Probation Report Urges Suspended Sentence for Mayor

If jury-tampering charges do not result in a reversal of San Diego Mayor Roger Hedgecock’s felony conviction, a probation report recommends that the mayor receive a suspended three-year prison sentence coupled with three years’ probation and 180 days’ custody in a work-furlough program.

The report, prepared by an Orange County probation officer, is advisory in nature and need not be followed by Superior Court Judge William L. Todd Jr., who could sentence Hedgecock to a maximum sentence of eight years’ imprisonment at a planned Nov. 6 sentencing hearing.

However, the sentencing hearing--as well as Hedgecock’s conviction itself--remain in legal limbo as a result of sworn allegations by one juror and the attorney for another that a court bailiff tampered with Hedgecock’s jury during its deliberations.

“The probation report is a moot point, because we’re never going to get that far,” said Oscar Goodman, Hedgecock’s attorney. Saying that the alleged improper contact between bailiff Al Burroughs Jr. and the jury “cheated the mayor of a fair trial,” Goodman has requested that Hedgecock’s conviction be overturned and that the mayor receive a new trial.

A hearing on Goodman’s motion for a new trial is scheduled Nov. 4. The outcome of that court session will determine whether the planned sentencing hearing set for two days later will go forward.

“I’m confident we’re going to win a new trial, so it really doesn’t matter what the report recommends,” Goodman added. “That report’s never even going to come into play.”

The report, by Orange County probation officer Bruce Carel, was not prepared by the San Diego County Probation Department because Hedgecock, during his 6 1/2 years as a county supervisor, had jurisdiction over the department’s budget. Legal authorities also believed that it would be easier for a non-local probation officer to approach the task with no preconceived notions about Hedgecock or his case.

Carel’s report frames perhaps the two major factors that Todd must weigh if and when he sentences Hedgecock: the mayor’s popularity and accomplishments, measured against a conviction that, if upheld, represents a “significant violation of public trust.”

“On the one hand, (Hedgecock) . . . due to his charismatic qualities and promotional and organizational capabilities, has clearly engendered the popular support of large numbers of citizens in the community,” the report says. “On the other hand, however, the verdict . . . appears to indicate he conspired to seek unfair advantage in his quest for office, and that he enjoyed unreported personal gain in his elected capacity.”

Hedgecock was convicted of conspiring with three of his prominent backers in a scheme to funnel tens of thousands of dollars in allegedly illegal campaign contributions to his 1983 mayoral race through a political consulting firm owned by a close friend. His conviction on 12 perjury counts stem from charges that Hedgecock intentionally falsified financial disclosure statements to conceal those illegal donations, as well as other purportedly unreported personal financial aid.

Carel’s recommendation establishes a middle ground between prosecutors’ suggestion that Hedgecock receive a prison sentence and $75,000 fine, and the mayor’s own request that he be placed on probation and allowed to work with the homeless in a program sponsored by the St. Vincent de Paul Society.

Contacted at his home Saturday, Dist. Atty. Edwin Miller Jr. declined to comment on the report, saying that he had not yet read it.

Carel’s report said that because Hedgecock poses no threat to safety, a prison sentence would be “solely punitive” and could put the mayor in “potential personal danger” because of his “celebrity.” Hedgecock could not be reached for comment.

Carel noted that, even without incarceration, the conviction would have a severe effect on Hedgecock, including his ouster from office, possible loss of his law license and public humiliation. In addition, Hedgecock faces a $1-million civil lawsuit filed by the California Fair Political Practices Commission.

However, saying that Hedgecock’s conviction stemmed from an “unfair and illegal influence on the democratic process,” the probation officer recommended that the mayor be placed in a work-furlough program for 180 days. Under the county’s work-furlough program, individuals perform assigned tasks during the day and remain in custody at night.