Moreno Backers to Fight, but What Are the Odds?

First came shock. It was incredible to his supporters that Santa Ana City Councilman Ted R. Moreno could be charged with leading an extortion and money laundering scheme.

Then came suspicion, not of Moreno or the three politicians indicted with him, but of the federal government’s two-year investigation and its timing. The indictments had been issued just two months before the hotly contested mayoral race between Moreno and incumbent Miguel A. Pulido Jr.

Now, among supporters and even some casual observers, the outspoken councilman has come to be seen not as the potential villain in a scheme to sell votes, but its victim.

In barbershops and beauty salons, jewelry stores and downtown restaurants, people in Santa Ana talk of conspiracy, entrapment and stings.

“I think it’s entrapment--absolutely, there’s no question about it in my mind,” former Councilman John Acosta said. “It’s the silly season when you’re nearing an election time. Most people I talk to think the guy is a victim of a setup.”

So sure are supporters that Moreno has been the target of hardball politics that they are organizing a show of support for him at Tuesday’s council meeting.

“Who’s guilty--the guy that took the bribe, or the guy who offered the bribe?” Acosta said. “You would think the FBI had better things to do than to go around standing on the corner waving money at people. You wave money at people and sooner or later somebody’s going to take it.”

The grand jury indictment handed down two weeks ago charges Moreno with 24 counts, including extortion and money laundering. Also named as defendants are Councilman Tony Espinoza and two 1996 Moreno-backed council candidates, Hector Olivares and Roman Palacios.

All four are accused of conspiring to extort $31,000 from a gas station owner who was seeking a license to sell beer and wine at his North Grand Avenue mini-mart. Moreno also is accused of trying to extort $15,000 from a landowner.

Moreno, Espinoza and Olivares have pleaded not guilty to the charges, but Palacios has admitted his guilt and said the extortion scheme happened the way federal authorities detailed it in the indictment. Trial for the three men is set for Oct. 27.

Federal officials repeatedly have denied the indictments had anything to do with local politics in Santa Ana. When announcing the charges, U.S. Atty. Nora Manella said she didn’t care about the workings of a city council.

The prosecutor on the case, Assistant U.S. Atty. John Hueston, has said that anyone suspected of extortion would be investigated by authorities, period.

Nonetheless, many Moreno supporters see federal investigators as the instigators, and therefore culprits, of an extortion scheme.

“I believe it was a setup from the get-go,” said Sean Mill, an insurance agent and longtime community activist planning the show of support Tuesday. “Look at the timing of this; they’ve had this evidence long enough, and they bring it out now?”

Federal authorities had video and audiotapes of Moreno allegedly extorting money in 1996, but indicted him only two weeks ago.

A spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office, Thom Mrozek, said the investigation involves more than gathering key pieces of evidence, such as anticipating possible defense strategies and preparing for them. But a defense of Moreno in the community is to be expected, say some Latino activists and sociologists.

Although large in number, Latinos in Santa Ana--as in Southern California, in general--are only an emerging political and economic force. For many, Moreno was part of a new breed of politicians who activists hoped would navigate the world of mainstream politics with a savvy that leads to coalition-building and power.

“It’s been a long-standing problem within our community, attaining the political finesse necessary for broader unity,” said Manuel Gomez, vice chancellor for student services at UC Irvine.

“If you look at the larger picture of, say, the Irish or the Jewish community, there are divisions. But in the broad community, they find ways not to air their dirty laundry in public,” Gomez said.

Officials like Moreno, who are seen as fighters for the Latino community’s political empowerment, “symbolize your fragile but hopefully improving status in society,” said Fernando Guerra, professor of political science and Chicano studies at Loyola Marymount University.

Moreno and Espinoza “were the people’s champions,” community activist Enriqueta Ramos said. “They speak up for the poor, they speak up for the aged, they speak up for the people that can’t vote. Everywhere I go, people are saying the same thing to me.”

Moreno may have been vulnerable to a setup because of his obvious frustration at often being on the losing end of City Council votes, she said.

“I think probably what happened was he was at the time, and probably still is, sick and tired of not having any of what he said taken into consideration--that’s the reason the majority of the people are supporting him,” Ramos said.

“Even though Ted’s not my friend, I think he was set up. It was a sting,” she said. “It was paid for by the FBI money to get the goods on him.”

But others are waiting to see the government’s evidence in court.

Attorney Alfredo Almezcua also had noted the timing of the indictments, but he resists crediting “behind-the-scenes forces” for the politicians’ troubles, he said.

“I have to give the benefit of the doubt to the U.S. attorney’s office,” he said. “I think most of us welcome their involvement . . . if they’re not targeting Hispanic leaders but taking the same interest in anyone who is suspected.”

Bookstore owner Rueben Martinez said that as Latinos take a greater role in government, they will be subject to the same scrutiny and scandals as politicians of other ethnicities.

“We are not targeted--no, I don’t think that at all,” he said. Taking a long view of the indictments, Martinez sees a painful episode that will not hinder Santa Ana’s political growth.

“I’ve been involved in politics for so long, I can’t say all that work is down the drain. We have a lot of young people who are destined to be leaders and representatives of the community.”

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Times staff writer Nancy Cleeland contributed to this report.