San Diego
Leon Haywood, 51, pleaded innocent Thursday to three counts of wire fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud Mayor Roger Hedgecock’s attorney, Oscar Goodman, of $50,000.
Haywood is accused of telling Goodman that for that sum he could provide information that would guarantee a new trial for Hedgecock. The plot was uncovered when Goodman wore a secret microphone and tape-recorded the alleged offer. He was arraigned Thursday on a grand jury indictment issued Wednesday.
U.S. Magistrate Roger McKee ordered Haywood held in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in lieu of $25,000 bail.
Assistant U.S. Atty. Robert Rose described Haywood as having “a 10-page criminal history” that included “a vast number of fraud or fraud-related convictions” over 30 years.
Based on Rose’s comments, the magistrate refused to reduce the bail, saying, “That means his word I can’t trust.”
A trial date will be set for Haywood on Nov. 25.
The indictment states that Haywood told Goodman that he had known one of the jurors for a long time and that the juror would go to the news media and say he had been coerced. There is no evidence that Haywood knew any of the jurors or had any inside information.
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