Opinion ID: 1598202
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 11

Heading: offer of valuable consideration

Text: Section 28-917 prohibits conferring or offering to confer any benefit upon a public servant with the intent to influence that public servant and thereby influencing the public servant's actions in his official capacity. Null argues that the trial court erred in finding that he offered to confer a benefit upon Mayor Goodman in exchange for his influence. Null argues in his brief that he gave no money to Mayor Goodman, but merely offered him an interest in a corporation to be formed that would bid on the Papillion city keno lottery. Null and Vogel offered to sell the mayor a one-third share of the corporation in exchange for $1 and his influence over the award of the keno franchise. Null states that § 49-14,103.01(3) allows a city servant to have an interest in a contract to which the city is a party provided he makes a declaration on the record to the governing body responsible for approving the contract. In essence, Null argues that because it would be possible for Mayor Goodman to obtain a legal interest in the keno business, the offer of a share of that business was not an offer to confer a benefit upon the mayor. Even if § 49-14,103.01(3) applied and it would have been possible for Mayor Goodman to have legalized his interest in the keno corporation, it would not deprive Null's offer to the mayor of its character as an attempted bribe. Null's offer of something of benefit was intended to influence the mayor in his official capacity. Such offer was an attempted bribe. § 49-14,103.01(3) cannot be read to condone, legalize, or sanitize attempted bribery of a public official. Null offered something of value in exchange for the mayor's influence and thereby violated § 28-917.