WisPolitics Courtwatch Blog

The lawyer for a real estate agent charged with soliciting a kickback in the sale of a state office building says he believes his client was used as a pawn in an investigation into the fundraising practices of Gov. Jim Doyle's re-election campaign. But the prosecutor in the case called those allegations "flat, baseless assertions" and challenged the defense attorney to provide evidence to back up his claims.

During a status hearing in federal court in Milwaukee Wednesday, attorney Joseph Owens said he will argue during trial that former Equis Corp. contractor Larry Lupton was targeted by federal investigators as they tried to probe ties between Equis, state government officials and contributions to Doyle's 2006 campaign.

Lupton said he intends to call AG J.B. Van Hollen and former DOA Secretary Marc Marotta as witnesses during the trial, which was tentatively set for Sept. 22.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Haanstad said he would challenge that effort.

"It's not clear that they would have any relevant testimony to offer," Haanstad said.

After the hearing, Owens told a WisPolitics reporter that he believed investigators targeted Lupton as part of a larger probe into Doyle campaign fundraising practices.

Owens said he believes the government was attempting to use Lupton "as a pawn" in order to get to high-level officials, but admitted he had no hard evidence to prove this is what the government was after.

Haanstad declined to comment on whether he's discussed any potential deal with Owens, but dismissed the notion that the prosecution was politically motivated.

"All Mr. Owens has done is make flat, baseless assertions about this prosecution being politically motivated," Haanstad said. "His comments in court today are consistent with earlier baseless extra-judicial statements that he's made."

"If Mr. Owens wants to put something on the record by filing a motion along those lines, in which he can actually identify evidence that supports such a claim, then I'll respond to that in writing, and on the record," Haanstad said.

Labels: Larry_Lupton

A Milwaukee real-estate expert testified today that although it may seem counterintuitive, an indicted real estate broker's actions regarding the now-halted sale of a state office building were permissible, as long as they were to be disclosed in an offer to purchase.

The purpose of today's hearing before U.S. District Court Judge Lynn Adelman was to determine if Martin Greenberg will be allowed to testify as an expert witness at Lupton's trial. Greenberg is former chair of the Wisconsin State Fair Board and a managing member of Greenberg & Hoeschen LLC, which specializes in real estate and sports law. He's also an adjunct professor at Marquette University, where he has taught real estate and sports law for more than 30 years.

Adelman withheld a decision and requested the parties to file briefs.

Federal prosecutors allege the agent, Larry Lupton, solicited an illegal $75,000 kickback and shared confidential bid information with brokers representing potential buyers of a state office building. Lupton represented the commercial real estate firm Equis, which had the contract to sell the building.

Greenberg said it's normal for brokers to discuss how commissions will be split, but it must be disclosed in writing and agreed to when an offer to purchase is drafted.

Greenberg also disagreed with the government that the letter of intent Lupton received from a potential buyer is confidential information because it's non-binding and amounts to a proposal under the law, which he said brokers can share.

"There was absolutely no breach of confidentiality," Greenberg said, adding that Lupton's action drove up the price the state would receive.

Labels: Larry_Lupton

A grand jury returned an indictment today against former UGL Equis Corp. vice president Larry Lupton, who was charged in May by the U.S. Attorney's office in Milwaukee for soliciting a kickback in connection with the sale of a $30 million state office building at 101 E. Wilson St.

In addition to the kickback charge, Lupton was also indicted on a charge that he lied to an FBI agent.

*See the indictment:
http://www.wispolitics.com/1006/070815LuptonIndictment.pdf
*See the press release from the U.S. attorney's office:
http://www.wispolitics.com/1006/070814LuptonIndict.pdf

Labels: Larry_Lupton

The real estate agent hired by the state to sell a $30 million Madison office building was charged Thursday with asking a bidder for a $75,000 kickback and revealing confidential bid information.

Larry J. Lupton, a vice president for UGL Equis Corp., got hit with federal charges of wire fraud and corruptly soliciting an improper payment. He faces up to 30 years in prison and a fine of $500,000. He is expected to make his first court appearance within 30 days.

See the release from the U.S. attorney's office:
http://www.wispolitics.com/1006/070510DOJEquis.pdf

Equis has an exclusive listing agreement with the Department of Administration to sell its building at 101 E. Wilson St. According to the U.S. attorney's office, Lupton sought up to $75,000 in kickbacks from a potential bidder and then revealed to the bidder secret bid amounts from other parties seeking to buy the building.

The potential bidder notified authorities and worked with the FBI and State Division of Criminal Investigation to secretly record conversations with Lupton, who works in the Brookfield office of Equis. The FBI and DCI executed a search warrant at the office. The Department of Administration has formally noticed UGL Equis that it is moving to terminate a deal with the company. The state Department of Regulation and Licensing is also looking at whether to take action against Lupton.

Equis signed a deal in 2004 to help the state identify surplus property to sell. Some have questioned the terms of the state's deal with Equis, including a commission rate of 4 percent, which is about twice the normal rate for transactions of this size, according to some brokers.

DOA spokeswoman Linda Barth said the state hasn't sold any of the property Equis has so far identified, though two parcels have been approved for sale by the Building Commission. The state has paid Equis $2.9 million to date, she said, and is assessing the opportunities to recoup damages. Barth said investigators notified the state two weeks ago about its investigation. "We cooperated with them," Barth said.

The contract has also been under scrutiny because Equis employees from Illinois and Colorado donated $17,500 to Doyle's campaign in 2005.

See DOA Secretary Morgan's statement:
http://www.wispolitics.com/index.iml?Article=95632

See the DOA notice to Equis:
http://www.wispolitics.com/1006/Equis___Notice_of_Termination_5.11.07.pdf

See DOA spreadsheets of properties for sale through Equis:
http://www.wispolitics.com/1006/Fee_Structure_summary__4_5_.xls

See a list of Equis donations:
http://www.opensecrets.org/wdc/employerdetail.asp?name=Equis+Corp

State Sen. Ted Kanavas, R-Brookfield, is calling on fellow Republican and AG J.B. Van Hollen to investigate the Doyle administration's procurement process following the charges against Lupton.

See the Kanavas release:
http://www.wispolitics.com/index.iml?Article=95626

Lupton did not immediately return a call from WisPolitics to his Brookfield office. Company spokeswoman Christine Petersen gave this brief statement. "The only thing I can tell you is that we are fully cooperating with the FBI, and that's the only comment I can make right now." Petersen declined to say whether Lupton was still employed by Equis.

See a brief career bio for Lupton from the UGL Equis Corp. site:
http://www.equiscorp.com/people/person.cfm?pid=218

Labels: Larry_Lupton