Councilman to Live Under House Arrest Near San Diego
A federal judge agreed Friday to release Santa Ana Councilman Ted Moreno from jail until his December sentencing on political corruption charges, but only after he agreed to reside outside Orange County.
Moreno will live under electronic “house arrest” with his sister in the San Diego suburb of Vista--a point required by prosecutors who feared the suspended councilman might lash out at colleagues at City Hall.
His attorney, Dean Steward, said federal authorities wanted Moreno to live outside the county because it would give police a better chance take action if Moreno left his sister’s house en route to City Hall.
Handcuffed and dressed in a jail-issued T-shirt and trousers, Moreno smiled at supporters in a Santa Ana courtroom after U.S. District Judge Gary Taylor ordered his release on $200,000 bond.
Moreno spent 10 nights in a federal jail in Los Angeles following his Sept. 5 conviction on 25 charges of extortion, money laundering and mail fraud stemming from an elaborate scheme to win majority control on the City Council.
During a three-week trial that began in August, prosecutors presented evidence that Moreno accepted cash from a businessman in exchange for his promise to approve a beer-and-wine permit at a Santa Ana service station.
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