Schabarum Denies He Embezzled

As former county Supervisor Pete Schabarum pleaded not guilty Friday to embezzlement charges, confidential transcripts of the grand jury proceedings used to indict him paint a picture of a power broker whose hunger for the perks of political office allegedly drove him to criminal activity once he retired.

During three days of secret testimony before the Los Angeles County Grand Jury last month, prosecutors used 18 witnesses to build a case against Schabarum, 68, as a political operator who spent his years in public office accepting free trips to exotic locales and other gifts from the county Museum of Natural History and its foundation.

After leaving public office in 1991, the prosecutors allege in the documents obtained by The Times, Schabarum’s travels crossed the line into illegal behavior. They allege that he embezzled as much as $70,000 from a charitable group he founded, the Foundation for Citizen Representation, by laundering the money through the museum foundation and then using it to take personal trips with his wife.

He did so, they alleged before the grand jury, with the help of Marcus Rodriguez, former chief deputy director of the Museum of Natural History, and broke even more laws by making false financial statements and by not paying taxes on the funds he received to go on the trips.

It all started with the advantages Schabarum received as a longtime member of the Board of Supervisors, where he was showered with perks by Museum of Natural History officials who in return wanted money at budget time, Deputy Dist. Atty. Susan Steinfeld told the grand jurors.

“What you have [is] a politician who basically got used to it, and after a number of years of being offered [free] food, entertainment, gifts, travel, I submit to you that Peter Schabarum came to expect it and felt that he was entitled to it. He felt he was entitled to take a trip to Antarctica, to New Guinea, Europe and Scandinavia, a South American trip, a Mississippi River trip, a Calgary [Canada] trip and an African safari, and [that] he didn’t have to pay for any of that,” said Steinfeld, of the Special Investigations Division, which prosecutes political corruption.

“We are charging him with grand theft because . . . as a politician and public officeholder for virtually all of his adult life, [he knew] that you are not allowed to personally benefit from these monies,” she said.

Relying on testimony by Rodriguez, travel agents, accountants, law enforcement authorities and others, prosecutors also alleged in the grand jury sessions that Schabarum took elaborate steps to cover his financial tracks.

In an uncharacteristically quiet voice, the often-brash conservative from the San Gabriel Valley, in an appearance Friday before Superior Court Judge Charles Horan, denied any wrongdoing. The judge set March 28 to hear a request by Schabarum’s lawyer that the case be thrown out because it is too vague, is made void by statutes of limitation and fails to adequately allege criminal misconduct.

Outside court, Schabarum had no comment, except to grumble that, “I’ve got plenty to say at the appropriate time.”

Schabarum lawyer John Barnett said, however, that all of the trips Schabarum took--while in office and afterward--were perfectly legitimate because they helped the museum that was paying for them. Barnett said Schabarum wasn’t doing anything different from other county supervisors and politicians who travel the world and raise money for good causes such as the county museum.

“He has not committed any crime,” Barnett said of his client. “I sure hope innocent people don’t get convicted.”

Prosecutors allege in the grand jury proceedings that Schabarum willfully broke the law between 1992 and 1994.

Schabarum’s penchant for travels started in 1988, when he asked county museum officials if he could stay behind in Antarctica after going there on a museum trip with fellow Supervisor Deane Dana, according to the grand jury documents.

Schabarum said he wanted to go fishing on the southern tip of South America near Tierra del Fuego, a trip that had no benefit to the museum or to the public, according to Rodriguez, who is serving a seven-year prison term for an unrelated conviction for embezzling more than $2 million in museum funds. “He wanted to go fishing in that particular part of the world, and asked if we could arrange for that to be done,” Rodriguez testified. “We did so,” and the museum paid for it, he said.

Asked if the museum or taxpayers received any benefit, as is generally the case when county officials go on missions to acquire art or other exhibits, Rodriguez said: “Not for them; just for him.”

At the end of the grand jury proceedings, Schabarum was indicted on two counts of grand theft by embezzlement, one count of perjury and three counts of state tax evasion--all stemming from Schabarum’s role as head of his nonprofit foundation, which he established with leftover campaign money to foster political education and reform.

In a grand jury proceeding, prosecutors use witnesses to make a case for an indictment. The suspect is not present and has no opportunity to question his accusers. Barnett sharply criticized the procedure Friday, especially because prosecutors used Rodriguez, a convicted felon serving time, as their primary witness against Schabarum.

Barnett suggested that Rodriguez is cooperating in the case against Schabarum so he can get out of prison as early as possible. “He’s not doing it out of the goodness of his heart,” Barnett said.

In the grand jury papers, Steinfeld said she volunteered to write a letter to parole authorities stating that Rodriguez has been cooperating in the investigation of Schabarum. But she said no deal has been struck to offer leniency in exchange for his testimony.

Steinfeld also said authorities never investigated whether the fishing trip broke any laws, because it may have been past the statute of limitations and because the other trips allegedly financed with foundation money appeared to be more obvious violations.