The Speaker's Referral Fees

The leader of a state legislature also worked for law firms. Prosecutors said he collected about $3 million in referral fees from a doctor's patient referrals while steering state research grants to the doctor, and about $835,000 from two big property developers while shaping rent and tax laws and approving their financing. He said the payments were legal outside income. The law requires proof that, when he took the money, he understood he was expected to act on a specific matter, not just to help the payer whenever a chance arose.