Murder à la Robin Hood

From the "Trustee Tom Fuentes files" [Fuentes got his start working for corrupt OC supervisor Caspers; Caspers' chief crony was the corrupt Fred Harber; Hoffman was a common thread]:

Update: Wyoming community college killing

     Police released more details Saturday of a grisly murder-suicide at a Wyoming community college, saying a man shot his father in the head with a bow and arrow in front of a computer-science class not long after fatally stabbing his father’s live-in girlfriend at their home a couple miles away. … Computer-science instructor James Krumm, 56, may have saved some of his students’ lives Friday by giving them time to flee while trying to fend off his son. (12/3 update)

* * *

     FAMOUS OC MURDER MYSTERY. This odd episode reminds me of one of Orange County’s greatest murder mysteries, a case that we’ve discussed previously. Here are the facts:
     Tom Fuentes’ political career started when he served, first, as OC Supervisor Ron Casper’s campaign manager (c. 1969-70), then as his executive assistant (1971-4). Casper’s chief political advisor those days was Fred Harbor, owner of the Shooting Star, the yacht that mysteriously disappeared off the coast of Baja in 1974, along with Caspers, Harber, and eight other men. (My earlier examination into the careers of Harber and Caspers has convinced me that these two were quite dirty. If so, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that Fuentes was in the thick of these dark doings. See Shooting Star.)
     At the time, Harbor’s trusted secretary was one Arlene Hoffman, who, twenty years later, became a secretary for OC Supervisor Jim Silva:

Arlene Hoffman

     Late in 1994, not long after her husband's death, at the recommendation of Lyle Overby [who, incidentally, disembarked the Shooting Star after the first leg of its doomed voyage], she was employed by newly-elected OC Supervisor Jim Silva, a Republican. When, one day late in December, she didn’t show up for work, Silva had the police go to her Laguna Niguel home. They found her dead body near the entry. She had been killed with an arrow, possibly from a cross-bow, the night before. The arrow was not found on the scene. Nothing was.
     Evidently, nothing had been taken from her home; it had not been ransacked. Her dog was still with her when the police arrived.
     The murderer has never been identified.

OC Register
May 10, 2006
Police, fire, courts LAGUNA NIGUEL

     Orange County sheriff's investigators continue to ask for the public's help in finding the person who killed Arlene Hoffman nearly eight years ago [sic?—eleven and a half years ago].
     Hoffman, 57, was found dead in her Laguna Niguel home Dec. 30, 1994. She may have been killed with an arrow or a similar instrument.
     Anyone with information about the case is asked to call (714) 647-7055.

May 9, 1976 - LA Times - Case against Cella

Writing OC history: the Bold and the Ruthless

     IT'S BECOMING CLEAR—to me, a slow learner, I guess—that, at least in our benighted county, the phenomenon, in politics, of brazenly deceptive but highly effective “smear” campaign tactics—including last minute (i.e., impossible to counter) attack mailers—was seized upon and perfected by the one-time consulting firm of Butcher-Forde—and by Butcher and Forde considered independently, both before and after that firm. That is, insofar as one dons one’s historian’s cap and approaches the last half-century of OC political campaigning, asking: How did we get here?—well, that answer, more or less, is these guys, William Butcher (now William Lord-Butcher) and Arnold Forde.
     A crucial aspect of Butcher-Forde’s “success,” it seems, was an early embrace of computer technologies—technologies that are not in themselves dubious, but, in the hands of Butcher-Forde, powerfully magnified their clients’ efforts to gain control of government and to shape it for the sake of their dubious and anti-democratic ends.
     But this kind of campaigning, to be effective in transforming the landscape, takes sustained money. Starting around 1970, developers provided that key ingredient. The combo of big developer money and no-holds-barred campaigning was the new animal that metamorphosed Orange County into the hyper-developed and politically nasty place that it is.

     And again, donning one’s historian’s cap in hopes of identifying a meaningful narrative, with beginning, middle, and end—it appears that one will not go too far wrong in starting with the 1969-1970 campaign of Ron Caspers to challenge and replace 5th District Supervisor and Republican Alton Allen. At least as far as the Republican establishment was concerned, Caspers seemed to come from out of nowhere. But he had money. More specifically, he had “Dick and Doc” money. And he had the talents (the ruthless and clever methods) of Arnold Forde (and later Butcher-Forde) plus the uncommon energy and ambition of young Tom Fuentes. Most importantly—and here, I believe, Fred Harber is the crucial figure—Caspers had a vision of how county government should operate. That vision was actualized after his 1970 election, when “Caspers made the contacts and set the ground rules for developer participation in the grand scheme of patronage carried to an exponential degree” (Tom Rogers).
     I’m sure there are many people who understand what I do not: the complex or convoluted sense in which this scheme or these schemes were masterminded. Richard O’Neill (the “Dick” of “Dick and Doc”) was a rich landowner interested in development; but he was also a Democrat who sought to further the success of his party and its philosophies. I have trouble seeing him as intent on establishing a “grand scheme of patronage” unless it was, in his mind, ultimately in the service of Democratic ends. [A friend who has long worked for Democratic candidates seems to disagree; he insists that O'Neill was not at all idealogical; he was simply pro-development.]
     His partner, Louis Cella, was a Republican, but, like Caspers, Cella didn’t seem particularly interested in furthering any particular political philosophy. He was a kind of grifter who got in over his head. Many, of course, have wondered if there were people behind Cella and all that money he controlled. The mob? Who knows.
     What was Fred Harber’s role in all of this? There’s plenty of evidence that he was the brains behind two or three or more supervisors, pulling the strings. He was brilliant, we’re told—certainly Cella thought so—but it seems clear that, like Cella, he was also dirty. I’ve traced Harber’s history back into the late fifties, and, though he seemed always to have an interest in Democratic politics, he was pretty consistently near or in settings of graft and corruption. He’s the one person in this saga who seemed to view himself as some sort of “mastermind,” and he evidently welcomed being seen as such. (See Puppets and Puppeteers.)

     Lobbyists, we know, have a bad reputation; it is such that they would seem to fit right into this world of schemes and quid pro quo deals. Whatever the fate of the grand schemes mentioned above, it seems clear that several persons involved in the early days of our saga—Fuentes, Lyle Overby, Frank Michelena, et al.—went on to engage in lobbying most foul.
     I started my inquiries into this saga because I was intrigued by Tom Fuentes, a trustee in our district. He was a ruthless man who once wielded great power in our county as chairman of the OC GOP. Tom was a guy who always seemed to keep his eye on the larger chess game of local politics and who thus endlessly involved himself in machinations and schemes relative to the remnants of a spoils system he long ago constructed. In my opinion, starting with his chairmanship of the OC GOP in the mid-80s, Tom maintained the grand scheme of patronage initiated by his mentor in the early 1970s. But he did so on behalf of the Republican Party, and especially its right wing. (See What is a Repuglican?)

