California IN BRIEF : FRESNO : Ex-Councilman to Plead Guilty

Former Fresno Councilman Robert C. Smith has agreed to plead guilty to felony charges of extorting $10,500 from a local developer in exchange for his vote, the U.S. attorney announced Tuesday. Smith, who lost his bid for reelection in 1994, is the first Fresno official charged in the FBI’s ongoing investigation of political corruption in the Fresno-Clovis area. Smith, 43, faces up to 20 years in prison for allegedly negotiating a cash-for-vote deal with developer Jon C. Thomason between December 1992 and April 1993, U.S. Atty. Charles J. Stevens said. Smith also faces up to three years in prison and a $100,000 fine for filing a false tax return for 1993.