What Led to Charges

The charges against Ray Ortiz, Maria Caldera and Lance Gough center on six events involving Jeffries Banknote Co., the Los Angeles-based firm that formerly held the San Diego County contract for printing sample election ballots. The following description of the charges was developed from statements in the felony indictment released Thursday and an affidavit filed July 31 by the district attorney’s office in support of search warrants needed for the investigation:

A June 18, 1986, invoice Caldera submitted to Jeffries Banknote. The affidavit states that Caldera signed the $4,000 invoice falsely stating that she was to perform quality control work on the sample ballots printed by Jeffries. The affidavit alleges that Caldera actually used $1,000 in connection with a San Diego meeting of an election officers trade association Ortiz founded. The affidavit also suggests that Caldera gave $1,600 to Ortiz in $100 bills, which he in turn used toward the purchase of a car in Santee. Ortiz is charged with one count of grand theft, two counts of misappropriating public funds and one count of making false entries in a public account. Caldera is charged with one count of grand theft.

A March, 1986, trip to Chicago. Jeffries paid elections consultant Lance Gough $1,000 in connection with the trip by Ortiz and five of his employees to attend a meeting sponsored by the firm. The affidavit states that Gough used $800 of that money to pay for hotel rooms and meals for the five employees. The employees attended the meeting on their own time, and their air fare was paid by Jeffries, a registrar’s spokeswoman has said. The affidavit alleges that Ortiz arranged for Jeffries to recover the $1,000 by billing the county for miscellaneous expenses associated with the firm’s printing contract. Ortiz is charged with one count of grand theft;544173669a public account; one count of altering, falsifying or concealing an account, and one count of altering, falsifying or destroying public records. Gough is charged with one count of grand theft.

A December, 1985, trip to New Orleans. Ortiz; his wife, Barbara, and registrar’s office employee Ingrid Gonzales attended a conference sponsored by the International Center on Election Law and Administration. Although the indictment does not specify what Ortiz did wrong in connection with the trip, an attorney for Jeffries said Thursday that Ortiz directed the firm to pay expenses associated with the trip and recover the costs by submitting false bills to the county. Ortiz is charged with one count of misappropriation of public funds; one count of making a false entry in a public account; one count of altering, concealing or falsifying a public account, and one count of destroying, altering or falsifying public records.

A May, 1985, trip to Redding, Calif. Ortiz, Gonzales, Gough, Chicago attorney Mike Levinson and Chicago elections official Mike Lavelle attended a meeting of the County Clerks Assn. of California. The Jeffries Banknote attorney said Ortiz directed the firm to pay travel expenses and bill the cost to the county. Ortiz is charged with one count of misappropriation of funds; one count of making a false entry in a public account; one count of altering, falsifying or concealing an account, and one count of destroying, altering or falsifying public records.

A Nov. 30, 1984, payment to Caldera. The $3,150 payment by Jeffries Banknote was for work that Ortiz reportedly said Caldera had performed in connection with the Jeffries printing contract. The affidavit states that a Jeffries executive recalled meeting with Ortiz to discuss recovering the company’s money by submitting bills for “technical assistance or special handling” rather than for the work Ortiz contended Caldera had done. Ortiz is charged with one count of grand theft; one count of misappropriating public funds; one count of making a false entry in a public account; one count of altering, falsifying or concealing an account, and one count of destroying, altering or falsifying public records. Caldera is charged with one count of grand theft.

A June 22, 1984, payment to Caldera. The $1,275 payment by Jeffries Banknote was for work Ortiz said was associated with the Jeffries contract. The affidavit states that Caldera signed over the check to Ortiz, and Ortiz deposited the funds in his account with the San Diego County employees’ credit union. Ortiz is charged with one count of grand theft; one count of misappropriating public funds; one count of making a false entry in a public account; one count of altering, falsifying or concealing an account, and one count of destroying, altering or falsifying public records. Caldera is charged with one count of grand theft.