     But, like O’Neill (at least, as I understand him), Tom was also, in some sense, a true believer in his particular political philosophy. That’s a big part of what made him fascinating. For much of his history, especially his early history, seemed to stand in stark contrast with that philosophy. He was a profoundly contradictory figure.
     Tom noisily stood for principles such as, “Thou shalt not speak ill of other Republicans.” Accordingly, he stood by Republican incumbents. But his start in politics was his substantial part in an effort to defeat an incumbent Republican, Alton Allen—a Republican that Caspers and company spoke seriously “ill of.”
     Fuentes could not abide rogue Republicans: consider his treatment of Republicans who sought to challenge incumbent Republican office holders (see Guiding with an iron hand). But the whole Caspers emergence of 1969-1970 was a rogue project, relative to the party. It utterly bewildered and confounded the Republican establishment of that time.
     Fuentes was known for his intolerance of Democrats—even of “moderate” Republicans, whom he dismissed as “RINOs” or worse. But, between 1970 and 1974, he was a key player in Team Caspers, which included card-carrying Democrats (e.g., Fred Harber) and was linked to efforts to promote and elect Democratic office holders (such as Ralph Clark and Robert Battin).

* * *

     I recently came across some old news articles that help fill out our story.

Wenke

     1. PLEASURES OF THE HARBER. In “Wenke Says He May Sue Over Letter” (LA Times, June 22, 1972), Republican supervisorial candidate William Wenke expressed his intention to sue Robert Battin’s campaign manager of the 1972 primary campaign. Battin’s manager was Fred Harber.
     That’s because Wenke had been “the target of a last-minute primary campaign letter linking him to school busing in Santa Ana….” Wenke, said the Times, “was accused of helping to get pro-busing candidates elected to the Santa Ana school board.”
     According to the Times, “The letter was linked to … Harber, campaign manager for Supervisor Battin, by two former aides to Battin….” (See Puppets and Puppeteers.)
     Wenke had decided that a lawsuit was his only recourse. But he didn’t want money:

“…I make this proposal,” he added. “If you (Harber) will corroborate the statements … that you, in fact, were behind the school busing smear letter, you may consider this a release from any action against you.”

     Harber responded with utter confidence and defiance: “If he wants to file a lawsuit, let him go ahead.” He added:

Quite frankly, I don’t see where school busing is an issue in this campaign since the board of Supervisors doesn’t have anything to do with that….”

     Well, yeah. That's what makes this smear particularly foul!

Segerstrom

     2. THE BOLD & THE RUTHLESS. In “Redistricting Eliminates 4 Potential Battin Foes” (Oct. 29, 1971), the Times reports “redistricting” actions that turn out to be highly convenient for a certain supervisor:

     All of next year’s known potential election opponents of Board of Supervisors Chairman Robert Battin were eliminated by this week’s supervisorial redistricting, detailed maps of the new boundaries showed Thursday.
     The maps … showed that three rumored candidates … were wiped out by shifts of territory from Battin’s 1st District to Supervisor Ralph Clark’s 4th District.
     The residence of a fourth possible opponent … was transferred from the 1st District to Supervisor Ronald Caspers’ 5th District.
     …[That fourth opponent’s] transfer was made public Wednesday when [he] appeared before the board to plead for revision to restore all of his city … to the 1st District.
     That effort failed when Battin, Caspers and Supervisor William Phillips approved the redistricting map as submitted.
. . .
     But it was not until detailed maps of the changes became available that it was known that the population shifts also had eliminated both attorney William Wenke and rancher Henry Segerstrom, both of whom live in the north Santa Ana area.
     Their census tract … was shifted to the 4th District as a finger jutting into the 1st District.
     The change appeared to be politically fortunate for the board’s chairman, but Battin’s executive aide said no thought was given to the residences of potential candidates when the revised district lines were drawn.
. . .
     The change also affected the district residence of two other influential persons connected with county government. Both Dr. Louis Cella Jr. and Fred Harber, close associates of Battin since his election in 1968, live in the area and are now within Clark’s district.

Butcher/Forde, c. 1982

Louis Cella's trial: Harber, Overby, Hoffman and unanswered questions

     This morning, I read a May 9, 1976 LA Times article, a substantial piece of reporting about the trial of the infamous Dr. Louis Cella, who, along with OC land baron Richard O'Neill, ran a campaign financing scheme in the 1970s—benefitting mostly Democratic candidates but also Republicans such as Ron Caspers—known as the "Dick and Doc Show" ("The Case Against Dr. Cella: Bits and Pieces of Paper").
     It was reported by Richard O'Reilly and Tracy Wood. These days, Wood is Senior Writer for The Voice of OC. Don't know about O'Reilly.
     Cella's business interests involved two hospitals, which devoted substantial square footage to non-medical workers and such non-medical activities as printing. Here, hospital funds would be directed to various persons and vendors. Ultimately, Cella was found guilty of a host of illegal activities, including fraud against the state and feds.
     According to the article, one of the ways in which money was dispersed—often to persons having no clear relationship to the hospital(s)—was through postage refunds issued as treasury checks or postal money orders. Presumably, this helped obscure the money trail from Cella to payees:

     The Grand Jury devoted a full day to testimony by Postal Inspector Peter Hickok about how the hospitals spent at least $145,000 on postage for political campaign mailings.
     He said the hospital checks would set up bulk mailing accounts or buy credit on postage meters. But not all of the postage would be used and refunds would be issued in the form of treasury checks or postal money orders.
     The practice involved about a dozen post offices, but at the time Hickok testified, he said, his investigation was incomplete. He said records showed that refunds totaling more than $92,000 were obtained from two post offices alone—Santa Ana and Cypress. Of that, $55,000 went to Butcher, he said.
     Butcher, who has repeatedly refused to be interviewed by Times reporters, was not called as a witness by the Orange County Grand Jury. He was called before the federal grand jury, however, where he reportedly refused to testify.

The O'Neill family (c. 1950)

     "Butcher" was William Butcher of the campaign consulting firm "Butcher-Forde," which became notorious for bringing computer-assisted mailings and new levels of demagoguery and dirty tricks to OC politics. According to Tom Rogers, B-F were also important in the rise of the influence of developers in OC. 

     Fred Harber, Dick and Doc's chief political advisor, was very close to Butcher-Forde. He was also close to Cella, O'Neill, and Caspers.

     You'll recall that lobbyist Lyle Overby has come up again and again in our saga of curious, Fuentes-related political activity forty years ago and thereafter. He, too, received these curious postal refunds:

     Another person who is recorded as having received postage refunds is Lyle Overby, now an aide to Supervisor Ralph Diedrich. In 1974, Overby received $4,600 in 16 money orders acting as an agent for [codefendant Theodore] Schiffman, Hickok testified.
     Overby, who was then working for the late Fred Harber, has refused to respond to a Times query as to what he did with the money.
     Hickok told the jury it is highly unusual for refunds that large to be made in money orders, which are limited to a maximum of $300 each. (Money orders are issued with the payee’s name blank so that the person obtaining the money order can make it payable to anyone he wishes without anyone else knowing.)

     Why did Overby receive payment in so odd and inconvenient a fashion? And just what was he being paid for? Brain surgery?

     You'll recall that Harber's secretary was a woman named Arlene Hoffman, who was ultimately murdered in her Laguna Niguel home (with a cross bow!) twenty years later. That crime was never solved. (See Who killed Arlene Hoffman? ) (Incidentally, Overby had recommended Hoffman to Supervisor Silva, for whom Hoffman was working when she was killed.)

