Nolan, Others Won’t Be Tried Over Phony Endorsements

SACRAMENTO —  Sacramento County Dist. Atty. John Dougherty announced Wednesday that he will not seek criminal charges against Assembly GOP Leader Pat Nolan of Glendale and others allegedly involved in the 1986 preparation of phony presidential endorsement letters sent out on behalf of six Republican Assembly candidates.

At the same time, Dougherty disclosed that the investigation by the state attorney general’s office determined that Assemblyman John Lewis (R-Orange) was among those who authorized the letters “and that he knew at the time that affixing Ronald Reagan’s signature to the letters had not been approved by the White House.”

Dougherty said that further evidence showed both Lewis and Nolan of Glendale asked their staffs to lie to White House officials “concerning how this happened.”

Despite the findings linking Nolan and Lewis to the phony endorsement letters, Dougherty said, “it is believed that a full disclosure of the conduct of those involved is an appropriate consequence.” Among factors that Dougherty said led to his decision not to prosecute were the facts that the case is two years old and that his office lacks the resources to prosecute. He also cited the “political nature” of the incident but did not elaborate.

The letters were mailed before the November, 1986, election. But the White House denied that the so-called presidential endorsements were authorized by President Reagan or any of his aides.

The White House singled out two aides to Nolan--Richard Temple and Henry Olsen--and Tim Macy, a GOP direct-mail specialist, for being “grossly negligent or recklessly indifferent” in the handling of the letters.

The Reagan endorsement letters were mailed on behalf of three Republicans who lost to Democrats. They were Henry Velasco, who lost to Sally Tanner of El Monte; Matt Webb, who lost to Assemblyman Steve Clute of Riverside, and Roger Fiola, who lost to Assemblyman Richard E. Floyd of Hawthorne. They were also mailed for three winning GOP Assembly candidates--Bev Hansen of Santa Rosa, Trice Harvey of Bakersfield and Richard E. Longshore of Santa Ana, who died earlier this year.

W. Scott Thorpe, deputy attorney general who supervised the investigation, said his final report was sent to Dougherty without a recommendation. Thorpe declined to say whether state Atty. Gen. John K. Van de Kamp would file charges on his own.

Thorpe said Olsen and Macy were granted immunity from prosecution. He said Lewis, a key GOP campaign strategist, and Nolan were subpoenaed by the attorney general but, on advice of their lawyers, declined to answer questions.

Lewis could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Anne Richards, Nolan’s press secretary, said: “It was no surprise to us that the district attorney decided not to file charges. . . .” She maintained that the case had “been through four reviews and no one has found anything worth filing charges about.” Richards said Dougherty’s claim that Nolan and Lewis knew that the White House had not authorized the letters and had told their staffs to lie about the incident “sounds to me like a parting shot” after deciding not to prosecute.

“If the district attorney was really serious about that he would have filed charges. What (Nolan) has said all along is that this was the result of a miscommunication between staff members.”

Kathryn Canlis, Dougherty’s chief deputy, said in an interview that Lewis told Macy to send out the letters on behalf of Fiola, Longshore, Velasco and Webb. She said that Macy told investigators that Lewis “knew he did not have approval” from the White House.

Dougherty said his staff could not reach a definitive conclusion whether the phony letters constituted a forgery.

In response to the announcement, Floyd, who had pressed for the investigation, called Dougherty a “weak-kneed, simpering officer of the law.”

He added: “We have people directed by Pat Nolan forging the President’s name and telling their staffs to lie. These are the worst kinds of crimes because they are messing with the public.”

Times staff writer Leo C. Wolinsky contributed to this story.