Businessman Arraigned in Alleged Plot to Murder Man : Crime: Victim, an ex-Marine, survived bullet in the head and beating with bats. Tustin owner of Auto Photo Systems could face 20 years in jail.

A prominent Tustin businessman was arraigned Monday in federal court here on charges he conspired to have another man beaten and shot to death behind an Irvine office building.

The victim, Wilbur Constable, 26, of Mission Viejo, survived a .38-caliber bullet wound in the head and a severe beating with baseball bats on Oct. 12. Workers later found him in a field near the Irvine Spectrum business park, and he was taken to Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center in Mission Viejo.

According to a criminal complaint, Julius Frederick Schill, 58, owner of Auto Photo Systems, a vending photo machine company, and Richard M. Dota, of Las Vegas, conspired to kill Constable, the boyfriend of Schill’s secretary.

A search warrant affidavit alleged that Schill had made several “overtures” toward the employee, Cynthia Asher, and wanted her to break off her relationship with Constable because he could not provide her with the material things she needed.

According to the affidavit, she told investigators that Schill had offered to buy her a condominium, automobiles and a horse stable in the north San Diego County community of Fallbrook in “exchange for her companionship and sexual favors.”

Schill and Dota were charged in U.S. District Court on Monday with conspiring to travel between states or use the mail with intent to commit a murder for payment. Investigators say the conspiracy began in July.

Both men could face up to 20 years in jail if convicted of the charge, said Assistant U.S. Atty. Paul Seave. Schill is being held without bail. It was unclear whether Dota was in custody Monday night.

Orange County Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi said he plans to hold a press conference about the case today. Sources also said the investigation of the Constable matter could lead to more arrests.

Federal prosecutors said that Schill might have as much as $1 million in bank accounts here and abroad. He and his wife live in an $800,000 house in San Juan Capistrano.

Investigators said it appeared that as much as $27,000 was paid to Dota by Schill in the months leading up to the attempted murder.

Schill’s arrest was made after an investigation by the Orange County district attorney’s office and the FBI. They used a confidential informant and electronic surveillance devices to record and videotape meetings at several area hotels.

Constable, a former Marine, told police investigators that on Oct. 11, 1991, he got off work late from the Home Depot store in Tustin. He said he found several business cards on his automobile telling him that his car had been damaged in a hit-and-run accident and to call the telephone number on the card rather than report it to police.

When he made the call he was told to go to 15245 Alton Parkway, where he would be reimbursed for the damage, according to an FBI affidavit. At the address, investigators said, he was approached by a man who pointed a gun in his face and ordered him to lie on the ground.

Three others beat him with baseball bats and Blake Yoon, according to the FBI, shot Constable in the back of the head with a .38-caliber automatic. Yoon has been booked on attempted murder charges.

It was not clear Monday if the three other men had been charged.

At one point, court records state, Yoon told a confidential source how he planned and participated in the beating and shooting of Constable.

According to an FBI affidavit, Yoon had received a telephone call from Dota--a limousine driver in Las Vegas--saying he would be visiting California and wanted to meet with him at a restaurant in West Hollywood.

He reportedly told Yoon that he wanted Constable to disappear in a junkyard by “crushing it inside an automobile.” The FBI affidavit stated that he handed Yoon $3,000 in an envelope and gave him Constable’s address, a description and where he worked.

Dota told Yoon “the hit” was a favor for a rich guy who lives in South County, according to the FBI. Dota repeatedly told Yoon not to hurt Constable’s girlfriend.

On Sept. 29, Orange County sheriff’s deputies arrested Yoon on suspicion of prowling while he was casing Constable’s house. He was booked and released from jail the next day.

In early December, investigators at the district attorney’s office received a call from an employee of Schill’s who said they had documents showing a business relationship between Dota and Schill. At least $27,000 in checks were written to Dota by Schill, investigators alleged.

The search warrant affidavit said investigators believe that the “ostensible business relationship” between Dota and Schill and Auto Photo Systems “was created primarily to disguise Julius Frederick Schill’s payments to Richard Dota for the murder of Wilbur Constable.”