S.B. County Wants Bribery Trio Squeezed

Two former high-ranking San Bernardino County officials and a landfill executive, all convicted on federal bribery charges, should pay hefty punitive damages because they severely damaged the county’s reputation and showed no remorse, lawyers for the county argued in court Wednesday.

During closing arguments in a separate civil trial that was moved to Ventura County, lawyers for San Bernardino County urged the judge to order the three men, who were involved in a series of bribery and kickback schemes in the 1990s, to pay nearly $12 million total in punitive damages.

Ventura County Superior Court Judge Vincent J. O’Neill Jr. sided with San Bernardino County last month when he ordered the defendants to pay a total of $4.5 million in compensatory damages, or restitution. Now the plaintiff is asking for punitive damages, not only as a lesson to the three but to set an example for anyone who might consider bribery as part of county business. O’Neill is expected to issue a tentative ruling within 30 days.

“When the people cannot trust their government, there is an incalculable harm,” argued Leonard L. Gumport, an attorney for San Bernardino County.

The county is seeking damages from former County Administrative Officer James Hlawek; his predecessor, Harry Mays; and Kenneth James Walsh, a former vice president of Norcal, a San Francisco landfill company. After leaving his county position, Mays worked as a consultant for Walsh.

In the compensatory damages phase of the trial, the county also sought and won damages against William “Shep” McCook, an Orange County billboard executive. He was ordered to pay $4.2 million in restitution. A previous court ruling exempts McCook from paying any punitive damages.

Mays and Walsh pleaded guilty in federal court and were sentenced for conspiracy to bribe Hlawek to win county support for a $150-million waste disposal contract that the county ultimately awarded to Walsh’s company.

Hlawek has also pleaded guilty to federal charges of conspiracy to commit bribery and is awaiting sentencing.

McCook faces state criminal charges for allegedly paying Hlawek bribes -- including free hotel stays in Las Vegas -- to win a county contract allowing McCook to build seven billboards on county flood control land. The contract was approved, and McCook sold five of those billboards for $4.4 million. His trial is scheduled for later this year.

The civil case was transferred to Ventura County because of pretrial publicity in San Bernardino County.

In court Wednesday, Gumport asked O’Neill to order punitive damages of at least twice the amount the judge had ordered in compensatory damages.

“The idea that they have been punished enough simply isn’t the truth,” Gumport argued.

Randall S. Waier, an attorney representing Mays and Walsh, argued that his clients had already been severely punished and didn’t have money to pay punitive damages.

He noted that Walsh pleaded guilty to federal charges and served 15 months in prison; Mays served 18 months.

“Their lives have been destroyed already,” Waier argued. “To award any damages would be more than excessive.”

Hlawek, who has been representing himself, was not in court Wednesday.

In closing arguments, Waier and Gumport cited the case against O.J. Simpson, who was acquitted in 1995 of murder charges in the June 12, 1994, stabbing deaths of his former wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald L. Goldman at her home in Brentwood. He was subsequently found liable for $33.5 million in civil damages in an action brought by the victims’ families.

Gumport noted that in the Simpson civil case, the court imposed punitive damages that exceeded Simpson’s net worth.

But Waier countered that attorneys for the victims’ families showed that Simpson had the ability to earn a hefty salary even after the murders. He argued that the reputations of his clients were so damaged that they could no longer earn a comfortable living.

“They’ve got the scarlet letter on their shoulder, showing that they’ve spent time in federal prison,” he said.

During the hearing Wednesday, county attorneys argued that Mays had tried to hide some of his assets by divorcing his wife in 2000 and giving half his wealth to her and his daughter.

Mays’ former wife, Marietta, and his daughter, Krista Henkels, settled with the county last week by agreeing to pay $450,000. Under the settlement, the county will not go after the $2.5 million in property and assets that county attorneys believe Marietta Mays and Henkels won in the divorce.

Still, during his closing remarks Wednesday, Gumport argued that Mays’ efforts to hide his assets through a phony divorce showed he had no remorse for his actions. On the witness stand, Marietta Mays acknowledged that she still occasionally lived with her former husband.

“He deliberately took the shaft [in the divorce] and gave her the gold mine because he didn’t want the county to get the gold mine,” Gumport said.

Waier said the divorce was legitimate and that Harry Mays shouldn’t be punished further.