Former Aide to Davis Is Off the Hook

Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer said Tuesday that he will dismiss 12 felony counts against an aide to former Gov. Gray Davis who played a small role in the no-bid award of a $95-million software contract to Oracle Corp. in 2001.

Lockyer said there was insufficient evidence to justify the dozen allegations that Kari Dohn, 40, falsified evidence.

Now a lobbyist, Dohn said in a statement that she knew “I did nothing wrong and have always felt completely confident that the justice system would exonerate me.” Her attorney, Allen Ruby of San Jose, added: “This is a good day for Kari, but not unexpected.”

Dohn, whose duties included overseeing day-to-day operations of the governor’s office, got swept up in the scandal in which Oracle got the contract without a competitive bid and made a $25,000 political contribution to Davis several days later.

Republicans charged that the transaction amounted to a “pay to play” deal in which businesses made contributions when they got government contracts. The governor and Oracle denied it.

In a statement, Lockyer said it would be “unjust to pursue the case any further” against Dohn, the only person charged with a crime as a result of the scandal, which reached into Davis’ office.

In reversing himself, Lockyer said, he took the advice of two deputy prosecutors new to the case and a pair of experienced veterans who had conducted a routine pretrial review of the issues, said spokesman Nathan Barankin. “The ground shifted a bit,” he said.

The charges were brought by two other deputies, whom Lockyer had praised at the time for their thoroughness and professionalism in conducting a two-year investigation.

Barankin said they have since been hired away by the state inspector general, who is investigating abuses in the prison system.

Barankin said it was rare that charges were dismissed after they were made. “It doesn’t happen very often because, as prosecutors, you try to dot the i’s and cross the t’s,” he said.

When the charges were filed against Dohn, a former mid-level director of policy for Davis, Senate President Pro Tem John L. Burton (D-San Francisco) defended her and criticized Lockyer, a fellow Democrat. Burton asserted that Dohn was being made a scapegoat while more powerful figures were not charged.

“Whatever went on, she wasn’t a big piece of it. There were bigger pieces,” Burton said Tuesday.

Lockyer has refused to make public details of the alleged falsification of evidence, saying only that Dohn “modified documents,” such as records of phone calls, schedules and reports.

The changes occurred, Lockyer claimed, soon after a legislative committee opened hearings into the contract award. He said Dohn made two modifications May 6, 2002, the day she testified before the committee. A third occurred May 14 following the committee’s request for documents from the governor’s office.

Witnesses testified that the contract was pushed through the procurement process at extraordinary speed. However, some high-level state managers warned against the purchase, saying the software was inadequate for the task.

The Oracle contract, awarded in 2001, was later rescinded by the state.

Oracle executives had insisted the software would result in savings exceeding $100 million, but a state audit contended it could have ended up costing taxpayers $41 million instead.