Nathanson Ordered to Wear Electronic Tracker : Courts: Judge requires the former coastal commissioner to use the device after he fails to meet conditions of his release. A property bond posted in his corruption trial is lifted.

SACRAMENTO —  A federal judge on Tuesday ordered former Coastal Commissioner Mark L. Nathanson to wear a 24-hour-a-day electronic tracking device on his ankle to prevent him from fleeing while he awaits trial on political corruption and tax evasion charges.

In taking the unusual step, Judge Lawrence K. Karlton called the politically well-connected Nathanson “a scofflaw” for failing to phone the court each Wednesday morning--one of the conditions of his release on bail.

However, Karlton, expressing sympathy for the defendant’s deteriorating financial condition, removed a requirement that Nathanson post a $150,000 property bond. From now until his trial, which is set to begin in April, Nathanson will also have to report in person at least once a week to court officials in Los Angeles.

Nathanson faces seven felony charges for allegedly using his office to extort hundreds of thousands of dollars from people seeking coastal development permits. The grand jury charged that he demanded payments from such Hollywood figures as Sylvester Stallone, producer-director Blake Edwards and former Fox Inc. Chairman Barry Diller.

Nathanson has pleaded not guilty to all counts.

Prosecutors had asked the judge to revoke Nathanson’s bail, a move that could have sent the 53-year-old Beverly Hills real estate broker to jail.

Assistant U.S. Atty. John K. Vincent argued that Nathanson had failed to keep up with monthly mortgage payments of more than $30,000 on property that the defendant had posted for his bail.

But Karlton noted that defendants in criminal cases frequently find themselves in financial straits and said that Nathanson’s financial status would probably become “worse and worse . . . and soon he’ll be impoverished.”

Nathanson’s pattern of failing to report to the court weekly was of central concern to Karlton. On four separate occasions, Nathanson was a day late in phoning the court’s pretrial services office in Sacramento. Last week, Nathanson never called.

Under the court order, Nathanson will be required to wear a battery-operated transmitter the size of a pack of cigarettes on his ankle. Any time he leaves his home--or attempts to remove the device--a computer will sound an alarm, and the private company that operates the system must check on his whereabouts.

The system has generally been used on convicted criminals who have been released from crowded prisons or jails and ordered to remain at home--in effect keeping them under house arrest.