Lawyer on Trial in LSD Case Called a Victim of His Staff

Ventura lawyer Douglas Andrew Palaschak, who is charged with furnishing LSD to a minor, was characterized by his defense attorney Wednesday as a victim of his young secretarial staff who did not give police the entire story.

In the first day of the drug trial, defense attorney Robert I. Schwartz told jurors that Palaschak’s 17-year-old accuser “was mad because she had not been paid. She got stiffed and accused Mr. Palaschak of offering her LSD.”

Palaschak’s other accuser, Schwartz said, is not a credible witness because she was the one who furnished LSD to the 17-year-old office worker.

Palaschak and his secretary, Jessica Jobin, were arrested May 9, 1991, after another office worker, Melissa Schwentner, then 17, informed police about a LSD party at the office. Palaschak is on trial on charges of possession of LSD, furnishing LSD to a minor and conspiracy. Jobin has been charged with possession of LSD.

Schwartz, who attempted to discredit both former employees, characterized Jobin’s testimony as “incredulous” because she has changed her story to police.

In her testimony Wednesday, Jobin acknowledged that although Palaschak repeatedly asked Schwentner if she wanted some LSD, Jobin actually gave the younger woman two tabs of LSD because she wanted it for a future party. “He was asking her if she wanted to do it with us,” Jobin said of Palaschak. “He asked quite a few times,” she testified, but Schwentner declined.

Jobin also testified that Palaschak asked her to obtain some LSD for him, and even loaned his car to her so she could fetch the drugs. Jobin said she drove to a Ventura Avenue house where Grateful Dead fans gather and spotted an unidentified man who agreed to give her the drugs outside a nearby sandwich shop. There he tossed $250 to $500 worth of LSD into the car without waiting to be paid, Jobin said.

“He said he was under surveillance . . . and walked away before I had a chance to give him the money,” Jobin testified.

Jobin acknowledged that she kept most of the drugs but said she placed two hits of LSD in a birthday card for Palaschak and handed it to him on May 9, the day after his birthday. Palaschak was delighted with the gift and replied, “Oh, great, I can’t wait,” Jobin testified. She said he immediately began bugging her about when she would be ready to take the LSD with him.

Later that day, Palaschak said he closed the office early and threw a little party for himself. Meanwhile, Schwentner slipped away and alerted police.

In interviews after his arrest, Palaschak admitted taking LSD and another illegal drug, Ecstasy, and said they were useful when taken responsibly.

If convicted, Palaschak faces a maximum sentence of nine years and eight months in state prison.

The 42-year-old attorney continues to operate a one-lawyer office that concentrates on bankruptcy, drug and sex offenses and personal-injury cases, Schwartz said. He is free on $5,000 bail.

The California State Bar, which contacted Palaschak after his arrest, is investigating a formal contract that Palaschak asked several prospective female employees to sign. The contract states that the applicant had been chosen “primarily on the basis of sexual appeal” and that Palaschak was considering the applicant as a potential girlfriend.

Palaschak said he drew up the contract to protect him from “sexual blackmail.” He said the contract was signed by only one of the more than 50 secretaries who worked for brief periods in his office last year.

Neither Jobin nor Schwentner were asked to sign the contract, Deputy Dist. Atty. Kim George Gibbons said.