Lawyers for convicted ex San Diego City Councilmen told a judge Wednesday that a jury got it wrong when it found the politicians guilty of public corruption in July. The defense is asking the judge to overturn the verdicts or grant a new trial. The judge is expected to rule today. KPBS reporter Amita Sharma has more.
Defense attorney Dennis Riordan told Judge Jeffrey Miller there has never been a political corruption case as the one against Zucchet based on such empty evidence. Riordan argued the government offered no proof of an explicit agreement by Zucchet to take official action to undo no touch rules at strip clubs in return for campaign contributions from strip club owner Michael Gelardi.
Inzunza'a attorney Michael Pancer argued along the same lines. He said Inzunza thought the no touch rule was silly that is why it should be repealed. His stance had nothing to do with contributions. The government countered by reminding the court of the jury's guilty verdict.
Prosecutor Robert Ciaffa said those verdicts were based on eleven weeks of testimony and 200 secretly recorded conversations many of the councilmen themselves. He said the councilmen's clear, unambiguous language coupled with their conduct showed there was an agreement to trade money for their actions.
Reporting from federal court, Amita Sharma KPBS news.
