City Delays Question of Ousting Starr

The Ventura City Council on Monday postponed consideration of whether to remove Ventura Port District Commissioner Robert (Nick) Starr from his position because he did not reveal his role in a 24-year-old bribery case.

The council will discuss the issue again next week.

Starr, who was convicted in 1968 of bribe taking while he was a Los Angeles Harbor commissioner, has been sharply criticized by some council members for saying nothing about the case when the council appointed him in June.

When Starr did not quit after some members called for his resignation five weeks ago, the council decided to try to remove him.

On Monday, council members agreed to the delay after hearing that it could cost the city as much as $250,000 to try to oust Starr.

“By the time we get finished screwing around with this . . . we’ll probably get a bill that will knock our socks off,” said Councilman Tom Buford, an attorney. “I question whether Mr. Starr is worth it. I’m not prepared to commit the resources of this city to fight this out.”

Starr was not available for comment Monday, but in past interviews, the 59-year-old property manager has said he will not resign because he has not done anything wrong.

City Atty. Peter D. Bulens told the council last week that an outside attorney would have to be hired to gather evidence against Starr because his office is already advising the council about the removal proceedings.

Such an attorney, most likely one who practices criminal or labor law, would probably charge $150 to $250 an hour, said Dennis La Rochelle, president-elect of the Ventura County Bar Assn.

Bulens said the investigation would take at least 30 to 45 days. Even if the council was able to remove Starr after a public hearing, the port district commissioner has said he will appeal the case to the 2nd District Court of Appeal. The city would also have to pay all appellate-related expenses, Bulens said.

Councilman Gary Tuttle, who has strongly opposed Starr, said he thought Starr’s failure to disclose his conviction was sufficient reason to remove him from the port commission. Council members would not have appointed Starr if they had known about his past, Tuttle said in an interview Monday.

Starr and another Los Angeles Harbor commissioner were found guilty of charges that their medical lab accepted $6,500 in furniture from a Los Angeles developer who wanted their help on a $12-million construction project.

The case was overturned in 1970 because the court ruled that the jury was not properly instructed.