Witness Testifies About Helping Wilkening Obtain a Phony Passport

A one-time friend of accused madam Karen Wilkening testified Wednesday that she helped Wilkening get a counterfeit passport that enabled her to flee to the Philippines in 1987.

Linda Webster, a key witness against Wilkening, 43, and Wilkening’s former defense attorney, Buford Wiley Jr., testified in a San Diego Municipal Court preliminary hearing, accusing Wilkening and Wiley of conspiring to obstruct justice.

Wilkening did not show up for the second day of her preliminary hearing in September, 1987, on pimping and pandering charges when Wiley was representing her. She was arrested last month in Manila.

Testifying before Judge Joe Littlejohn, Webster said that Wilkening told her that National City automobile dealer Tony McCune had offered Wilkening money to leave town in 1987. Webster identified McCune as a former customer of Wilkening’s alleged call-girl operation.

Testified About Sex

McCune testified last week in Wilkening’s preliminary hearing involving the prostitution charges that he had sex with women provided by Wilkening. McCune has not been charged with any criminal offense, although his office, car and residence have been searched by police.

Webster also testified that attorney Wesley Harris was pressuring Wilkening to leave town in 1987. Harris, 56, faces a contempt-of-court hearing June 27 after failing to show up last week to testify.

Webster said she, Wilkening and a man named Phil Rivera traveled to Los Angeles on Sept. 17, 1987, to acquire a passport that would allow Wilkening to flee the country.

The three traveled to Los Angeles at Wiley’s urging, according to Webster, to get a passport for Wilkening in Webster’s name. Webster said she posed for the passport picture with a wig belonging to Wilkening to make her look like the alleged madam.

Having obtained the passport, Webster said, they returned to San Diego and prepared for Wilkening’s departure to the Philippines. Webster testified that several days later she mailed from Tijuana a letter from Wilkening and Wilkening’s real passport to Wiley to make it appear that she had fled the country and was not using her passport.

Mailed Documents

Webster told Littlejohn that, the same day she went to mail documents to Wiley in Mexico, Wilkening was “finalizing transactions.”

When asked what kind of transactions, she said, “It was concerning the money Tony McCune was putting together.”

When Wilkening left for the Philippines she was carrying $7,000 in cash, according to Webster.

While Wilkening was out of the country, Webster said, she sent letters to Wilkening through Wiley. She said she received several letters from Wilkening that had San Diego postmarks and Wiley’s return address on them.