Hedgecock Fields Questions on Dominelli : Denies Knowledge of Financier’s Involvement in 1983 Campaign

Mayor Roger Hedgecock, testifying Wednesday for the second day in his conspiracy and perjury trial, repeatedly denied knowledge of indicted financier J. David Dominelli’s involvement in his 1983 campaign for office.

Hedgecock, 38, is charged with one count of conspiracy and 12 counts of perjury stemming from allegations that he plotted with Dominelli, head of the defunct J. David & Co., and Dominelli’s business partner, Nancy Hoover, to receive illegal campaign contributions.

The election funds were allegedly funneled through a political consulting firm run by former Hedgecock aide Tom Shepard.

Dominelli has been in jail since May on charges of fraud related to his company’s collapse, which prosecutors say cost his investors $60 million.

The perjury charges relate to declarations in Hedgecock’s financial disclosure forms.

Prosecutor Richard Huffman asked Hedgecock about his relationship with real estate investor Harvey Schuster, who testified earlier that Hedgecock told him in November, 1981, that Dominelli was financially backing Shepard’s consulting firm so it could work on Hedgecock’s mayoral campaign.

At the time, Hedgecock was in his second term as a county supervisor and Schuster was a bidder on a project to commercially develop county parking lots facing San Diego Bay.

Hedgecock told Huffman he was “dead sure” he never discussed Shepard’s firm or Dominelli with Schuster in November, 1981.

“I didn’t know that and no one else did either because the decision was not made until December,” Hedgecock said.

Earlier, the mayor said during questioning by defense attorney Michael Pancer that Shepard first talked about starting a consulting firm in mid-December, 1981, when Shepard told Hedgecock he was resigning as an administrative assistant.

The mayor said Shepard told him then that Hoover was financially backing the consulting firm. Hedgecock said Shepard and Hoover had been friends for years and “were virtually brother and sister.”

Huffman tried to get Hedgecock to admit that he started campaigning for mayor in late 1980, after he was overwhelmingly reelected as supervisor.

But Hedgecock said that serious campaign planning began in mid-1982, after then-Mayor Pete Wilson won the Republican U.S. Senate primary.

Huffman also questioned Hedgecock about a $24,000 personal loan that Schuster offered in late 1981. He asked Hedgecock why the checks for the loans were made out to the company operated by Hedgecock’s wife, Cindy.

“That was his idea,” Hedgecock said.