     She was a witness at Cella's trial, but she was decidedly uncooperative:

Tracy Wood (these days)

     Another mystery man in the transcripts is Fred Harber, a political strategist who was closely teamed with Cory, Cella and O’Neill until he was lost at sea with nine others in June, 1974, when his boat sank off Baja California.
     The Grand Jury called Harber’s executive secretary, Mrs. Arlene Hoffman, to testify, but she repeatedly claimed not to know many details of his work.
     Mrs. Hoffman was paid by the hospitals from 1972 until last fall, but told the jury she didn’t do much work at either hospital until after Harber’s death.
     Before that she worked with Harber in Jesse Unruh’s 1973 mayoral campaign in Los Angeles, Democratic Party fund raising, and in the 1974 primary campaigns of Cory, Assemblyman Richard Robinson (D-Santa Ana) and Rep. Jerry Patterson (D-Calif.)
     Mrs. Hoffman testified that Harber was a consultant to the hospitals and said she considered the work she did on politics as public relations for the hospitals.
     (However, Patterson told the Times he was not aware she was being paid by the hospitals during the time Harber was working on his congressional campaign.
     (“If there was public relations for the hospitals, they were doing it very subltey,” [sic] Patterson said. “I didn’t know there was a connection with the hospital.”)
     Dep. Dist. Atty. Brice repeatedly tried to get details of Harber’s activities from Mrs. Hoffman, usually without success.
     “Can you tell us anything that he did for Mission Hospital?” Brice asked. “If he was a landscaper there, you could tell us he planted 15 trees regardless of the day or when it occurred, or if he was a nurse, you could say he changed bed pans or something. Do you know something that Fred Harber did related to the activities of Mission Hospital?”
     “No. I can’t answer that question for you; I can only speak in generalities,” Mrs. Hoffman testified.
     One of the “generalities” was that shortly before his death Harber was working on contracts to help large construction firms win approval for their projects from city and county governments.

     What was Hoffman's motive in revealing so little about her and Harber's activities? By the time of the trial, Harber had been dead for nearly two years. Was she motivated by loyalty? By self-interest? (Note: Pam Zanelli, later a SOCCCD PIO, was among those working in the "political" wing of the hospital at the time.)

     You'll recall that, according to developer Richard Jordan, Harber and Caspers were shaking him down for "help" in overcoming county non-approvals that his construction project had encountered. This was at the time of the Shooting Star sinking in June of 1974.

     Caspers, Harber, and eight other men perished in that disaster. Their bodies were never found despite a massive search. (Cella desperately searched for his man Harber long after the "official" searches were abandoned.)

     Like Tom Fuentes, Lyle Overby was supposed to be on that fateful boat trip. But he bailed after its first leg (to Cabo San Lucas). Richard Jordan was also invited but declined (for he wanted the DA to record conversations, which would have been impossible in Mexico).

     It's all very odd.

May 9, 1976 - LA Times - Case against Cella

Caspers was an "able public servant" and "a human being." Anything else? Tom Fuentes counted heads at the service.

From the "Trustee Tom Fuentes files" [Fuentes got his start working for corrupt OC supervisor Caspers; Caspers' chief crony was the corrupt Fred Harber]:

     I unearthed an old Times article (“Caspers Eulogized as Uncommon Man in Political Arena,” Jul 16, 1974) that describes a memorial service for the “missing” supervisor Ronald W. Caspers and his two sons. It was held at “St. Michaels and All Angels Episcopal Church” “in the hills above Corona del Mar.”
     According to the article, the eulogy was performed by personal friend Rev. G. William Grady, who described Caspers as “an uncommon man”:

     “He was not an average man,” Mr. Grady said, “but in his election to the Board of Supervisors, he found the true love of his life. His reelection in June placed him totally in public service.”
     Mr. Grady also reminder [sic] those attending that Caspers’ battle to obtain the 5,500-acre Starr-Viejo Ranch as a county regional park was typical of his love for the outdoors.
     “He wanted to share the bounties of life with everyone,” he said. “He was an outstanding student, a successful businessman, a loving son, husband and father, an able public servant and, above all, a human being.
     Tom Fuentes, Caspers’ chief executive assistant, estimated that 500 persons crowded the chapel, stood along the walls or listened outside to the memorial service.

     Oddly, “None of Caspers’ fellow supervisors was on hand” – though “all sent aides to the service….”

* * *

     I also dug up a Times piece (“Services Scheduled for Fred D. Harber,” Jul 19, 1974) announcing memorial services for Fred Harber, the political consultant upon whom “Dick and Doc” (Richard O’Neill and Dr. Louis Cella)—the crafty duo who, with campaign contributions, virtually controlled OC government at the time—relied.
     He too was missing after the apparent sinking of his yacht the “Shooting Star” in mid-June. None of the bodies of the ten passengers was ever found.
     The article mentions that, beyond serving as mayor of Buena Park and City Manager of Cypress, “Harber also developed the first shopping center in Buena Park as well as apartment complexes.” He served as consultant or manager of campaigns for Ralph Clark, Jerry Patterson, Jess Unruh, and various others.
     He was, of course, a close associate of Ron Caspers.
     He hailed from Seminole, Oklahoma.

What a guy from Oklahoma sounds like

The Fuentes file: Puppets and Puppeteers

 

Buena Park politicos, 1958. That's Fred Harber,
left of center

     Orange County Supervisor (1969-1977) Robert Battin was an early beneficiary of the now-notorious political funding operation known as the “Dick and Doc Show” (Dick O’Neill and Louis Cella). Oddly enough, Fred Harber, who was very senior in the larger D&D operation (what Battin, then scrambling to avoid prosecution, later termed the “Coalition”), and who had already served as a Mayor (of Buena Park) and City Manager (of Cypress), briefly served as Battin’s “executive assistant” in 1969, making $12,300 per year.
     According to an old LA Times article (“Battin a Puppet, Ex-Aides Claim; He Denies It,” June 20, 1972), in June of 1972, there was a special press conference down at the county courthouse:

     Two recently fired aides of 1st District Supervisor Robert Battin showed up to publicly accuse their ex-boss of being only a political puppet to his campaign manager and former aide, Fred Harber, a man they described as “Orange County’s kingmaker.”

     Afterward, says the article, Harber showed up, proclaiming, “I am just a lowly worker in the vineyard … of good government.”
     Then Battin himself showed up, stating that the aides’ assertions were “complete bullshit.” (The Times characterized Battin’s remark as “earthy.”)

* * *

     According to the Times, the aides were Steve Polatnick and John Abbott, both 27. The firings were described as an “aftermath” of a recent primary in which Battin had come in second (among Republicans), forcing a runoff in November. (Battin prevailed.)
     The aides claimed that Battin “sat in his inner office with orders that no constituents be allowed to speak to him … or see him.” Polatnick is quoted as adding, “An exception was always made, of course, for big-money contributors.”
     The two said they were fired on Harber’s orders because they didn’t agree that they should work full time on Battin’s reelection campaign. They further asserted that, in Batton’s office, Harber was in charge and that Harber was “behind a school busing ‘smear’ letter aimed at” the candidate who had come in 1st.

