Hollister
– The San Benito County Board of Supervisors voted 3-0 in closed
session on Tuesday against paying for the legal defense for two
seated supervisors and one former supervisor subpoenaed in the Los
Valientes civil rights case, but volunteers from the county’s bar
association have agreed to take thei
r cases for free.
Hollister – The San Benito County Board of Supervisors voted 3-0 in closed session on Tuesday against paying for the legal defense for two seated supervisors and one former supervisor subpoenaed in the Los Valientes civil rights case, but volunteers from the county’s bar association have agreed to take their cases for free.
District Attorney John Sarsfield subpoenaed supervisors Jaime De La Cruz, Reb Monaco and supervisor candidate Richard Place two weeks ago for questioning in the Los Valientes case. All three had requested their defense be handled by the county, but the board denied the request after determining the case was outside the scope of their work as elected officials, said Supervisor Pat Loe. Place, who is a former supervisor, contends his subpoena is based on events occurring while he was a public servant.
While all three men were interested in the offer of free legal services, it appears as though the gesture could violate campaign finance rules if accepted, according to the California Fair Political Practices Commission.
Sarsfield is suing Los Valientes and its attorney, Mike Pekin, for allegedly violating the civil rights of eight elected officials and business owners through extortion and by filing false lawsuits. Los Valientes is an anonymous group that has been called both a criminal street gang by the DA and a band of citizens fighting corruption by its lawyer. Place, De La Cruz and Monaco have not been named as defendants in the suit, but Sarsfield believes they are connected to or have information about the group.
Monaco and De La Cruz declared a conflict of interest and abstained from the discussion and vote, Loe said.
“We made the best decision we possibly could to be fair to the taxpayers,” she said. “This thing has taken on life of its own. It is definitely distracting us from more important work and I see no end in site.”
De La Cruz was frustrated by the decision. He said the board has previously defended supervisors, including himself and former supervisor Richard Scagliotti, from other allegations. In 2003, Los Valientes straw plaintiff Juan Monteon filed suit against Scagliotti alleging he used his position to profit financially. De La Cruz said the county has spent over $223,000 defending Scagliotti.
“This is a double standard,” he said. “Why Scagliotti and not us?”
Loe said the difference was clear.
“Scagliotti was sued in his capacity as a supervisor,” Loe said. “These people are not even being sued, they are just being questioned.”
Loe is a named victim in the Los Valientes suit, but has refused to accept any money in damages if the civil suit is upheld.
Monaco, who never wanted his defense paid by the taxpayers, said he didn’t know how to feel about the decision.
“The board has certainly had concerns about outside attorney costs,” he said. “But this is a clear change in direction.”
Place declined to comment on the board’s decision, but said he disagreed.
Supervisor Anthony Botelho said the decision to withhold funding was prudent.
“At this time, it seemed to be the most appropriate course of action,” he said. “Before we spend taxpayer dollars, we need to make sure these depositions are related to their work as supervisors.”
Earlier this week, San Benito County Bar Association President Paul Breen solicited volunteers from his members to defend Place, Monaco and De La Cruz.
Breen said the volunteers were not sponsored by the bar association.
“I asked for volunteers, the decision was made by individual attorneys,” he said. “The purpose was to avoid additional expenses to the taxpayers in this Los Valientes witch hunt.”
Local attorney Bill Marder said he volunteered on principal.
“We all feel strongly that this is an important civil rights issue,” he said. “And I, personally, feel strongly that the district attorney is abusing the powers of his office.” Breen briefly flirted with the idea of challenging Sarsfield in this year’s district attorney election, but bowed out before the March filing deadline citing family concerns.
Last year, the bar association held a formal vote of “no confidence” in Sarsfield’s ability to perform the duties of his elected office.
Sarsfield said he was not surprised by either board’s decision, but took issue with what he believes may be unethical gifts.
“Elected officials and candidates can’t accept gifts. So getting free legal services is a problem,” he said. “They don’t get freebies as office holders. They can pay their own bills just like everyone else.”
De La Cruz said he did not know if accepting free legal services would be unethical. Monaco said the free legal services were unrelated to his re-election campaign, but said he would not accept the offer it was illegal or unethical.
“This has nothing to do with my political campaign or political supporters,” he said.
Place, who Sarsfield has accused as being the leader of Los Valientes in an interview with the Free Lance during the last two months, said he would report all gifts and donations as required by law.
“I don’t know that this is a campaign issue, it’s a personal issue,” he said. “Unless you want to say that this is a politically motivated lawsuit.”
Regardless of whether the free services are specifically for the campaign is irrelevant, said Chris Espinosa, a spokesman with the FPPC.
“The gift limit is $360 per year,” he said. “Candidates and elected officials cannot except gifts of more than that during a one year period.”
Espinosa said free legal services would be considered gifts under the FPPC’s rules.
