San Diego

More meal guests of San Diego City Councilman Uvaldo Martinez testified Wednesday that their meetings with him--paid for with his city-issued credit card--were business-related.

But as women who dined repeatedly with Martinez were called to the stand, the prosecutor in the indicted councilman’s preliminary hearing on 28 felony charges tied to alleged misuse of the credit card steered clear of lines of questioning about Martinez’s personal relationships.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Allan Preckel did not, for instance, ask Helen Bird, head of the city’s litter control program, to repeat her grand jury testimony that disclosed she had a “very, very close” personal relationship with Martinez in 1984 and 1985.

Instead, Bird was asked to testify briefly about the circumstances of two dinners she shared with Martinez in June, 1985. She said they discussed her concerns about the performance of the councilman’s staff.

During a break in the proceedings before Municipal Judge Joseph Davis, Preckel explained that testimony regarding Bird’s personal ties to Martinez was not pertinent to the preliminary hearing, at which he must establish the outlines of the prosecution case against the councilman. But he said it might figure in a trial of the charges against Martinez, as it pertained to Bird’s credibility and potential biases.

The county grand jury charged Martinez in March with illegally using his city credit card to buy $1,880 worth of meals and drinks on 21 occasions between November, 1984, and July, 1985.

Martinez told city auditors the meals were discussions of public business with officials, developers, political supporters and acquaintances, and later apologized for sloppy record keeping when many of the supposed guests denied attending the meals. But testimony and records presented to the grand jury indicated many of the meals were social outings.

One of Martinez’s most frequent meal guests, according to the grand jury testimony, was Jane Reid, one of his staff members. Reid and former staffer Colin Flaherty testified Thursday that most of the meals they attended with Martinez were business-related.

Martinez, who occasionally whispered with his defense attorney, Raymond Coughlan, during the long day in court, told reporters after the session that “nothing new” had surfaced Thursday, the third day of testimony in a hearing expected to last at least another week.