Ralph "Super D" Diedrich

     It gets better. They also claimed that Harber controlled Supervisors [Ronald] Caspers and [Ralph] Clark and that “He’s working to get a fourth vote on the board right now.” That would be Ralph Diedrich, who did in fact prevail over incumbent Bill Phillips in November of ’72.
     (Diedrich, known as “Super D” owing to his strong personality, became the leader of the pro-development board; he was indicted for bribery in 1977.)
     Polatnick went on: “It is my impression that Harber sees himself as the most powerful man in Orange County—a real kingmaker.” For Harber, such hegemony wasn’t about money but about “political power,” the two men said.
     And so, a few hours later, Harber showed up at the pressroom, denying those claims, chalking them up to the disgruntlement of fired employees.

     “Bob Battin has a respect for my advice and counsel…and many times he will follow that advice, but not always. But I think you will find some other supervisors who will bitterly resent any allegrations [sic] that I control a whole stable of them….”

     Harber asserted that, as he understood it, Polatnick and Abott could not communicate with community groups that had not been represented by their Supe in the past.
     Had he “ordered” Battin to keep his trap shut?

     “That’s not true. I only advised him not to lose his temper and to be careful to explain what he was saying…I would like him to be more urbane but I’ll settle for his honesty and forthrightness. I’m really just a lonely worker in the vineyard….”

     According to the Times, that last sentiment produced “chuckles in the audience.”
     Harber added: “I just strive to help my friends bring better government to Orange County.”
     At that point, Harber left and Battin came up to speak. He said: “Sometimes he [Harber] calls the shots … sometimes he doesn’t. But, if I’m a puppet, how come he left just now?”
     That's pretty lame, dude.
     But what about the alleged orders not to talk to constituents? –That’s when Battin got “earthy.”
     According to the Times,

     Battin denied other allegations that Harber had determined which companies would get county contracts on the basis of compaign contributions to Battin, or that he was favorable only to firms which gave such contributions.

Bob Battin

     On Monday, I wrote about the 1972 bribery trial of the mayor of Westminster, Derek McWhinney (who was ultimately convicted and served time). In that case—Harber and Tom Fuentes’ names came up—a farmer alleged that McWhinney and an associate were shaking him down for $10,000. According to the farmer, McWhinney had told him that six people, including he and Fred Harber, “ran” Orange County.
     According to yet another Times article that I have recently discussed, years earlier, Harber had agreed to testify to his part in a bribe scheme in which a developer paid him and a member of the Cypress City Council $2,000 a month.
     These facts never came to light because the City Councilman—Mr. Job Denni—perished in a plane crash in 1966, necessitating abandonment of the case.
     (The "$10K" amount and the "$2K per month" angle were repeated in the bribe story—about a Harber/Caspers shakedown in 1974—that Richard Jordan told in a 1975 deposition in connection with his lawsuit of the County. The County settled, paying Jordan $700,000.)
     The day after Battin’s press conference, supervisorial candidate Ralph “Super D” Diedrich issued a press statement, denying connections with Harber.
     “I want everyone to know that I am my own man,” it said.
     It is clear today that Caspers, Clark, Battin, and Diedrich were indeed in Dick and Doc's stable. And D&D's main man was Harber.

* * *

     Harber’s name comes up again in a 1973 Times article about the OC supervisors’ “unsung” executive assistants (“7 Supervisors’ Aides Fill Vital but Unsung Role,” April 8, 1973).
     Supervisor Clark was quoted as saying,

     “The EAs … are the only ones we can depend upon to give ... [research] to us. Compared to the days when I was a city councilman, I am much better prepared to make decisions. I feel a lot more comfortable and confident, because I have been given the facts by my staff.”

Ronald Caspers

     Evidently, Clark’s view was more or less shared by the other supervisors.
     According to the Times article, in recent memory, the role of the EAs had expanded:

…[I]t is the assistants who act as primary advisers, researchers, office managers and alter egos of the five board members…. Their roles … generally revolve around researching issues, handling constituent problems, checking the weekly board agendas and monitoring the political pulse of the superbvisor’s district. … At other times, it might mean representing the supervisor at a meeting, talking to homeowner groups, working with county department heads and developing and maintaining liaison with city representatives and state legislators…. …[T]he assistants are considered by many to be among the most important persons in county government.

     Naturally, this state of affairs—immense power in the hands of persons unelected and hired and fired at the whim of supervisors—caused worry among watchdog groups. Thus, in 1972 (says the Times article), the OC Grand Jury handed down “a warning that the EAs should not overplay their parts”:

“Since ... [the EA's] advice concerns so many county decisions,” the jury wrote, “each assistant must be chosen carefully with emphasis on practical experience, ability and character as well as personal loyalty to the supervisor for whom he works. … His briefing is invaluable but unless it is reliable and accurate, many problems may result. In any case, the final decision should come from the supervisor and not from the assistant.”

     "Many problems" indeed. What if, for instance, the EA is closely aligned with people—not the supervisor—who have one of those goshdarned nefarious "hidden agendas"? (That's my question, not the Times'.)
     Tom Fuentes, one of Supervisor Caspers’ assistants at the time, explained that his boss is “highly complex” and an introvert. Still, he’s easy to work with, he said.
     Fuentes has lots more to say:

     For Fuentes, the job of an EA is more that of a political adviser, liaison man and personal assistant, since those are his fields of expertise.
…
     Fuentes offered his description of the perfect assistant:
     “He is a public relations man, a press agent, a protocol officer, political adviser and strategist, budget expert, a strong researcher and devil’s advocate and has master’s degrees in public administration, finance, engineering, social work and government. In addition, he can work 28 hours a day without tiring.”

     Fuentes’ boss, Ronald Caspers, evidently told the Times that

he sees the EA as the supervisor’s protector who minimizes his mistakes and guides him away from pitfalls.
     “They also have to evaluate and make recommendations on agenda items, although I reserve the right to go a different way at times….”

Tom Fuentes, c. 1973

     That seems awfully understated. 
     I don't know about you, dear reader, but it seems to me that, back in the Roaring 70s, depending on the supervisor, an EA could be pretty much anything, including the real brains of the operation. No wonder the Grand Jury fretted!
     The article ends with a focus on former Battin EA Fred "lonely vineyard worker" Harber:

…[U]ndoubtedly, the best-known former EA of all is Fred Harber, a one-time Buena Park city councilman and Cypress city manager, who managed Battin’s winning campaigns in 1968 and 1972.
     Harber, considered by many as a major behind-the-scenes political power in Orange County, recently was picked by former Assembly Speaker Jess Unruh to manage his campaign for Los Angeles mayor [against Sam Yorty].
     Many observers felt that Unruh’s decision was based mostly on Harber’s guidance of Battin’s campaign from what appeared once to be sure defeat to a victory.
     No EA—or former EA—could have been asked to do any better than that.

* * *

     It's pretty obvious that, in truth, Harber was much more than Battin's assistant. He was the guiding force behind, not only hot-headed Battin, but a whole stable of politicians.

