Hodges Confident He’ll Be Exonerated in New Trial

Former Westminster City Councilman Guinn (Gil) Hodges said Friday that he is looking forward to his retrial on federal conspiracy charges because he has “no doubt” that he will be exonerated.

Hodges, who successfully appealed his conviction in 1983 on charges of falsely verifying information on real estate loan documents, is scheduled to stand trial Feb. 25 in Los Angeles federal court.

“I am truly looking forward to the trial,” Hodges said after a hearing to set the trial date. “This has taken 2 1/2 years out of my life.”

Hodges, 42, said he has been recovering from back surgery and is living on disability payments. He said he plans to take the bar examination when the trial is over and hopes to practice law.

Hodges and four others were indicted in April, 1983, on charges that they fraudulently obtained about $1.2 million in federally insured bank loans in 1981 and 1982. They allegedly used the money to buy seven Huntington Beach homes.

In 1983, the other defendants pleaded guilty or no contest, but Hodges was tried and convicted. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison, with all but three months of the sentence suspended, plus five years on probation and a $2,000 fine. He was allowed to remain free pending resolution of his appeal. He resigned his council seat just before he was sentenced.

New Witness

Santa Ana lawyer Roger Agajanian, who is representing Hodges, told reporters after the hearing that he has found a new witness who will have “a major impact on this case.” He said that the witness, who is “back East,” will be able to challenge the credibility of one of the government’s major witnesses. He declined to name the witness.

“The changes will make it a much more fair and balanced trial and give the jury more of a choice,” Agajanian said. Assistant U.S. Atty. Sharon McCaslin said she plans to call the same witnesses who testified at the original trial.

At a hearing Friday, U.S. District Judge David Kenyon tentatively approved Agajanian’s representing Hodges at the trial, although he is not on a list of attorneys approved for appointment and payment by the court.

Agajanian said that if he cannot be paid by the court to represent Hodges, who claims to be indigent, he will represent him at no charge.