Antonovich’s Role at Meeting on Toxics Becomes Campaign Issue

Supervisor Mike Antonovich’s role at a meeting in his office that led to criminal complaints filed against some who attended is emerging as an issue in his reelection campaign.

Several of Antonovich’s opponents, including ex-Supervisor Baxter Ward, want grand jury testimony unsealed to shed light on Antonovich’s involvement in a meeting in August, 1983, in which businessmen allegedly agreed to defraud Caltrans out of about $1 million.

Antonovich arranged the meeting in which BKK executives and a toxic waste hauler discussed their intent to shortchange Caltrans in the cleanup of the Willco Dump in Lynwood, prosecutors allege. But the extent of Antonovich’s knowledge, if any, of alleged wrongdoing is in dispute.

A district attorney’s investigation, which began in 1984, eventually led to criminal charges brought last year against six individuals, including BKK executives and the waste hauler, Andrew Papac & Sons. At the time, prosecutors said there was no evidence to indicate that Antonovich was involved in any conspiracy.

“Antonovich was never a target of the investigation,” said John Lynch, head deputy of the district attorney’s environmental crimes division.

Robert Benjamin, a Glendale attorney who is one of nine candidates opposing Antonovich in the June 7 primary, asked Superior Court Judge Judith Chirlin on Thursday to unseal the supervisor’s grand jury testimony. She has not yet ruled on the request.

“How can someone conduct a law-and-order campaign and have these kind of questions arise about their own activities?” Benjamin asked.

Benjamin’s action comes on the heels of Ward’s request to Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner to make more information available on the case.

“I think it’s a massive issue,” Ward said. “He (Antonovich) should have stopped the proceeding and ordered the participants out of his office. He should have reported the information to Caltrans and the district attorney.”

Antonovich, however, branded the renewed interest in the Willco case a “dumb” publicity stunt.

“It’s a reckless attempt by the Gang of Nine to generate news where no news exists,” Antonovich said.

“I publicly said if anyone was involved in an illegal transaction they should be held accountable, which was done,” he added.

Antonovich’s role at the meeting has been clouded by inconsistencies, his opponents allege.

For more than a year, the supervisor has maintained that he arranged the meeting as a favor for the Papacs, who are longtime family friends.

On Thursday, Antonovich said he thought the intent of the meeting was to discuss the need to reduce the amount of toxic waste being transported over freeways in Southern California. He said he remained at the meeting five to 12 minutes before leaving the participants alone.

But the supervisor told investigators a different story, Lynch said in an interview. The prosecutor said Antonovich told him that he had stayed for discussions that took place and “mediated the meeting.”

“He did not have a very specific recollection of what was discussed,” Lynch said. “There was some dispute between the parties having to do with hazardous material and dumping hazardous material. Beyond that he did not recall much.”

Lynch said Antonovich explained that he arranged the meeting because of a dispute between Papac and BKK. But there is another version of what happened.

At the preliminary hearing in October, Robert E. Weiss, a former BKK attorney, testified that he warned Antonovich that a Papac associate present at the meeting might be trying to commit a crime. Weiss, who was granted immunity, said William Paul Dunlap had told him that he had a consulting engineer for Caltrans in his “hip pocket.”

At the meeting, Weiss testified, “I said that I wanted the supervisor to be aware of the fact that one of the representatives, specifically Mr. Dunlap--and I may be paraphrasing because it has been some time--had made some comment that I deemed to be illegal. . . .”

“Did you use the word illegal ?” asked the prosecutor.

“I used the term illegal , criminal , something like that,” Weiss replied.

Weiss said Antonovich immediately left the room without asking any questions. The meeting continued with an argument ensuing between Weiss and Dunlap.

“Mr. Dunlap was furious with me . . . I thought he was going to hit me,” Weiss testified.

On Thursday, Antonovich said he had no recollection of anything Weiss said.

At the meeting, the Papacs obtained a $5-a-ton reduction in dumping fees that they would pay BKK for disposal in its West Covina landfill, which the parties conspired to conceal from Caltrans, which was paying for the job, prosecutors allege.

Asked why Antonovich was not charged, Lynch said the conspiracy occurred after, not during, the meeting in the supervisor’s office.

The Papac company was paid for removing contaminated dirt from the dump which was in the path of the proposed Century Freeway. Prosecutors allege that the state was overcharged because Caltrans thought Papac & Sons was paying BKK $24 a ton to dump the waste, instead of $19 a ton.

Prosecutors have said the total loss to the state was about $1 million. However, in December, a municipal judge ruled that the amount was only $46,000 because of the nature of the Caltrans contract.

Neither BKK nor the Papac business are located in Antonovich’s 5th Supervisorial District. Both companies are Antonovich supporters. Papac has contributed $16,000 and BKK has contributed $1,200 to the supervisor’s campaign fund since 1981.

Antonovich said he has no objection to the grand jury transcript being released.

Andrew Papac, son Andrew G. Papac, the family’s firm and Dunlap face two counts each of grand theft and conspiracy to commit grand theft. Jack Thompson, former manager of the BKK landfill, and Charles Virden, former BKK controller, have been charged with two counts each of conspiracy to commit grand theft.