Posted on 08/11/2006 4:56:24 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge James C. Emerson today ordered the release of more than 2,500 pages of transcribed testimony given over several months this year to the grand jury that indicted San Jose's mayor on six criminal felony counts.
Fifty-five pages of the transcripts were sealed, including the testimony of Mayor Ron Gonzales and his chief aide, Joe Guerra.
The release of the transcripts represents the latest chapter in a yearlong scandal that has roiled San Jose City Hall during a mayoral election year. The issue has generated two major investigations, an unprecedented censure of the mayor by his council colleagues in December, and an unsuccessful attempt last month to force his resignation.
On June 21, the grand jury returned indictments of up to six felony counts against Mayor Ron Gonzales, his top budget aide Joe Guerra, and trash hauler Norcal Waste Systems. The Santa Clara County District Attorney's office alleges that all three defendants conspired to defraud the city of $11.25 million in public money. ...
The charges, which include bribery allegations for Gonzales and Norcal, stem from a series of actions by Gonzales and Guerra to help the city's largest trash hauler recoup $11.25 million in labor costs. The money went to reimburse Norcal for ensuring that certain workers, who sorted recycling materials for a Norcal subcontractor, could remain with the higher-paid Teamsters union. In its winning bid, Norcal had presumed that the workers would be represented by a lower-paying union.
Gonzales has long said that there was no illicit deal. He said he pursued the $11.25 million as a way to ensure that the subcontractor's workers didn't go on strike. In a news conference last month, the Teamsters agreed that the labor terms of Norcal's winning bid would never have been approved by the workers.
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
Transcripts from the Norcal grand jury
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/15254156.htm
PDF files
Parts 1 through 12
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