D.A., Hedgecock Lawyers Meet Over Possible Deal

SAN DIEGO —  Attorneys for Mayor Roger Hedgecock met privately Wednesday with Dist. Atty. Edwin L. Miller to hammer out a possible settlement of a felony conspiracy and perjury case against the mayor, who faces a second trial on the charges in early May.

The meeting, which lasted for nearly three hours, may be the strongest sign yet that both sides are vigorously pursuing an out-of-court settlement since it included Miller, who had previously left the private negotiations to Assistant Dist. Atty. Richard D. Huffman.

During the session, attorneys also spoke by telephone with Dan Stanford, the chairman of the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission, to see whether that agency would be willing to settle its $1.2-million civil lawsuit against Hedgecock as part of a plea-bargain agreement.

The discussion--the latest in a series of readiness conferences convened by Superior Court Judge Ross G. Tharp--for the first time included Leo Sullivan and John R. Wertz, attorneys defending Hedgecock in the lawsuit against the mayor and others filed by the FPPC last October.

Sources close to discussions have said that any agreement on the criminal charges could hinge on whether the FPPC also would settle its suit.

Huffman and Michael Pancer, Hedgecock’s criminal attorney, also were present at the meeting in Tharp’s chambers. The attorneys declined comment after the session.

Another conference is scheduled for 4 p.m. today.

As the lawyers were negotiating, Hedgecock remained in his office in City Hall, conducting a meeting with a task force studying the area’s homeless.

Reached at his home Wednesday evening, Hedgecock said he was unaware of what happened during the conference, which he called “just another meeting.”

“There were no offers made on either side,” Hedgecock said, adding that he had not talked to his attorneys since the discussion ended.

Hedgecock faces felony charges for what prosecutors say was a scheme to illegally launder thousands of dollars into his successful 1983 mayoral campaign. The first trial on 13 counts of felony conspiracy and perjury ended in a mistrial on Feb. 13.