Roberti Decides It’s Never Too Late to Right a Wrong

State Sen. David Roberti is seeking a gubernatorial pardon for Pedro J. Gonzalez, whose colorful life and controversial criminal conviction in 1934 were the subjects of both a documentary and feature film by a San Diego filmmaker.

Roberti became interested in the 95-year-old Gonzalez, who lived in Chula Vista before moving last year to Northern California, after an aide saw the 1984 documentary, “Ballad of an Unsung Hero.”

“Pedro was both a leader and a symbol to hundreds of thousands in the Spanish- speaking Los Angeles of the ‘30s,” said Roberti, a Democrat from Hollywood and president pro tempore of the Senate. “His trial and conviction are shameful reminders of racism’s legacy in California.”

In the early 1930s, Gonzalez, who had fought in the Mexican revolution beside Pancho Villa, was a popular radio personality in L. A.

In 1934, he was convicted of rape and sentenced to 50 years in prison. Many thought he was victimized for having challenged the district attorney and speaking out against the forced deportation of Mexicans.

Gonzalez was paroled after six years and deported to Mexico. He operated a radio station in Tijuana for 30 years and returned to the United States in 1971 to be close to his children.

“A pardon would be wonderful,” said Bonnie Ramirez, 58, a San Diego resident and the youngest of Gonzalez’s nine children. “He never did anything to go to prison for. It was all prejudice. Imagine what he could have done for the Mexican people in Los Angeles if he had been allowed to remain on the radio.”

Filmmaker Isaac Artenstein, whose documentary won an Emmy and whose feature film, “Break of Dawn,” premiered in March, said a pardon is long overdue. Gonzalez is in failing health.

“The pardon would be mostly symbolic at this point, but it is a wrong that has never been corrected,” Artenstein said. “Hopefully it will spread good will in the Latino community in California.”

A spokesman for Gov. George Deukmejian said the pardon request is being studied.

Token of a Scheme

Sorry, Mom and Dad. Parenthood is still a thankless job.

The consumer fraud unit of the San Diego city attorney’s office issued an alert this week about the rip-offs that sprout up every high school graduation season. A new one allegedly involves a “parent appreciation plaque.”

The plaque arrives after supposedly being ordered by a new grad as a token of love. A fast-talking salesman pressures the folks into paying $25.

Only later do the parents realize that their child never ordered such a plaque. Or, worse yet, the child may have rejected the plaque idea as unmerited.

She Knew That

Life has been busy for Kelly Roberts since The Times’ Tom Gorman detailed how even skeptical cops have come to believe she may really have the psychic powers she claims.

Roberts, 31, who maintains offices in Escondido and San Diego, has been asked to intervene in several missing-persons cases and a homicide case. She even ventured to Los Angeles last weekend for a round of appointments with would-be clients.

Four actors asked for advice on how to break into show business, and one guy wanted to know how to get a buddy out of prison.

A woman asked for help finding her sunglasses. Another was looking for a gold watch. Still another was searching for her missing furniture.

Not all has been pleasant, however. One man made an appointment to ask about a problem, but before he arrived Roberts realized he meant to do her harm. Being clairvoyant, she says, she’s often able to do that.

“I tuned into it in time to take some precaution,” Roberts said.

The same sort of foreboding helped her avoid disappointment when The Times turned down her request to place an ad. The paper has a policy against ads for clairvoyants, palm readers, fortune tellers, card or tealeaf readers, spiritual advisers and psychic or faith healers.

“I knew in advance they would turn me down, but I decided to try anyway,” she said.