     And he was crooked, like so many of his "horses."

     And what about young Tom Fuentes? DtB readers will recall from our extensive "Shooting Star" scribblings that, in the days and weeks following the yacht's disappearance off the coast of Baja, Fuentes had extraordinary authority and stature—for a twenty-five year old "assistant." He seemed to have run the search operation (from Santa Ana), and, at one point (reportedly), it was he who called off the search. 

     Throughout, he was plainly very close to Caspers' wife. (Unsurprisingly, he handled the press.)

     And, even though he had already announced plans to leave Caspers to study to become a priest (see LA Times, May 23, 1974), in the weeks after the tragedy, he was clearly preparing himself to be appointed as Caspers' successor. In fact (evidently), Ronald Reagan had expressed his intention of selecting Fuentes, but then a one-year residency requirement knocked him out of contention. (It's clear that many pols came out of the woodwork, interested in the appointment. At the time, it struck some as unseemly.) So he went back to his original plan: he headed north to St. Patrick's seminary. (A year later, of course, he was back, lobbying for Bein & Frost, hanging with fellow Republicans on the Central Committee, investing in singles bars, etc.)

* * *

     According to the Times ("Caspers Tops Spending Limit, Bents Says," May 14, 1974), two months before the "Shooting Star" tragedy (and a year after the EA article), one of Caspers' Republican primary challengers, Marcia Bents, publicly objected to Caspers' "heavy campaign spending tactics." At the courthouse, accompanied by former OC GOP chief Tom Rogers, she "claimed that Caspers' campaign finance figures show he has broken his promise to hold spending to a limit of 50 cents for each registered voter."

     Oddly, the person on hand to rebut Bents' charges wasn't Caspers. It was Fuentes. 

     Caspers isn't even quoted.

* * *

     Two weeks later, Bents was at it again. According to the Times ("Fund-Raising Tactics by Caspers Criticized," May 31), Bents charged that "Ronald Caspers has 'strong-armed' firms into contributing to his campaign":

     Mrs. Bents, referring to Caspers' latest financial report showing more than $222,000 in contributions, said the firms made contributions "because they were afraid not to give."

     Once again, it is not Caspers who rebuts these charges but Fuentes:

"...[These charges] are only an indication of her own floundering campaign," Fuentes said, "and are unsupported by facts. The people and firms who contribute to Ron do so because they support what he is doing."

     Ignoring the ad hominem, Bents made her case:

     ...Mrs. Bents handed newsmen a list of 26 firms and individuals who have donated or pledged $1000 or more to Caspers' campaign. All of these donors are involved in subdivisions, zone changes, variance use permits, tracts, special projects or contracts with the county.
     "I want to make it clear," she added, "that I am not making the charge that these firms or individuals sought out Caspers and made a donation ... to get an improper concession. I am saying that some of these firms have expressed to me, privately, that they felt they were being forced into making substantial contributions to Caspers' campaign."

     Wow.
     She also presented a signed statement by a former Caspers aide, H. Ronald Jones. Evidently, in the statement, he "charged that he had worked on county time to address and stuff envelopes for a Caspers' testimonial dinner in September, 1971." He also charged "that he had also used county time and a county car to drive to Los Angeles County to pick up materials for Fuentes' campaign for the County Republican Central Committee."
     For Fuentes? The "assistant"?
     Naturally, Fuentes countered with a mere ad hominem, characterizing the former aide as a "disgruntled former employee...."
     Caspers is not quoted in the article.
     [Note to self: McWhinney contributed to Ronald Caspers' campaign in 1970. See Times, 7/8/70.]

See also Mr. Bagman—I spoke with my father and we both remembered a guy who, it turns out, was a close associate of Ronald Caspers before he got the Supervisor gig in 1970. The way my dad remembers it, this guy, Chas. Bottomley, who was one of the adults in our old Boy Scout Troop (#536), was "Caspers' bagman."—Yep, my dad said that without any prompting! Bagman. Or so he was told at the time by a pal at work (I knew that guy, too: Jim C) who part-timed as a bartender in a place Caspers owned next to his S&L. [Actually, I'm not sure my dad understands the connotations of "bagman." Maybe not sinister after all.]
     It's a small world. And darker than you imagine.

BATTIN: the "COALITION" HARBER'S "BRAINCHILD

OC Reg Feb 18 1976

Harber and Caspers attempt to bribe a developer, but then they die instead

 

Tom Fuentes, 1974

[Part of our "Fuentes Files" series.]

     It’s pretty clear, I think, that Supervisor Ron Caspers was seriously hinky, and his teeming corruptitude was such that it is hard to imagine his close associate and assistant, Tom Fuentes, not participating in it—or at least being aware of it.
     Bear in mind that young Tom was the chief organizing entity of Caspers’ operation. He handled routine complaints, scheduled events, made phone calls, etc.—for his boss, all day long, every day.


     FRED HARBER WAS THE BOMB. My most recent research (mostly old LA Times articles) has led me to conclude that Fred Harber, Caspers’ close associate, was much more than might be supposed based on his job descriptions. My reasons will become clear as we proceed. I’ll just say for now that Harber was perhaps the third most important member of what Supervisor Robert Battin called the “Coalition”—the money-distributing venture headed by “Dick and Doc,” i.e., R.J. O’Neill and Louis Cella. As you know, Orange County DA, Cecil Hicks, regarded the “Coalition” as OC’s “shadow government.” Near as I can tell, that’s just what it was, for it “owned” the Board of Supes.

Buena Park pols, 1958
Fred Harber in the middle

     For the core of the Coalition, I think, at least at first, the “Dick and Doc Show” was essentially an effort to give muscle to the Democratic Party in traditionally conservative OC. But it clearly morphed into something less political, more self-aggrandizing and profitable. It reached out to some Republicans, such as Caspers (1970) and Laurence Schmit (1975). Starting with Caspers, it became more about greed. And it seems likely that, for Harber and Cella, though perhaps not for O’Neill, laws and ethics were just things to get around somehow.
     As we’ll see, some of the “inside baseball” about the Supes back in the years 1969-1974 point to Harber’s alarming prominence, despite his having no elected office or appointment. He had served as Mayor of Cypress (among other offices), but, in 1969, he was an “assistant” to Supervisor Battin. He was a curiously highly-regarded assistant among the corps of helpers surrounding the Supervisors.

Ron Caspers

     After Harber dumped that gig, Battin was at one point compelled to complain aloud that, no, he wasn’t Fred Harber’s puppet!
     It was, of course, Harber’s boat that was lost off the coast of Baja California in June of 1974, leaving not a trace of the ten men aboard, including Caspers and Harber.

