The civil trial against former Supervisor Richard Scagliotti was
postponed today for settlement talks and is expected to start at 9
a.m. Tuesday.
The civil trial against former Supervisor Richard Scagliotti was postponed today for settlement talks and is expected to start at 9 a.m. Tuesday.
The settlement conference was to take place this afternoon, said attorney Michael Serverian, who represents the county and Scagliotti. A settlement conference is typical before a civil case starts, he said.
The legal battle started nearly five years ago against the San Benito County Board of Supervisors and Scagliotti. The suit was brought by Monterey County attorney Mike Pekin and the anonymous group Los Valientes.
Over the years, the case has progressed and is now filed with Pekin’s son Patrick as the plaintiff.
The suit began with accusations of corruption against Scagliotti and has now involved into many suits and countersuits. It alleges that Scagliotti abused his position to benefit his business interests as a developer.
The trial set to start Tuesday will not cover all of the alleged counts. More than a dozen of the alleged counts should be covered during the trial. The other accusations are in deliberations.
Serverian said he expects the trial to last five days. Scagliotto has denied all of the allegations.
“We wouldn’t be here if the government did its job,” Pekin said.
