Ex-Supervisor Seeks Reduction in Tax Case Charges

Less than a year after he was placed on three years probation for felony tax evasion, former Los Angeles County Supervisor Pete Schabarum is seeking to have the charge reduced to a misdemeanor.

Schabarum pleaded no contest to three counts of tax evasion in December. He had been accused of paying for vacations with $50,000 from a nonprofit foundation he set up with leftover political campaign funds.

The district attorney’s office said it will oppose the request at a hearing today before Superior Court Judge Charles Horan.

Schabarum’s lawyer, John Barnett, said in court papers that Schabarum has performed the community service that Horan imposed as part of his sentence. He said Schabarum, now 69 and retired, expects to lead “an exemplary life” that merits a reduction in the charge from a felony to a misdemeanor.

Barnett said in an interview that he will seek to have the conviction dropped altogether if Horan approves his initial request. He said he will also try to have Schabarum’s two remaining years of probation dropped.

Schabarum, Barnett said, only agreed to plead no contest to the tax evasion charges because of his advancing age and deteriorating health. The former supervisor has done nothing wrong, the lawyer said.

But another view was expressed in a probation report issued before sentencing. The report, obtained by The Times, had urged a felony sentence for Schabarum given “the seriousness and gravity of the offense.” The judge did not follow this advice.

The charges stem from an investigation of Schabarum’s Foundation for Citizen Representation. It was accused of attempting to evade laws that forbid the personal use of leftover campaign funds.

Prosecutors said Schabarum shifted campaign funds from this foundation to another foundation that was affiliated with the county Museum of Natural History. This money, prosecutors said, was used for vacations.

Under a plea bargain, Horan sentenced Schabarum to three years of probation and community service, while ordering him to pay more than $65,000 in restitution, back taxes on unreported income and penalties.