2 Charged in Attempted Extortion of Calderon

Two men have been charged with attempting to extort $100,000 from state Sen. Charles M. Calderon by threatening last winter to expose alleged political improprieties while Calderon was running for county supervisor.

Expected to surrender in East Los Angeles Municipal Court today on three felony charges is Steven Newton--who is married to Calderon’s ex-wife, Jeannine. Also charged is Robert Mareno, Newton’s half-brother. It is not known when Mareno, a Virginia resident, will come to Los Angeles to face the allegations. Newton is a computer salesman in Irvine.

Calderon (D-Whittier) was twice wired with a taping device when meeting with the defendants last December, providing tapes that are a key to the case, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Gregory J. Denton.

“They said he could either pay the money or have this information released to the press,” Denton said. “At that time (Calderon) was running for office, for supervisor, so it was obviously an opportune time for someone to make the demand.”

Calderon finished fourth in the January supervisorial primary and returned to his job in the Senate. He cited the pending prosecution Tuesday in declining to discuss the case. But his office released a brief statement. “I was the object of an extortion attempt,” it read in part. “I cooperated fully with the police and the district attorney in their investigation.”

Newton’s attorney, Richard Lasting, said Tuesday that he did not have enough information to comment on the charges. Mareno and his attorney could not be reached. Both men face up to four years in prison if convicted.