2 Plead Not Guilty to Charges of Forging Reagan’s Signature

The owner of a Canoga Park pawnshop and a former Secret Service agent pleaded not guilty Monday to charges that they forged former presidents’ signatures on sports memorabilia that they sold to collectors, a prosecutor said.

Richard Schwartz and Randolph Espinosa face up to 25 years in prison for allegedly forging certificates of authenticity on Ronald Reagan’s official stationery supplied by Espinosa, who once guarded the former president, Assistant U.S. Atty. Marc Harris said.

Schwartz, of Moorpark, sold the memorabilia--which included bats, jackets and baseballs supposedly signed by Reagan and a baseball ostensibly signed by John and Jacqueline Kennedy--to collectors in Whittier and Laguna Niguel, who later sold some items to the home shopping network, Harris said.

Trial is set for Nov. 27 in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.