Pringle Aide Flint Named in Decoy Case

Prosecutors Friday named a top aide to Assembly Speaker Curt Pringle as an “unindicted co-conspirator” in last year’s Republican scheme to put a spoiler Democrat on the ballot in the 67th Assembly District election, according to papers filed in Superior Court.

Jeff Flint, deputy chief of staff to Pringle (R-Garden Grove), allegedly told a GOP aide that he would get the spoiler candidate to fraudulently sign nominating petitions, according to court documents filed Friday. Those documents label Flint a conspirator in the scheme for the first time, though grand jury testimony supporting that accusation was revealed last spring.

Flint is the second member of Pringle’s staff to be implicated by prosecutors during a nine-month investigation into wrongdoing in the pivotal election.

Renegade Republican Assemblywoman Doris Allen was recalled the day of the election, and her replacement, Assemblyman Scott Baugh (R-Huntington Beach), cast the deciding vote in electing Pringle to the speakership.

The investigation has also led to guilty pleas from four people and the indictment of three others, including Baugh.

Flint, who was running the recall campaign at the time, was named in a motion prosecutors filed Friday in the felony election fraud case against another GOP aide, Rhonda Carmony. In naming Flint as a co-conspirator, prosecutors sought to use against Carmony statements allegedly made by Flint in furtherance of the conspiracy.

Flint could not reached for comment. His lawyer, Charles T. Spagnola, also could not be reached, but has previously said his client broke no laws.

A spokesman for Pringle declined to comment.

Separate trials for Baugh and Carmony are tentatively set for Sept. 3. The grand jury also indicted Baugh’s chief of staff, Maureen Werft. She faces trial Sept. 16.

Lawyers for the defendants have sought to postpone trial until after the election. The trials pose a significant potential for political embarrassment to the GOP during the fall election campaign, according to several people connected with the case.

Carmony, who is the campaign manager for U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach), was indicted on three felony charges in March for her role in placing Democrat Laurie Campbell on the ballot in the hope of siphoning votes from a leading Democratic candidate and ensuring a Republican victory in the special election.

Carmony is charged with one count of fraudulently making a nominating paper, one count of fraudulently filing a nominating paper, and conspiracy to make and file a fraudulent nominating paper.

Baugh, who was backed by Rohrabacher in the special election, was indicted on four felony counts of perjury and 18 misdemeanors for allegedly lying on campaign and other finance disclosure statements. Prosecutors allege Baugh deliberately omitted a $1,000 contribution from Campbell and her husband to hide Baugh’s connection with Campbell. Baugh has maintained his innocence.

Werft faces trial on two felonies for allegedly registering and voting illegally in the November 1995 election.

In filing their motion Thursday, prosecutors asked Superior Court Judge James L. Smith to reconsider his decision Thursday that the prosecutors lacked sufficient evidence to support one theory behind the conspiracy indictment against Carmony.

In March, three Republican aides pleaded guilty to misdemeanors for circulating Campbell’s petitions while knowing that they would not sign them as witnesses. One of them, Mark Denny, worked in the Garden Grove district office for Pringle and reported to Flint. The Democratic candidate, Linda Moulton-Patterson, pleaded guilty last month to a misdemeanor charge of fraudulently filing a nominating petition.

In all, Campbell signed eight different petitions that were circulated for her by several GOP aides Sept. 20 and 21.

While it is not illegal to recruit a decoy candidate, state law requires that the circulator of nominating petitions attest under penalty of perjury that he or she witnessed the signatures.

Prosecutors have declined to discuss why they have not charged Flint in the scheme. Legal authorities said that prosecutors do not seek indictments unless they believe they have enough evidence to convict.

Jeff Butler, a campaign worker for Baugh and Rohrabacher, testified before the grand jury that Flint told him: “We’ll just get Laurie Campbell to sign [the nominating petitions].”

Spagnola has said that Butler invented the conversation, which is contradicted by other testimony.