McMartin Case Puts Reiner in Political Hot Seat

Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner forcefully denied Wednesday that politics played any role in his decision to retry Ray Buckey, the sole remaining defendant in the once-massive McMartin Pre-School case, on child molestation charges. But the decision had hardly been announced when some hot political rhetoric began to fly.

Sam Singer, who is managing Reiner’s campaign for state attorney general, accused Reiner’s Democratic primary opponent, San Francisco Dist. Atty. Arlo Smith, of taking advantage of the alleged victims by criticizing Reiner’s handling of the case.

“Our primary opponent has shown himself to be probably the meanest, cruelest man in California in terms of trying to build his political career on the backs of the parents and children in the McMartin case,” Singer said. “And it will come back to haunt him.”

Smith’s campaign manager, Marc Dann, said that Smith will not make Reiner’s decision to retry Buckey a campaign issue. But he added that Smith will press ahead with his contention that “the whole McMartin experience” is an indictment of Reiner’s competence.

“To the extent that the McMartin case stays in the spotlight and continues to highlight the abysmal record of Ira Reiner . . . it’s a winner for us all the way around,” Dann said.

Buckey was acquitted on Jan. 18 of 52 molestation and conspiracy counts in his first trial, but the jury could not reach a verdict on 13 other counts and a mistrial was declared on those counts. Buckey has maintained his innocence.

There was little unanimity among political observers Wednesday about the impact that the McMartin case ultimately will have on the race between Reiner and Smith. But the decision to retry Buckey ensured that the case will remain in the courts throughout both the primary and general election campaigns.

Superior Court Judge William Pounders on Wednesday set a March 9 court date, but defense attorney Danny Davis has filed papers to remove Pounders from the case, a tactic that could delay the trial’s opening. Lawyers estimated the trial would last six months.

One top Democratic political consultant suggested Wednesday that the ultimate impact of the McMartin case on Reiner’s campaign for the state’s top law enforcement post cannot yet be known. Consultant Clinton Reilly of San Francisco added that Smith appears to have been handed a potent issue--but it remains to be seen how well he will manage it.

“If Arlo Smith’s campaign can make this an issue in their paid media (television and radio commercials), there’s a likelihood that the kind of generalized revulsion people feel about the way the case was handled can be an effective political tool,” Reilly said.

But, he added, “It is a question in my mind whether Smith will have enough money to be able to fully exploit (the McMartin controversy).”

Campaign financial statements show that as of Dec. 31, Reiner had $501,729 on hand, compared to $23,708 for Smith. Smith’s manager Dann said, however, that Smith has just loaned his campaign $400,000 in personal funds, bringing his total within striking distance of Reiner’s. Republican candidate and former U.S. Rep. Dan Lungren had $132,694 on hand, his report said.

On Wednesday, the candidates left the fighting to their respective campaign managers and chose themselves to underplay the impact of Wednesday’s decision. Smith declined to return a telephone call to his San Francisco office.

Reiner, in a press conference at his downtown office, said he had not discussed with his political aides whether he should retry Buckey. Singer, too, said he had not discussed the matter with Reiner.

“This is not a political matter and is not going to be treated as such,” Reiner said.

Told that his campaign manager was expressing sharp opinions, Reiner said that Singer “was not speaking for me.”

“I can understand his emotional reaction to that,” Reiner added. “I wish he hadn’t done it. I’m not going to discuss it and neither is he.”

Reiner has suffered from a string of highly publicized courtroom defeats, including two in the last two weeks, and Smith’s lieutenants have been quick to pounce on them. “Ira Reiner is 0-for-life in big cases,” Dann declared Wednesday.

“Look at all the big ones and we win almost every one,” Reiner retorted.

Last week, a Pomona jury found a Hacienda Heights gynecologist not guilty of strangling and dismembering his 11-year-old son, a case in which Reiner had played a prominent role. In December of 1987, Reiner had personally appeared at the Pomona courthouse to announce the filing of murder charges against Dr. Khalid Parwez and said the case “deserved” the death penalty.

Parwez’s lawyer, Leslie H. Abramson, last week accused Reiner of exploiting the case for political gain.