MONTEBELLO : Couple Suing Wilson Say Ad Invaded Their Privacy

A Montebello couple who charge that ads touting Gov. Pete Wilson’s reelection campaign invaded their privacy have filed a $15-million lawsuit against Wilson and his campaign committee.

Jeronimo and Carmen Zaragoza say they suffered embarrassment, distress and mental anguish after the naturalization ceremony they had taken part in appeared in a Wilson pro-Proposition 187 ad. The pair’s faces were on camera only briefly in the commercials, which were broadcast repeatedly, but they were clearly distinguishable, their attorneys said.

Days before the November election, Jeronimo Zaragoza, a former General Motors assembly line worker, issued a demand that the ad be pulled from the air immediately. A lawyer for Wilson said that the governor’s campaign would comply “as a courtesy to this couple who have just become American citizens.” However, hours and days later, Zaragoza said, he saw the ads still running.

The Zaragozas, who say they strongly opposed the illegal immigration initiative and Wilson’s reelection campaign, charge that the ad placed them in false light before millions of television viewers and violated their civil rights by invading their privacy. Wilson spokesman Sean Walsh said the film clip used in the ad was in the public domain.