Honig Reported Indicted by State Grand Jury

SAN FRANCISCO —  State schools chief Bill Honig has been indicted by a state grand jury in Sacramento in connection with an alleged felony violation of state conflict-of-interest laws, according to a report published today.

The indictment was handed down Tuesday, according to a copyrighted story in the San Francisco Chronicle. Sources told the newspaper that Honig was charged with spending $222,590 in federal money to pay the salaries of four school district employees who are alleged to have worked for the education firm of Honig’s wife, Nancy.

Reached by telephone at the couple’s San Francisco home late Wednesday night, Nancy Honig said she had not been contacted by her attorneys and refused to awaken her husband.

“We haven’t been indicted,” she said. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Gov. Pete Wilson’s spokesman, Bill Livingstone, also refused to comment.

Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren initiated the 14-month probe into the alleged conflict-of-interest and convened the grand jury in February.

The newspaper reported that Honig, who has held the top education post since 1982, was expected to surrender in Sacramento on Friday after a news conference to discuss the indictment. He was expected to be released without bail, the newspaper reported.

Representatives for Honig and Lungren would not confirm the indictment.

Honig was reportedly indicted under a state code that says state officials “shall not be financially interested in any contract made by them in their official capacity, or by any body or board of which they are members.”

Honig is the subject of a separate federal grand jury probe into similar allegations, his lawyer has said.

Nancy Honig was president of the nonprofit Quality Education Project, or QEP, which encourages low-income parents to become more involved in their children’s schooling. In January, she resigned her $108,000-a-year post, saying news reports about her role made it impossible for her to continue.

It was unknown if Honig was charged with one or four counts of violating state law. If convicted, he could face a maximum prison sentence of 36 months per count and disqualification from holding public office.

Honig’s lawyer, Patrick Hallinan, has claimed Lungren, a Republican, was trying to force Honig, a Democrat, out of office.

“They want to destroy Bill Honig for reasons that have nothing to do with the facts of the investigation,” Hallinan has said in the past.

He said in February that the U.S. attorney’s office in San Francisco has convened its own grand jury to look into the claims against Honig. Federal attorneys would not confirm the probe.

Honig has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and has said he believed the investigation was politically motivated.

Lungren’s investigation centered on allegations that Honig improperly steered federal funds toward the project.