Eaves Agrees to Enter a Guilty Plea

San Bernardino County Supervisor Gerald “Jerry” Eaves, charged with accepting free Las Vegas vacations and campaign contributions in exchange for his support for a lucrative billboard scheme, plans to plead guilty to state charges next month under an unspecified plea agreement, prosecutors announced Monday.

Eaves, a former assemblyman and Rialto mayor, faces conspiracy and bribery charges and, if convicted of the felonies, would be sentenced to up to five years in prison. Eaves’ co-defendant, Orange County businessman William “Shep” McCook, is accused of orchestrating the alleged scam and bribing Eaves and others. He could face up to eight years in prison if found guilty.

Three other government officials, including the county’s former chief administrative officer, already have pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges stemming from the alleged scheme, which involved hefty payouts to local and county officials to win support for a billboard deal worth nearly $5 million.

The case was one of a string of political corruption scandals in San Bernardino County’s political establishment and resulted in criminal indictments of nearly a dozen officials over the past decade. In the wake of the scandals, the district attorney launched a special public integrity unit to ferret out government corruption.

During a hearing Monday in Riverside County Superior Court to set Eaves’ trial date, state prosecutors unexpectedly announced that Eaves planned to change his previous “not guilty” plea when he appears in court Jan. 21. After the hearing, prosecutors and Eaves’ lawyers declined to disclose the details of the plea agreement. Eaves was not in the courtroom and could not be reached for comment. His attorney Donald Jordan declined to discuss the agreement, saying he didn’t want to jeopardize the deal before it is signed Jan. 21. But Jordan said the agreement “comes with mixed feelings.”

Deputy Atty. Gen. Annie Featherman Fraser, who is prosecuting Eaves and McCook, declined to discuss the deal but confirmed that Eaves would plead guilty. She added that she is happy to resolve the charges without going to trial.

“Any time you can get around the expense of a trial, it is a good thing,” she said.

Eaves and McCook have also been named in a federal corruption indictment on the same alleged crimes. But the plea agreement between Eaves and state prosecutors is expected to resolve the federal charges against Eaves as well, Fraser said. Assistant U.S. Atty. Edward Moreton, who was in the courtroom Monday when Fraser announced the change in plea, could not be reached for comment afterward.

The federal trial against McCook is scheduled to proceed Jan. 20.

As recently as May, Eaves has proclaimed his innocence, saying he has been targeted for prosecution only because of his name recognition and powerful position in the county. He has said that his only mistake was his failure to keep accurate reports of the gifts he has received while in office.

The case centers on an alleged scheme launched in 1991 by business partners McCook, Allan Steward and Tim Kelly, who planned to erect several billboards on county flood control land in the city of Colton, near the junction of interstates 10 and 215, according to court documents.

The erected billboards, however, violated zoning laws and required special permits from Colton, San Bernardino County and the state Department of Transportation.

To secure the permits, prosecutors allege, McCook and Steward paid thousands of dollars in bribes to Colton City Councilmen Donald Sanders and Abe Beltran and former county Chief Administrative Officer James Hlawek. The bribes were in the form of cash and Las Vegas trips, according to court documents. Sanders, Beltran, Hlawek and Steward have pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges and await sentencing.

Prosecutors allege that McCook gave Eaves -- and some of Eaves’ family and aides -- more than $6,000 worth of vacation stays at the Stardust Hotel in Las Vegas, which prosecutors say he failed to disclose in financial statements filed with the California Fair Political Practices Commission. Prosecutors also charge that Eaves accepted more than $33,000 in campaign contributions from McCook in exchange for his support of the billboard permits.

In the mid-1990s, Eaves voted in favor of leasing San Bernardino County property to one of McCook’s companies so the billboards could be erected. Then, in 1997, Eaves voted for a proposal that allowed McCook to sell five billboards for $4.4 million, prosecutors say.

The case is just the most recent blow to one of the county’s most prominent Democrats.

In 2001, Eaves pleaded no contest to separate charges of official misconduct, including allegations that he failed to disclose free trips to a Canadian fishing lodge. Through a plea agreement, Eaves was ordered to pay a $20,000 fine and spend three years on probation. The agreement let him keep his seat on the Board of Supervisors, but he agreed not to seek reelection when his term expires in December 2004.