Former Energy Czar Imbrecht Is Found Dead in Apartment

Former state energy commissioner Charles R. Imbrecht, whose battle with alcoholism led to his resignation from office but who rebounded as a successful attorney, was found dead Tuesday in his Pasadena apartment.

Imbrecht, a lawyer and former state assemblyman from Ventura whose primary home was in Sacramento with his wife and two daughters, apparently died of a heart attack, his family said. He was 50.

“He was a very intelligent, hard-working and dedicated guy. This is a terrible tragedy,” said former congressman Robert J. Lagomarsino, a 20-year friend and the man Imbrecht considered his mentor.

A friend of the former legislator, whom police would not identify, went to visit Imbrecht on Tuesday and found him dead on a bedroom floor shortly before noon. It appears he may have died several days earlier, said Imbrecht’s mother, Hazel, of Ventura.

Charles Imbrecht’s doctor signed the death certificate Tuesday afternoon, and the family decided against an autopsy, police said. There was no apparent trauma to the body.

“Unless there is an indication of foul play or suspicious activity” there is no requirement that an autopsy be done, said Pasadena Police Lt. Richard Sandoval.

Funeral arrangements are pending, but Imbrecht’s mother said services would be held in Ventura.

“I kept waiting to hear from him but didn’t,” Hazel Imbrecht said. “I was probably the last person to see him alive.”

She said she visited her son a week ago at his apartment and he appeared in good health. She and other family members said he stayed in Pasadena during the week and flew home to Sacramento on weekends.

At the time of his death, Imbrecht, who served in the state Assembly from 1976 to 1982, had been trying to start a private consulting business, said his wife, Alida, a schoolteacher.

“I’m just in total shock,” she said.

Alida Imbrecht said her husband had health problems in the past few years but did not elaborate. She said he was in good spirits during a family cruise through the Panama Canal over the holidays.

“It was a great trip,” she said.

Until his death, though, Imbrecht said her husband continued to battle alcoholism, something for which he first sought treatment several years ago. “It’s a struggle he fought bravely.”

Imbrecht, a Republican, gave up his Assembly seat to run for the state Senate in 1982, waging what at that time was the second costliest legislative race in California history. He lost to Democrat Gary Hart after both men spent a total of $1.2 million seeking the 18th Senate District seat.

After his defeat, Gov. George Deukmejian appointed Imbrecht as California’s energy czar in 1983.

As chairman of the state Energy Commission, Imbrecht was instrumental in guiding California toward developing alternative energy sources for electricity production.

He was credited with helping the state cut its use of petroleum-generated electricity from more than 50% to less than 1%. By the early 1990s, much of the state’s electricity was provided by generators powered by the sun, wind, steam and biodegradable waste products, such as wood chips.

In 1992, the Commission of the European Community unanimously named Imbrecht the winner of the International Augustine Mouchot Prize for his efforts. Imbrecht, then 43, was the first American to receive the award.

But in December 1996, Ventura County sheriff’s deputies saw Imbrecht’s car weaving on a city street and smelled alcohol on his breath. They also found marijuana in his pocket.

A month later, he resigned from the Energy Commission and pleaded guilty to drunk driving and possession of drugs. He served a month in jail.

Imbrecht violated his probation twice in 1997 and was sentenced in early 1998 to 60 days in jail. He also spent several months in a treatment center for his alcohol addiction.

Later that year, Imbrecht was hired as general counsel for the Pasadena-based CALSTART.

At CALSTART, a nonprofit consortium of more than 200 companies dedicated to advanced transportation technology, Imbrecht most recently was involved with efforts to turn Ventura County’s developing Cal State university into an environmentally friendly campus.

Imbrecht was instrumental in establishing the consortium at Cal State Channel Islands near Camarillo.

Largely because of Imbrecht’s efforts, CALSTART became the first long-term tenant at the fledgling campus in August 1998. Under terms of a 10-year deal, the consortium moved part of its operation into a 26,000-square-foot building on the west end of the campus.

With traffic being one of the key issues facing the new campus, CALSTART pledged to help the university deal with a range of anticipated transportation problems.

The consortium proposed using electric vehicles, shuttle buses and a bicycle lending program to ease congestion and help students get to and from campus.

CSU Channel Islands President Handel Evans said he was shocked by news of Imbrecht’s death.

“Chuck was really the person who put that together,” Evans said of CALSTART’s move to Channel Islands.

“I think he was anxious to help the university,” Evans added. “I think he saw the benefit of the public-private partnership we had, and he was very effective in making it happen.”

Imbrecht’s wife said Tuesday night that her husband had left CALSTART several months ago in order to start his own business, which he planned to run out their Sacramento home.

Imbrecht was born Feb. 4, 1949, in Ventura. He attended Ventura High School and Occidental College and earned a law degree from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.

He was an avid swimmer and boater and a member of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Sacramento. He was preceded in death by his father, Earl, who died in 1998.

He is survived by his mother, wife and two daughters, Erica, 12, and Emily, 8.

* Times staff writer Fred Alvarez contributed to this story.