* * *

     HERE COMES MR. JORDAN. I’ve found two newspaper articles that tell the story of the alleged “shakedown” scheme that, according to developer Richard Jordan, Harber and Caspers approached him with:

OC Register
OC Developer Alleges Political Bribe Demand
May 23, 1978
By Joe Cordero & Charley Roberts 

LA Times,
Caspers, Harber accused of bribe try by developer
May 24, 1978
By Steve Emmons

     As you can see, the Reg scooped the Times—thanks to a timely request for a pubic record. Nevertheless, I’ll start by outlining the contents of the Times’ piece:

Young Tom Fuentes

     Had Caspers and Harber not died in 1974, they might “have sailed home to a bribery indictment.” Or so it is alleged in a sworn 1975 depo by developer Richard Jordan.
     The Reg managed to get that depo.
     In the depo, Jordan explains that he had acquired a 46-acre piece of land in El Toro from a man who had already secured the necessary county permits and OKs for a mobile home park. Jordan even got assurances from county people that everything was set to go, but then, suddenly, in early ’74, he learned that Supervisor Caspers preferred that the land be used for condos.
     So Jordan revised his plans and pursued the condo project, but that soon got mired in complications and red tape. So he returned to plan A: the mobile home park.

     Pretty soon, county inspectors were nitpicking the project to death, so he contacted supervisor Ron Caspers’ office. (Caspers’ area included El Toro.) He figured he’d just deal with Tom Fuentes, Caspers’ assistant. He asked Fuentes to find out just who, down at the county, was concerned about his project and why. Fuentes called back a month later, saying that “we were going to have some problems,” but he couldn’t say more over the phone. Jordan hurried to Fuentes’ office, whereupon Fuentes explained that the Planning Commission’s Shirley Grindle was asking lots of questions about the project. Jordan went back to his plans, looking for a problem, but he could find none. He called Fuentes back.
     Fuentes next arranged for Jordan to meet with Bart Spendlove, Caspers’ planning commissioner. Two days later, at the project site, Spendlove told Jordan that everybody opposed the mobile home park, but “as far as I’m concerned, you have a permit and you have started on it. I think you should be able to continue with it.” Jordan agreed to plant a row of trees to obscure the park and that seemed to make Spendlove happy.

From “Spendlove, Wife, 4 Children Killed in

Utah Plane Crash,” LA Times, Sep. 9, 1975

     (Spendlove, says the Times, died in a plane crash 18 months later. How come so many people die violent deaths in this yarn?)
     A few days later, Caspers called Jordan to tell him that Spendlove’s approach wouldn’t cut it. But Caspers had a plan. He wouldn’t elaborate over the phone but said Jordan should meet a man who could solve the problem. That man was Fred Harber.
     Casper suggested that he, Jordan, and Harber spend some time down in Baja on Harber’s boat. They could get to know each other, have fun, become pals.
     Jordan said he’d get back to him. He looked into Harber’s history and found that Harber had once been involved in a bribery scandal—in Cypress.

Near La Paz

     Years earlier, when Harber was the city manager of Cypress, in exchange for immunity, he agreed to testify about a scheme in which a developer paid him and a member of the City Council $2,000 a month. These facts never came to light because the City Councilman—Mr. Job Denni—perished in a plane crash in 1966, necessitating abandonment of the case.
     So Jordan phoned Casper, asking why Harber was so dang influential. Well, owing to his help with financing their campaigns, Harber had clout with supervisors Clark and Battin. [Supervisors Clark, Battin, and Caspers were, of course, in “Dick and Doc’s” stable of politicians.]
     In April of ’74, Jordan joined Casper and his pals in a drive to LAX; from there the group flew down to Mexico (La Paz) and Harber’s boat, the “Shooting Star.” Harber motored the yacht to an island. Caspers took Jordan and the two took a rubber boat to fish somewhere, whereupon Caspers explained that Harber has sway with Grindle’s boss, supervisor Clark. 

The Shooting Star

     The following Monday, back in the OC, the county ordered a halt to Jordan’s project, evidently because Grindle had asked an official to look it over. That process yielded the voiding of Jordan’s permit.
     Jordan figured he’d next be hit up for a bribe. So (according to Jordan, according to the Times) Jordan’s lawyer contacted someone at the DA’s office, explaining the situation, but without naming names. Jordan then tried to set up another meeting with Harber.
     On the Mexico trip, Harber had invited Jordan to visit his office—but alone. So Jordan set up an appointment. When the two got together, Jordan asked Harber how long it would take to fix the problem with his project. “Not long.” Harber then explained that he wanted $10,000 up front plus $2,000 per month. Jordan asked how long the $2k thing would be necessary. The answer: “How long do you plan to develop in Orange County?”

O'Neill

     [DIGRESSION: MCWHINNEY THE POO. Again, the $2k per month scheme had been employed by Harber before when he was City Manager of Cypress (according to the Times article).
     But there’s another relevant case. In 1972 (two years before this Jordan stuff), a high-profile trial of the mayor of Westminster—Derek McWhinney(see)—also involved bribery and the figure $10,000—the amount demanded of a farmer who sought to lease city land (now part of Mile Square Park). In the course of the trial, both Fred Harber and Tom Fuentes were mentioned—Harber, because he was a source of information and recommendations (to supervisors) that were directly related to the case and because, according to the farmer, McWhinney had told him that six people, including he and Fred Harber, “run” Orange County. Fuentes was mentioned because, at one point, he, acting on behalf of his boss Caspers, informed the county of a complication with regard to the land—conceivably in accordance with one of McWhinney’s shakedown schemes. (My sources: LA Times, August 4, 1972; September 22, 1972; May 30, 1973; July 1, 1973.)] 

Lou Cella

     Jordan was trying to set up yet another meeting with Harber—this time with the DA office’s involvement—but then that fateful trip aboard the Shooting Star occurred—and Harber and Caspers (and eight others) were dead. Jordan had been invited on that trip, but he declined because there was no way of getting the DA office involved in anything happening way down south in Mexico and because he judged the Shooting Star to be less-than-seaworthy.
     (The top men at the DA's office later claimed that they hadn’t heard about any of this—that perhaps Jordan and his lawyer had communicated informally with a deputy DA.)
     After the mysterious Shooting Star disaster (none of the bodies was ever found; see DtB’s extensive scribblings about the tragedy), the county was about to shut down Jordan’s project on technical grounds (not enough work done). By the time the permit was squared away, costs were way up, and the project folded. It was a disaster for Jordan and his company.
     So he sued the county, which, a month prior to the article, had agreed to pay him $700,000 in a settlement deal. [End of précis.]

On that fateful trip 
(the one Jordan missed)

     The Register’s piece doesn’t add much to the yarn. There’s Harber’s elaboration concerning what would be done with the bribe money: “Harber said that he would keep part of the money, and the balance would go to ‘make large loans to people running for political office,’ according to Jordan’s deposition.”
     There also seems to be a disagreement between the Reg and the Times about whether Caspers’ gang (with Jordan) flew or cruised down to La Paz. (They agree that they flew back.)
     And there’s this. According to the Reg,

     Jordan’s deposition describes how [after the trip to La Paz] he and his attorney ... planned to make the payoff with marked money with the cooperation of the district attorney’s office.
     “After we’ve cleared it with District Attorney Cecil Hicks…that we’ll arrange for me to go back to Fred Harber and pay him the money, in marked bills. The exact details of the plan were not worked out at this time, but were, I think, that the District Attorney’s office was going to be involved in how we would work it out,” Jordan said.

