Bruce C. Bereano is still making his rounds through the marbled hallways of the Maryland State House, quick with a handshake here, a boisterous greeting there.
On the surface, life remains the same for the man who has personified big money lobbying for a decade: He is throwing receptions, testifying at hearings and corraling lawmakers outside meeting rooms.
But much has changed since Nov. 30, the day a federal jury convicted him of overcharging his clients in 1990 through a scheme involving illegal campaign contributions.
As he awaits sentencing, he has lost two-thirds of the 46 clients he had a year ago, including one who professed loyalty at his mail fraud trial.
Some freshmen legislators and even a few veterans are looking at the lawyer-lobbyist warily.
"What I can tell you makes me throw up is that I've seen legislators who sought him out aggressively before [the felony conviction] who are now trying to distance themselves," said Del. Marsha G. Perry, an Anne Arundel Democrat who has sparred with Bereano on issues.
She was talking about lawmakers who accepted his largess in good times: the campaign contributions, the free meals and sports tickets. "It annoys me that people turn on someone who [they] thought was a super god last year," she said.
"There are some people who are true fair-weather friends, and they tend to trade relationships like stock," said Del. D. Bruce Poole, a Washington County Democrat.
Some lawmakers were embarrassed by the picture of high-stakes lobbying that emerged during Bereano's trial, which received heavy media coverage. In fact, some jurors said they blamed legislators more than lobbyists for the excesses.
Various legislators have introduced lobbying reform bills, which will be the subject of hearings in the House today and the Senate Friday. The bills would ban free meals or, in the alternative, require lobbyists to name their legislative meal partners.
Bereano, 50, declined to be interviewed for this article. He will be sentenced in late April for tricking clients into paying for illicit political donations he directed his employees to make.
Over the course of a decade he developed a money-intensive style of lobbying that made him a star in the State House. During the six-month period that included the 1994 legislative session, for example, he spent about $55,000 just on wining, dining and entertaining state lawmakers.
For years, he funneled contributions from his clients to lawmakers, earning a reputation as a campaign rainmaker.
More clients hired him and collectively paid him more money than any other lobbyist in Annapolis. He earned well over $703,000 last year. In an atmosphere where perception goes a long way toward becoming a reality, Bereano was widely perceived to be a power broker by clients and legislators alike.
This year, however, there have been noticeable reminders that things have changed for Bereano. Female legislators said they didn't receive flowers from him on the session's opening day, as they had in the past.
Some freshmen delegates, who knew Bereano only through media accounts, were troubled by a gift he sent their way: plastic badges with their names imprinted on them.
"A couple of delegates in Anne Arundel County were a little concerned about what to do with it," said freshman Del. James E. Rzepkowski, a Glen Burnie Republican.
In years past, many legislators would not have thought twice about accepting the name badges. But the 1994 election ushered in a new crop of reformers, including Republicans who campaigned on pledges to ban gifts from lobbyists.
Mr. Rzepkowski said he and some others decided to reimburse Bereano for the tags, which cost $12.60 each with tax, he said. "There's a big stink going on with Bruce Bereano and lobbyists," he said. "This way I can wear it without worrying about who it came from, because I paid for it."
Legislators say they haven't seen Bereano as often as they used to, largely because he does not represent as many clients as he did in previous years.
He lost the Tobacco Institute and Golden Rule Insurance Co. to J. William Pitcher who, with 17 clients, was the 10th-highest paid lobbyist in Annapolis last year.
One client, Medical Mutual Liability Insurance Society of Maryland, dropped him after testifying about his honesty at his trial. Vice President Stephen P. Carney also had testified that Medical Mutual planned to rehire him. Mr. Carney declined to comment last week.
Bereano also lost a contract worth more than $100,000 last year with GTECH Corp., the Rhode Island company for which he lobbied aggressively to win the state's lottery contract. He was dismissed because of a company policy on felony convictions, a GTECH spokesman said. The company has not hired a replacement.
Bereano continues to represent MedLantic Health Care Group in Washington, MD/DC Vending Association and a radar detector trade group, among other firms.
Several lobbyists say there has been a "feeding frenzy" among their colleagues to snap up some of Bereano's clients. Under their code of ethics, lawyers are not supposed to solicit each others' clients. But all bets are off when lobbyists who aren't lawyers are involved.
"The nonlawyers are calling everyone on Bruce's list," said a lobbyist who declined to be identified. Several lobbyists provided the names of those supposedly gunning for Bereano's clients, but all vigorously denied it.
As a result of Bereano's troubles and the arrival of some new, well connected lobbyists, the landscape of Annapolis lobbying is beginning to change.
Several firms that have hired former legislators or legislative aides are emerging as top dogs in the lobbyist pecking order. They include:
* Dukes, Evans, Rozner, Brown & Stierhoff, which has former senatorial aide John R. Stierhoff;
* Rifkin, Livingston & Silver, which has former Lt. Gov. Melvin A. Steinberg and former Sen. Laurence Levitan; and
* Manis, Canning & Associates, which has former Sen. James C. Simpson.
Bereano will be sentenced April 21. He faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each of seven mail-fraud counts. A judge threw out an eighth count against him last month.