A ‘Shocked’ Golding Says Her Husband is Innocent

San Diego County Supervisor Susan Golding, in her first public comments on her husband’s arrest in connection with an alleged money-laundering scheme, said Sunday that she found the news of the charges so unbelievable that she initially assumed it was a joke.

“It took quite a few minutes to realize that they weren’t kidding,” Golding said, recounting how she learned of the charges by telephone while in New Jersey following the death of her mother. “It was totally and completely shocking, and still is. . . . This is something that you read in a novel, not something that happens in real life.”

Golding, in comments at a brief La Jolla news conference and subsequent interview, declared what she characterized as her unequivocal belief in the innocence of her husband, Richard T. Silberman, the millionaire businessman and longtime Democratic Party power broker who was arrested Friday.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that when all the facts come out in a court of law, my husband will be exonerated,” Golding said. “He is innocent. . . . My husband is an honest, loving and caring man, and he’s been that way all his life, and that doesn’t change in a few months.”

At the press conference, Golding seemed controlled and in command, said Dan McAllister, a longtime political associate who helped organize the event. Her voice cracked at times during a subsequent telephone interview.

While declining to discuss the specific charges against her husband, Golding, one of San Diego’s rising political stars, expressed her belief that much of the allegations released to date have been designed to cast Silberman in the worst possible light.

“It’s very clear that only a portion of a certain number of facts are being told,” she said, “and they are being told by someone who would like to prosecute someone.”

Silberman, 59, a co-founder of the Jack in the Box fast-food chain and a major figure in state and area politics for more than a decade, was freed after posting bail Saturday evening, following one night in the federal Metropolitan Correctional Center in downtown San Diego. He was arrested Friday at a San Diego hotel while allegedly negotiating to assist in the concealing, or laundering, of some $1.1 million in purported drug proceeds, according to the FBI. The person making the alleged arrangement with Silberman turned out to be an undercover FBI agent who had earlier arranged some $300,000 in money-laundering operations with Silberman, the agency said.

Silberman is to be arraigned in U. S. District Court today.

Also arrested was Chris Poulos, 62, of San Diego, commonly known as Chris Petti, who authorities say has been linked to the Chicago-area La Cosa Nostra, the organized-crime organization. The crime group’s activities in Southern California and Nevada triggered the investigation, which has been going on for 2 1/2 years, the FBI said.

In announcing Silberman’s arrest, federal authorities said Golding apparently had no knowledge of the money scheme. She said Sunday that she had no inkling of the investigation of her husband until she learned of his arrest Friday. Authorities have said the money schemes involving Silberman date back some five months.

Silberman has been home since Saturday evening, said Golding, who added that she and her husband have been discussing the case intensely, along with various lawyers. She refrained on commenting to the media until now, she said, so she might be better versed in the facts of the case. No decision had been made on a lawyer to represent Silberman, Golding said, although she added that the family had spoken with a number of prominent area counsels, including Milton Silverman and Louis Katz.

There has been much speculation about what impact the charges could have on Golding’s career. The 43-year-old chairwoman of the County Board of Supervisors and a leading area Republican is considered one of San Diego’s pre-eminent politicians, and she is known to have ambitions for statewide office. Whatever the outcome of the criminal case, political observers say her husband’s involvement in the case will likely tarnish her star. On Sunday, however, Golding declined to discuss the issue.

“What about my political future?” Golding herself asked. “The only person whose future I’ve thought about is my husband’s. . . . The best thing I can do for my husband now is stand by him and support him, which I intend to do.”

The support from others has been widespread, said Golding, who described her husband’s spirits as shaken--”He’s in shock”--but added that the couple is determined to fight the allegations. “I was most afraid that people would desert him, people he’s known for years, but that hasn’t happened,” Golding said. “We’ve literally gotten call after call from people who worked with him, from friends, all offering support.”

As for her job, Golding said it might be necessary for her to cut down perhaps 20 hours a week in her work schedule, which she said usually entails 80 to 90 hours of work each week. She canceled a trip to Washington this week to spend more time with her husband, she said. But Golding said she has no intention of stepping down from elected office. She vowed she will continue to give as much as she can to her job.

“I’ll say this: My husband comes first, and my family comes first,” she said.

Golding and Silberman were married in July, 1984, in the midst of her campaign for county supervisor. The two had previously had a well-known relationship, despite their affiliations with different political parties.

Silberman has three grown children from a former marriage. Golding’s two children, also from a former marriage, live with the couple in San Diego.