California IN BRIEF : SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO : D.A. Won’t Probe Loans to Official
Officials with the Orange County district attorney’s office declined to investigate municipal loans made to San Juan Capistrano City Manager Stephen B. Julian, saying they have no evidence suggesting a crime was committed. The Times reported in January that Julian had obtained five city loans since 1981, incurring debts of $398,235. The district attorney’s decision not to investigate was announced in a letter to Mayor Kenneth E. Friess, who had requested the review on behalf of the City Council. “Based on the limited materials you have presented us, there has been inadequate evidence presented to justify the belief that further investigation would produce sufficient evidence of a criminal violation,” wrote Chief Asst. Dist. Atty. Maurice L. Evans.
For the record:
12:00 a.m. March 1, 1992 For the Record
Los Angeles Times Sunday March 1, 1992 Home Edition Part A Page 3 Column 4 Metro Desk 5 inches; 162 words Type of Material: Correction
Stephen B. Julian, city manager of San Juan Capistrano, filed a lawsuit last month against The Times and several of its employees for libel. The lawsuit claims, in part, that the articles and editorials published during January and February, 1991, accused Julian of illegal and corrupt conduct in his financial dealings with the city of San Juan Capistrano.
The Times wishes to make clear that the articles did not state and were not intended to imply that Julian is a corrupt public official. Additionally, the articles did not state, nor were they intended to imply, that Julian participated in any illegal activity or that any of the terms and conditions of his employment were illegal.
As The Times reported on March 9, 1991, the Orange County district attorney’s office declined to investigate Julian’s dealings with San Juan Capistrano, stating that it had no evidence suggesting that any crime had been committed.
Julian contends that the articles harmed him and caused him and members of his family to be the subject of harassment. The Times does not condone or encourage any harassment of Julian or his family and regrets any harm that may have occurred.
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