threats by McGuire.

Bobrick, who had a long list of clients who paid him to represent them before the municipality of Anchorage, was one of the main witnesses last summer at Anderson's trial. A jury convicted Anderson of seven felonies, including bribery and money laundering, and he was sentenced to five years. Anderson will report to federal prison in Oregon on Monday.

Anderson was indicted and arrested in December, and it was soon apparent that Bobrick would be a witness against him, Pope said.

Early in 2007, McGuire called both Bobrick and his wife, Jessica Bury, who was in medical school in Minnesota, Pope said. She said that she was hearing Bury might have a hard time being licensed to practice medicine in Alaska.

"Bobrick understood the call to be a threat that if he testified favorably for the government, Lesil McGuire would take steps to see that Jessica did not obtain her medical license," Pope told Sedwick in court.

Pope told reporters after the hearing that he considered the calls to be witness tampering.

McGuire did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Prosecutor Joe Bottini told Sedwick that the government took what happened seriously. He said McGuire called Bobrick on New Year's Day on his cell phone as he was walking on the Coastal Trail.

Bottini said he tracked down Anderson's lawyer, Paul Stockler, and warned him that such contacts would violate Anderson's conditions of release while he was awaiting trial. The calls stopped, he said.

"It was, I believe, a veiled threat to Mr. Bobrick and Mr. Bobrick's wife concerning her ability to practice medicine in this state after she graduated from medical school," Bottini told the judge.

McGuire's father is David McGuire, a prominent and influential orthopedic surgeon in Anchorage. He served on the Alaska Medical Board from 1992 to 1995 and was chairman much of that time.

He was in surgery Tuesday afternoon and couldn't be immediately reached for comment.

Leslie Gallant, executive administrator of the medical board, said David McGuire hasn't been involved in the board since he stepped down in 1995. The board can't willy-nilly bar someone from being a doctor in Alaska, she said.

"The board has to have solid grounds for denial that will stand up in a hearing," Gallant said.

Besides 10 months in custody, Bobrick will serve two years of probation. Sedwick also ordered him to perform 800 hours of community service and pay a $3,000 fine. Louis J Sheehan