Hunter No. 2 at J. David, Mitrovich Says on Stand

City Club President George Mitrovich, who was director of public affairs at the now-defunct J. David & Co., testified Thursday in the fraud trial of Nancy Hoover Hunter, describing her as “the second most important person in the company.”

Mitrovich said he was hired by Hunter and Jerry Dominelli in 1981 but continued to work for charitable causes, several of which eventually received substantial contributions from J. David.

However, Mitrovich testified that he had very little contact with the business operations, although his brother and three friends invested with J. David & Co. after discussing with him the investment house’s “general appearance of success.”

Mitrovich, testifying as a prosecution witness in the 234-count trial in U.S. District Judge Earl B. Gilliam’s courtroom, said Hunter was a busy worker and other employees had to exert a great deal of effort to get her attention.

“Mrs. Hoover spent a great deal of time on the phone,” he said. “People were constantly vying for her attention.”

Mitrovich said he took several trips paid for by J. David, which he assumed were one of the trappings of a successful firm. He and his family also lived in a house provided by J. David & Co., which was the site of “lots and lots of City Club events.”

Mitrovich testified about the final days of the investment house, including a phone call he received from a protege at J. David.

“He said some very strange things were going on, and that he was bringing cashier’s checks to investors and picking up bounced checks,” Mitrovich said, adding that this “stunning news” led him to meet with Dominelli and Hunter--and that Dominelli assured him that the problem was caused by funds being contained in Europe.

Mitrovich soon resigned from the company, which had fallen into “the most chaotic situation I have ever been exposed to.”

Under cross-examination by defense attorney Richard Marmaro, Mitrovich said Hunter was not a detail-oriented person and was easily distracted, partially because she had become involved in too many outside enterprises.

Part of Mitrovich’s testimony touched on his long-standing acquaintanceship with Hunter and caused Hunter to cry gently as he detailed the collapse of J. David & Co.