Ex-Shipyard Owner Sentenced to Prison for Fraud

Attorney David Lee Bain, former owner of a San Diego ship repair company and ex-campaign treasurer for Mayor Maureen O’Connor, was sentenced Monday to 21 months in prison by a federal judge who said it would have been longer but for an “extremely advantageous” plea bargain.

Bain, 36, pleaded guilty last fall to three federal charges, separate violations of the tax, fraud and campaign laws stemming from a lengthy and complex probe of Pacific Ship Repair & Fabrication, which he owned and which did repair work for the Navy. The case was not connected to the mayor.

Bain had been indicted in 1990 on 32 counts. And Judge Gordon Thompson Jr. made it plain Monday that he believed defense lawyers had cut Bain a sweet deal.

“I’m a little annoyed and disappointed that Mr. Bain . . . is not willing to take responsibility for what he did,” Thompson said from the bench.

The 21-month sentence was what prosecutors had urged the judge to impose under the plea bargain. He rejected a defense contention that 15 months was more appropriate.

Thompson also imposed a $30,000 fine. He ordered Bain to surrender to federal marshals Feb. 10.

Bain declined to comment as he left the courtroom. He had cried when, standing at a lectern in a courtroom packed with Navy officers and about 50 Pacific Ship workers, he insisted he was truly sorry.

“I did what I needed to do at the time,” he said. “It was not the right decision. I have hurt my wife, my family and my friends. I’ve lost the best job I ever had.”

Robert Pullum, 29, a Pacific Ship foreman, said while filing out of the courtroom that the show of employee support for Bain was a spontaneous thing. “Everybody knew him and respected him,” he said. “He has done a lot for a lot of people. It wasn’t organized. We just wanted to come show our support.”

Defense lawyer Michael Pancer declined to comment on the case. Assistant U.S. Atty. Robert J. Lauchlan Jr., the prosecutor, also declined comment.

Bain pleaded guilty last Oct. 3 to two criminal counts, conspiracy to defraud the government and filing a false 1987 corporate tax return.

Prosecutors said Bain conspired to defraud the government when he cashed a Navy check for $926,397. The check was a duplicate payment the Navy mistakenly paid to Pacific Ship.

Prosecutors also said Bain covered up the diversion of $1.4 million from an employee benefit plan.

On Sept. 27, Bain pleaded guilty to violating federal campaign election laws by devising a scheme to illegally contribute $30,000 to congressional campaigns.