Mayor, New Lawyer Set for Aug. 22 Trial : Hedgecock Appears Buoyant as He Introduces Las Vegas Attorney to Press

With a new defense attorney ruling out further plea-bargain attempts, Mayor Roger Hedgecock on Wednesday won a three-month delay in the start of his second felony trial.

The mayor, showing his usual vigor, criticized prosecutors for what he said were their political motivations in asking for his resignation during recent unsuccessful discussions on a plea bargain.

Hedgecock also said Wednesday that any plea bargain is impossible because he is innocent, and added that advisers and family encouraged him to remain in office.

At one point last week, Hedgecock said, his 7-year-old son, Jamie, said, “Daddy, don’t do it (resign). You’ve got to fight.”

Hedgecock’s comments--which were quickly branded as “dishonest” by a prosecutor--came Wednesday after Superior Court Judge Barbara T. Gamer granted a motion to replace Michael Pancer as Hedgecock’s defense attorney with Las Vegas lawyer Oscar B. Goodman, who categorically ruled out any further plea-bargain negotiations in the case.

“There will be no plea bargain,” Goodman said.

Gamer also agreed to postpone the start of Hedgecock’s trial on felony conspiracy and perjury counts until Aug. 22, a delay of more than three months from the May 8 date previously set. Gamer granted the postponement because the transcripts from Hedgecock’s first felony trial will not be available until later this month and because prosecutors have prior commitments during the summer.

Goodman told reporters he “absolutely” would be taking a loss by representing Hedgecock. The voluble attorney said he was able to take the case because “my wealthy clients have no objection to paying a little bit more so I can represent the less wealthy . . . Like Robin Hood, the rich pay for the poor.”

Asked why he took the case, Goodman said he “had a vested interest in the community” because he owns a Coronado condominium. He said Hedgecock’s policies protect “what’s dear to me and my family in this community, and I want to see him stay as mayor.”

Although Goodman declined to reveal the details of his financial arrangement with Hedgecock, a source told The Times that the high-powered attorney has agreed to take the mayor’s case for $25,000, one-tenth of his customary $250,000 fee.

The reduced fee apparently will be no problem for Hedgecock, as a special defense committee has collected $27,500 to date. Fund-raiser Nancy McHutchin said the committee intends to solicit funds by sending out a special mailer Monday and by holding fund-raising events by the end of the month.

Goodman said Wednesday that he intends to wage an aggressive defense, including arguments that prosecutors were politically motivated in bringing the case. He said he will not seek a change of venue and confirmed that he will be available in August to defend the mayor in court.

“I’m not one of these lawyers, these ‘mob’ lawyers, you know, who try to get these cases delayed indefinitely,” Goodman said, referring to news stories emphasizing his legal work for Anthony Spilotro, the late Meyer Lansky and the late Nick Civella--all clients with reported ties to organized crime.

Wednesday’s changes now give Hedgecock some breathing room before going through a second trial.

The mayor appeared invigorated when he introduced Goodman to

reporters. Later in the day, he took to the hustings in Hillcrest and Mission Hills for his first “neighborhood walk” since December.

Hedgecock faces 15 felony counts and one misdemeanor count, most stemming from allegations that he conspired to funnel tens of thousands of dollars illegally into his 1983 mayoral campaign.

A trial on 13 felony conspiracy and perjury charges ended in a mistrial Feb. 13 when a jury was deadlocked 11-1 in favor of conviction.

During the last several weeks, attorneys and prominent businessmen were busy trying to put together a deal that would strike a plea bargain in Hedgecock’s criminal case, in addition to an out-of-court settlement of a $1.2-million civil lawsuit filed against the mayor and several supporters by the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission.

Hedgecock had observed a self-imposed silence during negotiations, but Wednesday he lashed out at prosecutors for what he said were political motives during the talks.

“I will tell you this,” Hedgecock said. “It is a matter now of record that the underlying assumption of any plea bargain . . . was that I leave office and that I would not run again, and that I would promise for some period of years never to darken their door, in terms of being a political candidate.

“When we exchanged some written documents, that was the No. 1 condition of any successful settlements from the district attorney’s office. Their primary concern was that I leave office and I not be a candidate in the future for office. I think that speaks for itself and doesn’t need any characterization from me.”

Hedgecock later said the written documents were plea-bargain proposals exchanged between Miller and Pancer during negotiations. Again, referring to the condition that he resign, the mayor said:

“I think now there is ample evidence for the public to realize what the purpose and goal of the prosecution was and remains--that is to remove Roger Hedgecock as mayor of the city and prevent him from running for office.

“Doesn’t that reveal, more than my words to anyone else’s words, what their primary purpose has been in this prosecution?”

However, Assistant Dist. Atty. Richard Huffman said Hedgecock’s criticism was dishonest because Hedgecock and Pancer were the ones who proposed the resignation and sabbatical from politics.

“As for resigning and staying away from politics, it came from his attorney,” Huffman said. “It came from his attorney, in trying to talk us into reducing the level of the conviction. That was one of the offers: ‘He won’t run again.’ ”

Prosecutors did include in their written proposal the idea that Hedgecock resign, Huffman said, but the proposal merely “memorialized” what the mayor had offered on his own.

“For him to pull something out and say, ‘Well, the D.A. wrote that down and it is political’ is really unfortunate,” said Huffman.

Huffman also objected to assertions by Hedgecock and Goodman Wednesday that the district attorney’s office was responsible for the Aug. 22 delay in the trial. Because transcripts from the mayor’s first trial will not be available until the end of April, Goodman estimated he would be ready to go to trial July 1.

But the July trial date was considered unrealistic because Huffman is scheduled to be in England teaching law at Oxford University. Huffman, who is to return to San Diego Aug. 12, was forced to ask Gamer for the Aug. 22 trial date.

“I knew this was going to happen,” said Huffman. “I knew it as well as God made green apples. The choice (of the July 1 date) was made knowing that . . . I had prior engagements.

“All you’ve witnessed is a bit of showmanship.”

Huffman also said he did not oppose the removal of Pancer from the case because he did not want to commit a legal error that could allow a conviction to be overturned on appeal. Before Wednesday, Huffman had argued that the move to hire a new attorney was a stalling tactic by Hedgecock.