Surprise Move Before Trial : Ex-Port Official Pleads No Contest in Bilking Scheme

A former high-ranking official of the San Diego Unified Port District pleaded no contest Monday to charges that he participated in a scheme to bilk the district of more than $700,000.

William J. Garrett, former director of marine operations for the Port District, entered the plea before Superior Court Judge Jesus Rodriguez to three counts of grand theft and one count of conspiracy to defraud his employer.

The no-contest plea means Garrett did not admit guilt, but will be held accountable for the charges as if he had pleaded guilty, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. Lantz Lewis.

Set to Go to Trial

Garrett, 49, faces a maximum sentence of four years and four months in state prison, plus a $30,000 fine. He will remain free on his own recognizance until his sentencing July 11.

Lewis said the case was set to go to trial Friday and that the last-minute plea came as a surprise. Defense attorney Patrick Campbell said Garrett’s decision to make the plea was spurred by the desire to protect his family and to avoid the financial burden of a trial.

“He did not want to put his family through any extended period of public scrutiny. He has a wife who is ill and cannot stand stress,” Campbell said. “He is not admitting guilt; he just said, ‘I don’t want to go any further with this matter.’ ”

Garrett allegedly purchased a dishwasher, an oven, a stereo and a compact disc player, and had transmission work done on his son’s station wagon, at the Port District’s expense, a total of about $7,300.

The purchases allegedly were made via a complicated scheme in which employees of an auto parts store falsified invoices, marked up the merchandise 67%, then billed the Port District for reimbursement.

The fraudulent reimbursements were made possible by a Port District policy that allowed the purchasing department to routinely pay bills of less than $250, such as the ones submitted by Napa Auto Parts on 12th Street. The Port District has since changed that policy.

According to the prosecutor, Garrett selected merchandise from local retailers and had those purchases charged to Napa Auto Parts. The Napa employees in turn prepared false invoices that they presented to the Port District, which had a large account with the store, he said, and the invoices were often doctored to make it appear that the items purchased were things that might legitimately be of use to the district.

Six People Charged

A 16-month investigation into the scam, which had reportedly been going on for at least three years, resulted in charges against six people, all former employees of the Port District or Napa Auto Parts. Garrett, who was arrested at his office Feb. 17, was the last to be charged and was allegedly involved only peripherally.

“He did not set it up and operate the scheme, but, knowing that the scheme was in place, he took advantage of it,” Lewis said.

Campbell, however, said he believes Garrett was not aware of the scheme when he made the purchases. Campbell said many other port employees received benefits equal to or greater than those received by Garrett and that they, like Garrett, did not pay for the services or merchandise because they were simply waiting for a bill to arrive in the mail.

“I get the impression that my client was charged only because he was the waterfront director of the port,” Campbell said.

Garrett was unavailable for comment Monday.

He resigned from his $63,000-a-year post with the Port District about six weeks ago. He would have been employed there 20 years and been eligible for retirement on Nov. 3.

Garrett is the second person to be convicted in connection with the fraud scheme. Former Harbor Police Lt. William Clair pleaded guilty to one count of grand theft last year and was placed on probation.

Three other people are in the midst of a lengthy preliminary hearing, which is expected to end this week. They are Rudi M. Enriques, a former meter repairman with the Port District’s purchasing department and the alleged mastermind of the scheme; Richard Miles Cersosimo, former director of the port’s purchasing department, and Paul Robert Manes, the former manager of the auto parts store.

A fourth man, Arnoldo Olivarria Castillo, left for his native Mexico about the time the others were indicted and has not returned. Castillo was the sales agent who handled the Port District’s account with the auto parts store.