St. John Pleads Not Guilty to 5 Felonies
Juanita St. John, a friend and former business associate of Mayor Tom Bradley, pleaded not guilty Monday to five felony counts, including a charge that she embezzled $180,000 from a city-funded task force created to promote trade with Africa.
St. John, 59, entered her pleas at a brief Los Angeles Municipal Court arraignment and was ordered by Judge Candace Beason to return to court May 16 for a preliminary hearing. St. John remains free on $10,000 bail.
St. John declined to comment following the arraignment, but her attorney, Victor Sherman, said she is innocent of the charges.
St. John, who had been a partner with Bradley in a Riverside real estate investment, is charged with two counts of grand theft and three counts of filing false state income tax returns from 1985 through 1987. If convicted on all counts, she could be sentenced to five years in prison.
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