Eaves’ Plea Will End His Career

Facing state and federal corruption charges, San Bernardino County Supervisor Gerald “Jerry” Eaves said Tuesday that he has agreed to plead guilty to a single felony -- forcing him to resign from office after 11 years -- because he is worn out and doesn’t want to put his family through a lengthy and costly court battle.

But Eaves, a former assemblyman and Rialto mayor, remained unapologetic, insisting that he is guilty only of failing to keep accurate records of gifts he received.

“I still feel I’m innocent,” he said. “I had to take what was offered. I wanted to get rid of these charges.”

Under an agreement, Eaves will plead guilty Jan. 21 to one felony count of conspiracy to violate the state’s gift-reporting law for elected officials, according to prosecutors and Eaves’ attorneys. Eaves must resign before the Jan. 21 court hearing because county rules prohibit a felon from holding a Board of Supervisors seat.

Eaves will be fined $10,000 and sentenced to three years of informal probation, which requires only that he break no laws during that period. If he violates the terms, Eaves could be sentenced to 180 days in jail.

The plea agreement also resolves federal corruption charges that Eaves faced over the same alleged crimes.

It will be up to the remaining four members of the Board of Supervisors to select a person to fill Eaves’ post until an elected replacement takes office next December. Eaves had already agreed not to seek reelection under a plea agreement for a previous political misconduct charge.

State prosecutors accused Eaves of accepting more than $6,000 in free Las Vegas vacations and at least $33,000 in campaign contributions in exchange for his support for a lucrative billboard deal. Eaves failed to disclose the vacations, as required by state law. If found guilty of the original state felony conspiracy and bribery charges, he could have been sentenced to up to five years in prison.

State prosecutors charge that the billboard scheme was orchestrated by Orange County businessman William “Shep” McCook. After erecting the billboards with Eaves’ help, McCook sold five of the billboards for $4.4 million, prosecutors charge.

McCook, who is facing bribery and conspiracy charges, is scheduled to stand trial May 3. If found guilty, McCook could face up to eight years in prison.

Throughout the case, Eaves has insisted that he has been a target of overzealous prosecutors who want to take down a prominent elected official. State prosecutors declined to discuss the plea agreement Tuesday.

Eaves has already spent more than $170,000 on legal fees, according to his most recent campaign statements. He estimated that he would have to spend $100,000 more to continue fighting the charges.

As of August, Eaves had raised more than $220,000 in campaign contributions for his legal defense fund. Under state law, Eaves can use those same campaign contributions to pay the $10,000 fine imposed under the plea agreement.

Eaves shrugged off suggestions that his guilty plea will end his 27-year political career in shame.

“I’m not concerned about my image at this point in my life,” he said, adding that he plans to stay out of local politics after he resigns. “I’m almost 65 years old,” he said. “I’ve earned myself a retirement.”

Some of Eaves’ colleagues said they were surprised by his guilty plea while others welcomed the plea bargain in hopes it will help the county heal from a widespread corruption scandal that has embroiled nearly a dozen public officials, including the former county chief administrative officer and former district attorney.

Martin Valdez, Eaves’ former chief of staff, said he was shocked to hear that his former boss was pleading guilty because Eaves had always maintained his innocence.

“I believed he was innocent,” said Valdez, who is running to replace Eaves during the March primary race. “I never saw where he took any cash for himself.”

But Valdez added that Eaves was getting tired of fighting the charges.

“I certainly think that might have entered into his reasoning for pleading guilty,” he said.

County Supervisor Fred Aguiar said he also believes Eaves may have agreed to plead guilty to put the case behind him.

But he said the agreement is also good news for the county, which has been enmeshed in a series of political scandals for more than a decade.

“The sooner we can put this whole issue behind us the better for the whole county of San Bernardino,” Aguiar said.