Ex-Promoters of Casino Surrender to Authorities

Two former promoters of an Oxnard card casino surrendered to authorities Tuesday after being charged with six misdemeanor counts of money laundering and one felony count of grand theft.

But the attorney for one of the men said it appears the Ventura County district attorney’s office brought the charges largely to justify a nine-month inquiry into promoters of card clubs in Oxnard.

The charges against Michael E. Wooten, 45, of Camarillo and Frank Marasco, 48, of Ventura were filed Monday in Ventura County Municipal Court.

The two men surrendered to district attorney’s investigators shortly after 9 a.m. Tuesday. They were booked into the Ventura County Jail about an hour later and were released about 3:15 p.m. after each posted $5,000 bail. They are scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday.

The charges came after the county grand jury refused to indict Wooten and Marasco on more serious charges, and Wooten’s attorney questioned whether prosecutors’ decision to file charges “is to justify all of the expense and time they spent on investigating campaign violations.”

“After all the time they spent, I don’t think they were able to come up with a whole heck of a lot, and that means (the defendants) had some rather minor violations,” attorney Richard C. Loy said.

Loy said Wooten does not contest making small contributions indirectly to four political campaigns, including those of two Oxnard city councilmen. But he said his client had no criminal intent when he made the contributions and did not realize that what he was doing was illegal.

Neither Wooten nor Marasco could be reached. Louis B. Samonsky Jr., Marasco’s attorney, said he had not yet reviewed the charges and declined to comment.

Deputy Dist. Atty. John Geb, who led the investigation, disputed Loy’s assessment of the case.

“I suppose we wouldn’t last very long in business if we filed for the sole reason that we have to justify what we were doing, because ultimately these things have to stand up in court,” he said.

“The test of whether or not it should be done will be whether there is a conviction,” he added.

Geb said the contributions totaled about $1,000. All four public officials who received them were unaware of where the donations actually came from, he said.

Wooten and Marasco are charged with illegally reimbursing three former employees for contributions to former Oxnard City Councilwoman Dorothy Maron’s 1990 council campaign, Assemblyman Nao Takasugi’s 1992 Assembly campaign, Councilman Michael Plisky’s 1992 mayoral bid and Councilman Thomas Holden’s council campaign this year.

In addition to their efforts to promote a casino, the defendants were co-owners of the defunct Darrik Marten Co. in Ventura, a development firm. In 1992, they allegedly submitted a false $10,000 construction voucher to a consortium of Ventura County investors, then used the money personally without telling the lender.

Each faces up to three years in prison and a fine of $10,000 for the alleged theft. Each misdemeanor money-laundering count carries a maximum penalty of one year in Ventura County Jail and a $10,000 fine, Geb said.

Times staff writer Daryl Kelley contributed to this article.