     SO. Well, judge for yourself. How believable is Jordan’s story?
     That the county paid Jordan $700,000 in a settlement—one that barred the principles from discussing the case (only the Reg’s request for the documents brought Jordan’s depo to light)—might tell us something.
     And what about those other bribery cases?
     Admittedly, the “McWhinney” case is murky with regard to Harber (or Caspers) involvement, if any, in the bribe. (McWhinney was convicted.) So maybe we’ll turn to that next. 
     Also: I’ve gotta tell you about the time Supervisor Battin protested too much
     One more thing.
     I don’t know if this has anything at all to do with the Jordan business, but, according to a 1976 article by journalists Dan Walters and Al Downer, in 1971, Cella, O’Neill, and Harber joined a partnership that bought some El Toro land. Then, in 1971, the OC Board of Supes—which, of course, included Ron Caspers (and Harber/Cella beneficiaries Bob Battin and Ralph Clark)—made a decision that yielded C, O and H a huge profit:


Unscrambling Dick and Doc’s financial and political empire
California Journal, January, 1976
By AL DOWNER and DAN WALTERS

Parvin

…El Toro Land Company was formed as a partnership in 1970 to develop a 39-acre parcel along the San Diego Freeway in Orange County. One of the original partners, with a $25,000 investment, was Albert Parvin, one-time Las Vegas casino-owner and head of the Parvin-Dohrmann Company and the Parvin Foundation. Meyer Lansky, reputed Mafia financial brain, was one of Parvin’s partners in the Flamingo Hotel and the Parvin Foundation had former Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas on its payroll for $12,000 per year.... Cella, O’Neill and Harber bought into El Toro Land in 1971 and remain as major partners, along with Parvin, according to corporate records. Shortly after they bought in, the Orange County Board of Supervisors took emergency action to establish a freeway interchange adjacent to that property and the land increased in value by 600 percent, county records show….

     Like I said: dirty.
     —Don’t know what to make of that Parvin connection. Sheesh.

     [Note to self: McWhinney contributed to Ronald Caspers' campaign in 1970. See Times, 7/8/70.]

SLIGHTLY REVISED VERSION of the above [12/17]

Tom Fuentes, 1974

     [June 18, 2012]: It’s pretty clear, I think, that Supervisor Ron Caspers was seriously hinky, and his teeming corruptitude was such that it is hard to imagine his close associate and assistant, Tom Fuentes, not participating in it—or at least being aware of it. 

     Bear in mind that young Tom was the chief organizing entity of Caspers’ operation. He handled routine complaints, scheduled events, made phone calls, etc.—for his boss, all day long, every day.

     FRED HARBER WAS THE BOMB. My most recent research (mostly old LA Times articles) has led me to conclude that Fred Harber, Caspers’ close associate, was much more than might be supposed based on his job descriptions. My reasons will become clear as we proceed. I’ll just say for now that Harber was perhaps the third most important member of what Supervisor Robert Battin called the “Coalition”—the money-distributing venture headed by “Dick and Doc,” i.e., R.J. O’Neill and Louis Cella. As you know, Orange County DA, Cecil Hicks, regarded the “Coalition” as OC’s “shadow government.” Near as I can tell, that’s just what it was, for it “owned” the Board of Supes.

Buena Park pols, 1958

Fred Harber in the middle

     For the core of the Coalition, I think, at least at first, the “Dick and Doc Show” was essentially an effort to give muscle to the Democratic Party in traditionally conservative OC. But it clearly morphed into something less political, more self-aggrandizing and profitable. It reached out to some Republicans, such as Caspers (1970) and Laurence Schmit(1975). Starting with Caspers, it became more about greed. And it seems likely that, for Harber and Cella, though perhaps not for O’Neill, laws and ethics were just things to get around somehow.

     As we’ll see, some of the “inside baseball” about the Supes back in the years 1969-1974 point to Harber’s alarming prominence, despite his having no elected office or appointment. He had served as Mayor of Cypress (among other offices), but, in 1969, he was an “assistant” to Supervisor Battin. He was a curiously highly-regarded assistant among the corps of helpers surrounding the Supervisors. 

Ron Caspers

     After Harber dumped that gig, Battin was at one point compelled to complain aloud that, no, he wasn’t Fred Harber’s puppet!

     It was, of course, Harber’s boat that was lost off the coast of Baja California in June of 1974, leaving not a trace of the ten men aboard, including Caspers and Harber.

* * *

     HERE COMES MR. JORDAN. I’ve found two newspaper articles that tell the story of the alleged “shakedown” scheme that, according to developer Richard Jordan, Harber and Caspers approached him with:

OC Register - OC Developer Alleges Political Bribe Demand

May 23, 1978

By Joe Cordero & Charley Roberts [SEE]

LA Times - Caspers, Harber accused of bribe try by developer

May 24, 1978

By Steve Emmons [SEE]

     As you can see, the Reg scooped the Times—thanks to a timely request for a pubic record. Nevertheless, I’ll start by outlining the contents of the Times’ piece:

Young Tom Fuentes

     Had Caspers and Harber not died in 1974, they might “have sailed home to a bribery indictment.” Or so it is alleged in a sworn 1975 depo by developer Richard Jordan.

      The Reg managed to get that depo.

     In the depo, Jordan explains that he had acquired a 46-acre piece of land in El Toro from a man who had already secured the necessary county permits and OKs for a mobile home park. Jordan even got assurances from county people that everything was set to go, but then, suddenly, in early ’74, he learned that Supervisor Caspers preferred that the land be used for condos.

     ¶ So Jordan revised his plans and pursued the condo project, but that soon got mired in complications and red tape. So he returned to plan A: the mobile home park.¶ Pretty soon, county inspectors were nitpicking the project to death, so he contacted supervisor Ron Caspers’ office. (Caspers’ area included El Toro.) He figured he’d just deal with Tom Fuentes, Caspers’ assistant. He asked Fuentes to find out just who, down at the county, was concerned about his project and why. Fuentes called back a month later, saying that “we were going to have some problems,” but he couldn’t say more over the phone. Jordan hurried to Fuentes’ office, whereupon Fuentes explained that the Planning Commission’s Shirley Grindle was asking lots of questions about the project. Jordan went back to his plans, looking for a problem, but he could find none. He called Fuentes back.¶ Fuentes next arranged for Jordan to meet with Bart Spendlove, Caspers’ planning commissioner. Two days later, at the project site, Spendlove told Jordan that everybody opposed the mobile home park, but “as far as I’m concerned, you have a permit and you have started on it. I think you should be able to continue with it.” Jordan agreed to plant a row of trees to obscure the park and that seemed to make Spendlove happy.

From “Spendlove, Wife, 4 Children Killed in

Utah Plane Crash,” LA Times, Sep. 9, 1975

¶ (Spendlove, says the Times, died in a plane crash 18 months later. How come so many people die violent deaths in this yarn?)¶ A few days later, Caspers called Jordan to tell him that Spendlove’s approach wouldn’t cut it. But Caspers had a plan. He wouldn’t elaborate over the phone but said Jordan should meet a man who could solve the problem. That man was Fred Harber.¶ Casper suggested that he, Jordan, and Harber spend some time down in Baja on Harber’s boat. They could get to know each other, have fun, become pals.¶ Jordan said he’d get back to him. He looked into Harber’s history and found that Harber had once been involved in a bribery scandal—in Cypress.

