Guilty Plea Leaves Moreno Sole Defendant

SANTA ANA — Former Santa Ana Councilman Tony Espinoza has pleaded guilty to a felony count of lying to federal investigators in connection with a public corruption case, a judge revealed Monday.

The plea, entered last week in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, came two weeks before Espinoza and former Councilman Ted Moreno were to stand trial on charges of participating in a 1996 scheme to extort campaign money from local businessmen.

Espinoza’s plea leaves Moreno, who prosecutors say is the central figure in the case, as the sole defendant. Last week, former City Council candidate Hector Oliveras pleaded guilty to two counts of mail fraud. Former candidate Roman Palacios also pleaded guilty and is expected to testify at Moreno’s trial.

“I am happy for my friends,” Moreno said Monday at U.S. District Court in Santa Ana. “This means their nightmares are over.”

As part of his settlement, Espinoza admitted that he lied during a May 1997 interview with federal investigators, court documents say. At that time, he failed to disclose that Moreno accepted cash contributions during his campaign for Santa Ana City Council, according to the documents. Espinoza did not admit to participating in an extortion scheme.

The update on Espinoza’s case came from federal Judge Gary Taylor as Moreno moved Monday to change lawyers, citing disagreement over how his trial should proceed. He would not elaborate. The court granted Moreno’s request to dismiss Edward Munoz and replace him with Dean Steward, former lead attorney for the federal public defender’s office in Santa Ana.

Terms of Espinoza’s agreement do not require him to testify against Moreno.