Grand Jury Inquiry of Kolender Reported : Investigation: A variety of allegations, ranging from sex with prostitutes to favoritism for Chargers players, were the focus of a probe, which is continuing.

The San Diego Union has reported that one of the newspaper’s top executives--former Police Chief Bill Kolender--was at the center of a grand jury probe of misconduct and favoritism in the San Diego Police Department.

The grand jury investigated a variety of allegations, ranging from whether Kolender had sex with prostitutes to the department giving San Diego Chargers players preferential treatment, the Union reported in stories Sunday and Monday. In addition, several jurors believed Kolender lied when testifying before the panel and wanted him indicted for perjury, the newspaper said.

The grand jury did not recommend criminal charges following its probe, and no indictments have been filed in connection with those allegations.

The grand jury, which disbanded June 30, ran out of time before it could finish its investigations, foreman J. Phil Franklin has said. Franklin, who could not be reached Monday for comment, also has said that several areas of inquiry were referred for further review to a new grand jury, which began operations July 1.

The foreman of the 1990-91 grand jury, Reno J. Testolin, said Monday that he could not discuss what the new panel is investigating and declined to comment on the Union stories. “I don’t know what we’ll be looking into now,” he said. “But we’ll look into all aspects of it.”

Grand juries operate in secret, and the violation of that secrecy can lead to criminal penalties. Brian Michaels, the chief deputy district attorney directing the grand jury probe, said in a statement released Monday that prosecutors intend to “determine both the criminal liability and the motivation of the person or persons who did the leaking” to the Union.

Kolender, assistant to the publisher of the Union-Tribune Publishing Co., did not return phone calls to his office Monday. He has been with the company since he left the Police Department in 1988, after 13 years as chief.

In Kolender’s final years as chief, the department suffered a number of setbacks. Among them was a ticket-fixing scandal that led to a reprimand for Kolender by City Manager John Lockwood.

According to the Union, which cited unnamed sources, the grand jury probe expanded from an investigation into the way police officers handled a client list kept by convicted madam Karen Wilkening and Kolender’s alleged association with her.

The list--a Rolodex file kept by Wilkening, who ran a high-class call-girl ring--was found in a 1987 police raid of Wilkening’s apartment. It contained the names of prominent people and at least one police officer, the grand jury said in its final report, issued June 27.

In that report, the grand jury also said that the list may have been tampered with while in police custody. The report was critical of department procedures in cases of possible “corrupt or criminal” police conduct.

The dissatisfaction of a number of jurors with how the jury handled those topics led to disclosure of grand jury activities to the Union, the paper reported.

Four witnesses--including two former Wilkening employees--told the panel that Kolender had an association with Wilkening and her call girls, the Union said.

Both former prostitutes said they met Kolender at a downtown hotel, a meeting attended by Wilkening--though the paper put the date at 1984 in Sunday’s story and 1985 in Monday’s. One of the prostitutes told the jury she had sex with Kolender in a private hotel suite on at least two occasions, the paper said.

Kolender told the Union that was “absolute baloney” and added that he had never met Wilkening, who is serving a 44-month prison sentence. Wilkening also denied ever meeting Kolender, the Union said.

The paper reported that some jurors questioned Kolender’s credibility, in part because they found it hard to believe that Wilkening’s call-girl ring, which existed for six years, could have been run without police knowledge. In contrast, the Union added, jurors found the two former call girls to be credible witnesses.

The grand jury also heard testimony about preferential treatment for certain Mission Bay bars, the Union said. Citations issued for selling alcohol to minors were canceled by police officials, the paper said.

In addition, the panel was told that several Chargers players openly used cocaine and other drugs but police took no action, the Union said. Further, police failed to pursue prosecution of players’ traffic violations, the paper said.

The panel also was told that former Charger quarterback Dan Fouts was shot in the shoulder in 1983, the Union said. Ex-fullback Chuck Muncie testified that he and Fouts were in a Del Mar condo with two women when either the boyfriend or the spouse of the woman accompanying Fouts arrived and shot Fouts, wounding him slightly in the shoulder, the Union reported.

George Varela and Dick Lewis, two police officers who were attached to Kolender’s office and also worked as security guards for the football team, hushed up the shooting and no police reports were ever made, the paper said. Both have since left the department to work for the team, the Union said, but neither could be reached Monday for comment.

Muncie was sentenced in 1989 to 2 1/2 years in prison after pleading guilty to a federal drug charge and to lying to a federal judge about using cocaine while free on bail. He told a KNSD (Channel 39) television reporter Monday, “I did not see Fouts get shot. I only told the grand jury about the rumors in the locker room.”

Fouts, now a network sportscaster, said Monday, “I have never been shot at. I have never been shot. I have never been treated for a gunshot wound. I couldn’t make any more strong of an absolute, unequivocal and firm denial.”