Near La Paz

¶ Years earlier, when Harber was the city manager of Cypress, in exchange for immunity, he agreed to testify about a scheme in which a developer paid him and a member of the City Council $2,000 a month. These facts never came to light because the City Councilman—Mr. Job Denni—perished in a plane crash in 1966, necessitating abandonment of the case.¶ So Jordan phoned Casper, asking why Harber was so dang influential. Well, owing to his help with financing their campaigns, Harber had clout with supervisors Clark and Battin. [Supervisors Clark, Battin, and Caspers were, of course, in “Dick and Doc’s” stable of politicians.]¶ In April of ’74, Jordan joined Casper and his pals in a drive to LAX; from there the group flew down to Mexico (La Paz) and Harber’s boat, the “Shooting Star.” Harber motored the yacht to an island. Caspers took Jordan and the two took a rubber boat to fish somewhere, whereupon Caspers explained that Harber has sway with Grindle’s boss, supervisor Clark.

The Shooting Star

¶ The following Monday, back in the OC, the county ordered a halt to Jordan’s project, evidently because Grindle had asked an official to look it over. That process yielded the voiding of Jordan’s permit.¶ Jordan figured he’d next be hit up for a bribe. So (according to Jordan, according to the Times) Jordan’s lawyer contacted someone at the DA’s office, explaining the situation, but without naming names. Jordan then tried to set up another meeting with Harber.¶ On the Mexico trip, Harber had invited Jordan to visit his office—but alone. So Jordan set up an appointment. When the two got together, Jordan asked Harber how long it would take to fix the problem with his project. “Not long.” Harber then explained that he wanted $10,000 up front plus $2,000 per month. Jordan asked how long the $2k thing would be necessary. The answer: “How long do you plan to develop in Orange County?”

O'Neill

¶ [DIGRESSION: MCWHINNEY THE POO. Again, the $2k per month scheme had been employed by Harber before when he was City Manager of Cypress (according to the Times article).¶ But there’s another relevant case. In 1972 (two years before this Jordan stuff), a high-profile trial of the mayor of Westminster—Derek McWhinney(see)—also involved bribery and the figure $10,000—the amount demanded of a farmer who sought to lease city land (now part of Mile Square Park). In the course of the trial, both Fred Harber and Tom Fuentes were mentioned—Harber, because he was a source of information and recommendations (to supervisors) that were directly related to the case and because, according to the farmer, McWhinney had told him that six people, including he and Fred Harber, “run” Orange County. Fuentes was mentioned because, at one point, he, acting on behalf of his boss Caspers, informed the county of a complication with regard to the land—conceivably in accordance with one of McWhinney’s shakedown schemes. (My sources: LA Times, August 4, 1972; September 22, 1972; May 30, 1973; July 1, 1973.)]

Lou Cella

¶ Jordan was trying to set up yet another meeting with Harber—this time with the DA office’s involvement—but then that fateful trip aboard the Shooting Star occurred—and Harber and Caspers (and eight others) were dead. Jordan had been invited on that trip, but he declined because there was no way of getting the DA office involved in anything happening way down south in Mexico and because he judged the Shooting Star to be less-than-seaworthy.¶ (The top men at the DA's office later claimed that they hadn’t heard about any of this—that perhaps Jordan and his lawyer had communicated informally with a deputy DA.)¶ After the mysterious Shooting Star disaster (none of the bodies was ever found; see DtB’s extensive scribblings about the tragedy), the county was about to shut down Jordan’s project on technical grounds (not enough work done). By the time the permit was squared away, costs were way up, and the project folded. It was a disaster for Jordan and his company.¶ So he sued the county, which, a month prior to the article, had agreed to pay him $700,000 in a settlement deal. [End of précis.]

On that fateful trip 

(the one Jordan missed)

¶ The Register’s piece doesn’t add much to the yarn. There’s Harber’s elaboration concerning what would be done with the bribe money: “Harber said that he would keep part of the money, and the balance would go to ‘make large loans to people running for political office,’ according to Jordan’s deposition.” 

¶ There also seems to be a disagreement between the Reg and the Times about whether Caspers’ gang (with Jordan) flew or cruised down to La Paz. (They agree that they flew back.)

And there’s this. According to the Reg,

¶ Jordan’s deposition describes how [after the trip to La Paz] he and his attorney ... planned to make the payoff with marked money with the cooperation of the district attorney’s office.

“After we’ve cleared it with District Attorney Cecil Hicks…that we’ll arrange for me to go back to Fred Harber and pay him the money, in marked bills. The exact details of the plan were not worked out at this time, but were, I think, that the District Attorney’s office was going to be involved in how we would work it out,” Jordan said.

¶ SO. Well, judge for yourself. How believable is Jordan’s story?

¶ That the county paid Jordan $700,000 in a settlement—one that barred the principles from discussing the case (only the Reg’s request for the documents brought Jordan’s depo to light)—might tell us something.

¶ And what about those other bribery cases?

¶ Admittedly, the “McWhinney” case is murky with regard to Harber (or Caspers) involvement, if any, in the bribe. (McWhinney was convicted.) So maybe we’ll turn to that next. 

¶ Also: I’ve gotta tell you about the time Supervisor Battin protested too much

¶ One more thing.

¶ I don’t know if this has anything at all to do with the Jordan business, but, according to a 1976 article by journalists Dan Walters and Al Downer, in 1971, Cella, O’Neill, and Harber joined a partnership that bought some El Toro land. Then, in 1971, the OC Board of Supes—which, of course, included Ron Caspers (and Harber/Cella beneficiaries Bob Battin and Ralph Clark)—made a decision that yielded C, O and H a huge profit:

Unscrambling Dick and Doc’s financial and political empire

California Journal, January, 1976

By AL DOWNER and DAN WALTERS

Parvin: casino owner, 

organized crime figure

¶ …El Toro Land Company was formed as a partnership in 1970 to develop a 39-acre parcel along the San Diego Freeway in Orange County. One of the original partners, with a $25,000 investment, was Albert Parvin, one-time Las Vegas casino-owner and head of the Parvin-Dohrmann Company and the Parvin Foundation. Meyer Lansky, reputed Mafia financial brain, was one of Parvin’s partners in the Flamingo Hotel and the Parvin Foundation had former Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas on its payroll for $12,000 per year.... Cella, O’Neill and Harber bought into El Toro Land in 1971 and remain as major partners, along with Parvin, according to corporate records. Shortly after they bought in, the Orange County Board of Supervisors took emergency action to establish a freeway interchange adjacent to that property and the land increased in value by 600 percent, county records show….

¶ Like I said: dirty.

¶ —Don’t know what to make of that Parvin connection. Sheesh.

¶ [Note to self: McWhinney contributed to Ronald Caspers' campaign in 1970. See Times, 7/8/70.]

BATTIN: the "COALITION," HARBER'S "BRAINCHILD

OC Reg Feb 18 1976

See The George Murai case (1972; Harbor gives testimony)