Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Fresno Taxpayers Are Paying for Esparza's Criminal Extortion Defense
By admin
Published 2 years ago on
September 8, 2022

Share

 

Fresno taxpayers will pay for the criminal defense of city council president Nelson Esparza, according to documents obtained by GV Wire.

Meanwhile, the Fresno City Council’s maneuvers to cover up its decision to fund Esparza’s defense contradicts the advice of outside counsel hired by the council.

An opinion from special counsels James Sanchez and Matthew Lear issued on Aug. 30 to councilmembers says in part, “in an abundance of caution, we recommend that the Council report out the action taken from the June 23rd City Council meeting during an upcoming regular meeting.”

Sanchez is a senior counsel and Lear is an associate at Lozano Smith, which specializes in government, education, and public finance law.

His memo disclosed that the city council voted on June 23 to “(provide) for the criminal defense costs of Council President (Esparza).”

Esparza was officially charged July 18.

Sanchez is considered to be an expert on the Brown Act, the state’s government transparency law. He previously served as city attorney for Fresno, Sacramento, and Salinas, as well as deputy counsel for Fresno County.

In the opinion obtained by GV Wire, the attorneys also said that the councilmembers would expose themselves to litigation if they didn’t publicly report the decision to fund Esparza’s defense — including action from the District Attorney.

The city council has held two meetings since the Aug. 30 opinion, and 10 meetings since the June 23 vote.

The city council discussed the issue also on July 21. Because no action was taken “on a motion to withdraw covering the Council President’s defense costs … there is no requirement to publicly report” the legal memo said.

Esparza recused himself from the June 23 and July 21 discussions.

Esparza Has Denied All Charges

Esparza faces two criminal counts based on an alleged conversation in April with then-city attorney Douglas Sloan. The Fresno District Attorney’s Office charged Esparza with one felony count of attempted extortion, and a misdemeanor count of violating the city charter. If Esparza is convicted, he faces a maximum of three years in prison.

He has repeatedly denied the charges made against him.

Esparza is scheduled for arraignment on Tuesday, Sept. 20, in front of Fresno County Superior Court Judge Jon Kapetan.

Senior Deputy DA Victor Lai, who works for the DA’s public integrity unit, is the prosecutor.

Council Cancels Next Week’s Meeting

In an unusual move, the council has canceled its scheduled Sept. 15 meeting. That means the council won’t have an opportunity to tell the public that taxpayers are funding Nelson’s defense ahead of his arraignment.

The cancellation was made under the guidelines of the Rules of Procedure. Those rules require that the cancellation be made at least seven days in advance with affirming signatures from the council president and two others. Esparza, Tyler Maxwell, and Miguel Arias all signed the cancellation notice.

When asked why the meeting was called off, Esparza told GV Wire there were “quorum issues,” meaning that four of the seven city council members would not be able to attend.

However, the council has the option to Zoom into meetings without having to follow the normal Brown Act requirements, mainly posting from where they will participate in advance of the meeting.

Arias told GV Wire he is missing the meeting because of personal reasons he would not elaborate. He said he would not be able to Zoom.

“I’ve been asking for a full legal analysis on whether the former city attorney’s position was correct and supported by the law. I see this as being inconsistent. How is it that we settled the Wallace case, but we cannot report that out?”

Arias says he has not read the Aug. 30 legal memo. He says it has been policy not to report settlements publicly, based on former city attorney Douglas Sloan’s position. The state open meeting law does not mandate that settlements are reported in open session, but they do no need to be revealed when requested by the public.

Councilmen Garry Bredefeld, Mike Karbassi and Luis Chavez say they are available for the Sept. 15 meetings. The remaining councilmembers — Tyler Maxwell, Esmeralda Soria and Esparza — have not responded to GV Wire’s inquiry.

The council is also scheduled to be off on Sept. 22 and won’t return to the dais until Sept. 29.

Mayor Jerry Dyer, speaking with Bredefeld on KMJ radio, said no one has shared with him who will not be attending.

“The cancelation yesterday was a surprise because, you know, I can’t remember since being the mayor of any meetings being canceled is the lack of due to lack of quorum, even during COVID,” Dyer said.

The last regularly scheduled meetings canceled in advance was December 16, 2021. Two meetings were nixed that year.

Bredefeld, guest hosting on the radio, had his doubts.

“There is something, in my opinion, that is quite suspicious about all of this. I don’t know what it means,” Bredefeld said. He sent an email to Esparza seeking answers.

