Newport man ordered to pay $1.2 million

Deepa Bharath

A Superior Court Judge on July 11 ordered the son of a former

top-ranking British official to pay $1.2 million for stalking and

threatening the boyfriend of a woman who spurned his advances.

But the plaintiffs may have to meander their way through the

British judicial system to actually get the money, their attorney

Daryl Dworakowski said on Monday.

Alastair Irvine, the 26-year-old son of Great Britain’s former

Lord Chancellor Alexander Derry Irvine, who resigned last month after

crossing swords with Prime Minister Tony Blair over a political

issue, had pleaded guilty to five felony charges -- vandalism,

stalking, burglary, two counts of making threats and one misdemeanor

count of possessing a concealed firearm. He will be deported soon

after he serves the sentence.

Irvine, an avid bodybuilder who lived in Newport Beach, was

arrested in June 2002 on suspicion of vandalism, stalking and

brandishing a weapon.

The charges against Irvine stemmed from various incidents starting

in March 2002, when Irvine began pursuing a 19-year-old woman who

worked at a tanning salon in Costa Mesa.

The woman rejected Irvine’s advances, saying she was already

seeing Karel Taska, who worked with her at Newport Tanning Club.

Irvine then walked into the salon with a concealed weapon and

threatened Taska with bodily harm. He also threw acid on Taska’s car.

Taska and his parents, Karel and Kathy Taska, filed the civil

lawsuit because “they were terrorized” by Irvine, said Dworakowski.

“They’re pleased with the judgment,” he said. “They’ll be happier

if it’s effective.”

So far, there has been no response from Irvine or his family,

Dworakowski said.