Two in Hedgecock Case Agree to Plea Bargain

In a move that all but ends criminal prosecution of the Roger Hedgecock campaign money-laundering case, two principal participants in the scheme that led to the conviction of the former mayor have tentatively agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy charges as part of a plea-bargain arrangement, the district attorney’s office and one of the defense lawyers said Thursday.

The proposed plea bargain, which will be introduced in Municipal Court here today, stipulates that Nancy Hoover--a former business associate of J. David (Jerry) Dominelli, the convicted former financier who earlier this year pleaded guilty to conspiring to illegally finance Hedgecock’s 1983 mayoral campaign--will plead guilty to one felony count of conspiracy, pay a $10,000 fine, serve about 350 hours of community service and be placed on three years’ probation. She will not, however, go to jail.

The other participant, Tom Shepard, who ran the political consulting firm through which the illegal campaign contributions were said to be funneled, has agreed to plead guilty to one misdemeanor count of conspiracy and the payment of a $1,000 fine, as well as serving 200 hours in community-related activities and being placed on three years’ probation. Like Hoover, Shepard also will avoid a jail term.

Hedgecock was sentenced last December to one year in local custody, as well as being assessed a $1,000 fine and three years’ probation.

Neither the district attorney’s office nor George Wetzel, a lawyer for Shepard, would elaborate on the terms of the plea bargain.