GV Wire first reported about whether the city council would cover Esparza’s defense on Aug. 15. State law allows the council the option of funding a criminal defense of a municipal employee, including an elected leader.

First Amendment Advocate Agrees

David Loy, legal director with the First Amendment Coalition, agrees with the legal opinion that the city council needs to report its closed session vote publicly.

“Accountability and transparency are the first duty of any democratic government. That’s exactly what the Brown Act is designed to promote. Secret government is anathema to democracy,” Loy said.

(GV Wire News Director Bill McEwen contributed to this story.)

Read the Opinion

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Justin Verlander and Giants Agree to $15M, 1-Year Deal

DON'T MISS

A’s Ink Slugger Brent Rooker to $60M, 5-Year Deal

DON'T MISS

Los Angeles Officials Order 30,000 Residents to Evacuate as Fire Advances on Homes

DON'T MISS

The 49ers Fire Special Teams Coordinator Brian Schneider, AP Source Says

DON'T MISS

Elon Musk Helped Trump Win. Now He’s Looking at Europe, and Many Politicians Are Alarmed

DON'T MISS

Flying Taxis on the Horizon as Aviation Soars Into a New Frontier

DON'T MISS

Former CEO of Fresno EOC Is Returning to Head Troubled Agency

DON'T MISS

Northern Illinois Will Join Mountain West for Football Only in 2026

DON'T MISS

US Justice Department Accuses Six Major Landlords of Scheming to Keep Rents High

DON'T MISS

Trump Refuses to Rule Out Use of Military Force to Take Control of Greenland and the Panama Canal

UP NEXT

Former CEO of Fresno EOC Is Returning to Head Troubled Agency

UP NEXT

Trump Refuses to Rule Out Use of Military Force to Take Control of Greenland and the Panama Canal

UP NEXT

Bredefeld Tries to ‘Shake up Good Ol’ Boys Club’ on Day One

UP NEXT

Washington Post Lays Off 4% of Its Workforce

UP NEXT

Madera Authorities Warn About Fake Letters Circulating in Ranchos Community

UP NEXT

Marjaree Mason Center Introduces New Crisis Response Manager

UP NEXT

Fresno DUI Crash Kills 2, Police Name Suspect

UP NEXT

Trump Says He Will Change the Name of the Gulf of Mexico

UP NEXT

California Businesses Sue State Over New Workplace Law

UP NEXT

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Michael Eric Wilson

The 49ers Fire Special Teams Coordinator Brian Schneider, AP Source Says

4 hours ago

Elon Musk Helped Trump Win. Now He’s Looking at Europe, and Many Politicians Are Alarmed

4 hours ago

Flying Taxis on the Horizon as Aviation Soars Into a New Frontier

4 hours ago

Former CEO of Fresno EOC Is Returning to Head Troubled Agency

4 hours ago

Northern Illinois Will Join Mountain West for Football Only in 2026

4 hours ago

US Justice Department Accuses Six Major Landlords of Scheming to Keep Rents High

4 hours ago

Trump Refuses to Rule Out Use of Military Force to Take Control of Greenland and the Panama Canal

6 hours ago

Bredefeld Tries to ‘Shake up Good Ol’ Boys Club’ on Day One

6 hours ago

Aubrey Plaza Responds to Husband Jeff Baena’s Death: ‘Unimaginable Tragedy’

6 hours ago

Washington Post Lays Off 4% of Its Workforce

7 hours ago

Justin Verlander and Giants Agree to $15M, 1-Year Deal

SAN FRANCISCO  — Justin Verlander and the San Francisco Giants have agreed to a $15 million, one-year contract, according to a person with d...

2 hours ago

Justin Verlander Will Join Giants
2 hours ago

Justin Verlander and Giants Agree to $15M, 1-Year Deal

4 hours ago

A’s Ink Slugger Brent Rooker to $60M, 5-Year Deal

Flames rise as the Palisades Fire advances on homes in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP/Ethan Swope)
4 hours ago

Los Angeles Officials Order 30,000 Residents to Evacuate as Fire Advances on Homes

4 hours ago

The 49ers Fire Special Teams Coordinator Brian Schneider, AP Source Says

4 hours ago

Elon Musk Helped Trump Win. Now He’s Looking at Europe, and Many Politicians Are Alarmed

4 hours ago

Flying Taxis on the Horizon as Aviation Soars Into a New Frontier

4 hours ago

Former CEO of Fresno EOC Is Returning to Head Troubled Agency

4 hours ago

Northern Illinois Will Join Mountain West for Football Only in 2026

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend