Hedgecock Wins Delay in Suit Over Election Funds

Mayor Roger Hedgecock, facing criminal charges stemming from his 1983 mayoral campaign, won a lengthy delay Tuesday in a related $1.2-million civil suit filed against him and several political supporters by the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission.

Superior Court Judge Milton Milkes granted requests by attorneys for Hedgecock and one of his chief supporters, Nancy Hoover, that FPPC lawyers not question the two or subpoena their records until the mayor’s pending criminal case is resolved.

Lawyers for Hedgecock and Hoover argued that it would violate their clients’ constitutional rights to answer questions or turn over documents in the commission’s lawsuit, because that information might also be used by the district attorney’s office in prosecuting Hedgecock’s criminal case.

Hedgecock faces trial Aug. 22 on 15 felony counts and one misdemeanor count, most stemming from allegations that he illegally conspired to funnel tens of thousands of dollars into his 1983 election campaign. A trial on 13 felony conspiracy and perjury charges ended in a mistrial Feb. 13, when the jury deadlocked 11-1 in favor of conviction.