Police probe possible election law breaches by Sabri

The investigation involves literature distributed during the recent election won by the council's Robert Lilligren. Sabri laughed at the claims in a search warrant.

By ROCHELLE OLSON, Star Tribune

Last update: November 30, 2009 - 9:46 PM

Minneapolis police are investigating possible election law violations by the flamboyant developer Basim Sabri, according to a search warrant filed Monday in Hennepin County District Court.

Council Member Robert Lilligren, who represents the central inner-city Sixth Ward, told police he had found campaign literature containing false information about him distributed throughout his ward during the recent campaign in which Lilligren was reelected.

The literature did not have the required public disclosure about who paid for it, Lilligren told police, according to the warrant and a statement he issued on Monday.

"Minnesota has a long and proud history of clean elections and full disclosure. I will fight to maintain that tradition in my ward. These tactics of fear and intimidation we saw this year must not be allowed to infect other Minnesota elections," Lilligren said in a statement that didn't mention Sabri by name.

Lilligren succeeded former City Council Member Brian Herron. Both Herron and Sabri went to federal prison after being convicted in a bribery plot recorded by the FBI in 2003.

On Nov. 2, the eve of the recent city elections, Lilligren said, he discovered that someone had removed his literature from cars in his ward and replaced it with the literature that was critical of him. Lilligren told police that at the time, he happened to see Mayor R.T. Rybak speaking with Sabri, who was in a car in a Sixth Ward neighborhood, and Lilligren said that Rybak saw inside the car "piles of campaign literature of Lilligren's which had been removed from vehicles," according to the warrant.

Sabri, who was highly critical of Lilligren during an interview Monday, denied taking his literature. "Lilligren's got a lot of enemies," he said. "He's not a well-liked person."

Sabri said that when he encountered Rybak that day, he had one piece of Lilligren's literature in his car. He said he was unaware of any allegations against him.

When told of the contents of the search warrant, Sabri said with mock concern, "It sounds very serious," and then laughed. He called the claims in the warrant "a bunch of crap."

The search warrant was executed Nov. 20 at Franz Engineering, 2781 Freeway Blvd. in Brooklyn Center, where the disputed printing allegedly occurred. Sgt. Troy Schoenberger wrote in the warrant filing that he collected invoices related to the printing of material for the Sixth Ward election as well as copies of proposed and printed material.

Owner Bruce Franz confirmed the execution of the warrant and said he is not the target of any probe. He declined to provide copies of what police sought.

"They wanted to look at certain things we printed, they thanked me and were very nice," Franz said. "Now it's in their hands."

Sabri is well-known to City Council members, especially Lilligren. In 2003, FBI agents recorded Sabri handing Herron a pile of cash. Herron stepped down after being convicted, and Lilligren was elected to the seat.

Rochelle Olson • 612-673-1747