Judge Won’t Alter Hearing for Martinez Council Job

The preliminary hearing for San Diego City Councilman Uvaldo Martinez, who was indicted on 28 counts of misusing a city credit card, began Monday with Municipal Court Judge Joseph Davis denying Martinez’s request to take Mondays off during the hearing to attend council meetings.

Looking somber after a 2 1/2-hour court session, Martinez said the judge’s decision would make it a “challenge” to keep up with his council duties during the preliminary hearing, expected to last at least two weeks. But as he has since he came under investigation last fall, Martinez pledged to meet his obligations.

“Whatever the schedule is, I’m still going to do what I have to do,” he said.

The county grand jury indicted Martinez in March on 17 counts of falsely accounting for public funds, 10 counts of misappropriating public funds, and one count of attempted misappropriation.

The indictment followed months of investigation by the district attorney’s office and the grand jury into allegations that Martinez had used his city-issued Visa card to finance a wining and dining spree at some of the city’s most posh dining spots.

Ultimately, the grand jury charged that Martinez illegally used the credit card to purchase $1,880 worth of meals and drinks on 21 occasions between November, 1984, and July, 1985. Testimony and records presented to the grand jury indicated that many of the meals were social outings with one or more women, though Martinez told city auditors the meals were discussions of public business with officials, developers, political supporters and other acquaintances.

Conviction on any of the charges would force Martinez off the council, on which he has served since 1982. Each count carries a maximum penalty of four years in state prison and a $10,000 fine.

Martinez watched with a blank expression Monday as Deputy Dist. Atty. Allan Preckel read into the court record a list of the 39 exhibits prosecutors plan to offer as evidence during the preliminary hearing. Preckel also placed on the record an agreement with Martinez’s court-appointed defense attorney, Raymond J. Coughlan, that will save 13 restaurant managers from having to repeat their grand jury testimony during the Municipal Court proceedings.

Coughlan requested the preliminary hearing, which is optional in criminal cases where a grand jury has returned an indictment. He declined to say Monday if he plans to call witnesses of his own--a step that would extend the hearing and be unusual in pretrial proceedings.

Preckel, meanwhile, planned to launch the presentation of the prosecution’s case Tuesday by calling City Auditor Edward P. Ryan, Accounting Manager Joe Lozano and Martinez’s secretary, Natalie Crosthwaite, to testify.

Martinez appears to run little risk during the preliminary hearing of running afoul of the city charter’s attendance rules for council members.

A councilman automatically loses his seat if he misses eight consecutive meetings or 50% of the meetings in any month, unless the council votes to excuse the absences. Council members must give up seats on council committees if they have four consecutive unexcused absences.

Martinez would have to miss four weeks’ worth of twice-weekly council meetings or two months’ worth of every-other-week committee meetings--and then be denied an excuse by the council--before the automatic ouster mechanisms would kick into action.

Former Mayor Roger Hedgecock was able to minimize conflicts with the council’s schedule during his two trials on conspiracy and perjury charges because judges agreed not to schedule court sessions on Monday afternoons.