June 14, 2007

Judge drops all charges against Gonzales, Guerra, Norcal

By Carol Rosen
Staff Writer

All charges were dropped against former San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales, his aide Joe Guerra and Norcal Waste Systems on Monday by Santa Clara County District Court Judge John Herlihy.

Former Mayor Ron Gonzales

Nearly a year after a grand jury indictment, Herlihy dismissed all charges including those of bribery, conspiracy and misappropriation of funds, because he said that “erroneous instructions” were given to the grand jury necessitating him to drop the charges. He also dismissed charges against Gonzales’ aide Joe Guerra and Norcal Waste Systems, who were indicted last year along with Gonzales on charges they allegedly conspired to defraud the public and misappropriate funds.

Gonzales’ attorney Allen Ruby told reporters last June that all charges would be dropped and the case would not go to court because there was no evidence to indicate that Gonzales was guilty.

The case stemmed from a Gonzales proposal to consider a garbage-hauling contract with Norcal during his first term in office. The garbage company had hired California Waste Solutions as a recycling subcontractor, which used the International Longshoremen’s Union Local 6 in Oakland. However, under San Jose’s requirements, the contractor had to offer jobs to employees of the city’s former contractor, Teamsters Local 350.

Rumors and allegations of a secret agreement between Gonzales and Norcal were rampant asserting that Gonzales’ pushed Norcal to hire the Teamsters and transferred the cost of their higher wages, $11.25 million, onto taxpayers.

During Gonzales’ press conference following the indictment, Ruby showed the press that in September of 2000 letters indicating “Norcal has already initiated discussions with the union representing current [waste] drivers, Teamsters Union Local 350, and has included in their proposal a Memorandum of Understanding between Norcal and Local 350.”

He further claimed that an agreement with ILWU would have violated sections of city laws. Ruby also noted that the National Labor Relations Board had filed a complaint stating it would be illegal for the International Longshoreman’s Union Local 6 to represent California Waste System employees, who handle the city’s recycling.

However, there were indications that during an October meeting with Gonzales, Guerra and Norcal, the former mayor convinced the garbage contractor to bargain only with the Teamsters and that the city would cover higher labor costs, which amounted to $11.2 million.

Judge Herlihy stated that Gonzales and Guerra had inappropriately hidden their dealings with Norcal, but "the court concludes that given the complexity of this case, the instructional errors, in their totality, undermined the grand jury's determination of probable cause on all the charged counts. Therefore, the indictment is dismissed in its entirety," Herlihy said in his 33-page decision.

"It's very gratifying, it's a complete vindication for Mayor Gonzales," said Gonzales' defense lawyer, Allen Ruby in a CBS news report. "He deserves it. He's innocent, he's always been innocent, and the case was dismissed as it should have been."

“Ron demonstrated character flaws, but character flaws are not felonies,” added Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, the head of the South Bay Labor Council.

Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Julius Finkelstein, who brought the charges against the three, said shortly after the verdict, “I have not read the entire 33-page opinion because it is very lengthy, but we are surprised by the ruling. We’re sorry for the people of San Jose who lost a quarter of a million dollars on the garbage deal. We have a number of options at this point: we can appeal to a higher court, we can send our information to a new grand jury or we can let it stand as it is today.”

He was not ready to indicate which direction the office would take, he said at press time.

Two of Gonzales’ biggest critics said they were glad to see the end of the saga. “It’s a great relief for he and his family,” said Mayor Chuck Reed. “I think the citizens of San Jose have put the incident behind them. It happened years ago and the justice system has done its job. Things in San Jose have changed for the better, and I think people are beyond it.”

Earlier, during Tuesday’s city council session, Reed noted after a vote to look into a project for a major league soccer stadium on Coleman Road, “this is extraordinary. We have voted to look into a decision, months before we [the city council] are asked to vote for it and we’ve done it all openly.”

“We dealt with him here, primarily on ethics, not criminal issues,” said Vice Mayor Dave Cortese, who along with Reed had called for Gonzales to step down months before the indictment. “I am confident and convinced that the actions we took—to censure and reprimand him—were appropriate. The district attorney took the issue beyond ethics and at that point the process was beyond our jurisdiction.”

“I’m glad it’s over. It’s time for the city to put bad history behind itself and continue on with good opportunities,” said former Vice Mayor Pat Dando.