I-Team investigation: Palm Springs Corruption update

It was a year ago this week, Feb. 16, 2017, the Riverside County District Attorneys Office formally filed criminal charges in the Palm Springs corruption scandal at City Hall. (Here’s a timeline of the chain of events that rocked City Hall starting in Feb. 2017.)

Former Mayor Steve Pougnet was accused that day of accepting bribes from a prominent developer, John Wessman, and a businessman, Richard Meaney, through a series of shell companies.

The idea was to gain his support when their development projects came before the city council between 2012 and 2014.

The allegations came not as a surprise, yet still shocked the community, while threatening several developments including the downtown revitalization project.

As we found out through a look at records, and questions to the players involved in the case, it is moving forward despite a slow pace.

During his initial news conference, the District Attorney Hestrin said about Pougnet, “this was a bribe. These were bribes. This money was sent to the mayor for his political influence, not for his work.”

A year later, the criminal case has been slowed by defense challenges to the charges and new charges for Pougnet. But it’s working its way through the courts. All three defendants have remained quiet, and out of the spotlight.

We looked at John Wessman’s involvement on the Mount San Jacinto Winter Park Authority board of directors from 1988 to 2016. It’s the oversight board for the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. He resigned abruptly in May of 2016 as more questions were raised about his business dealings in Palm Springs. His resignation letter did not say why he left.

Former State Assemblyman, and a current deputy Riverside County executive officer and in-house lobbyist, Brian Nestande was appointed to fill the remainder of Wessman’s four-year term there.

We also found Wessman still listed as a Vice Chair of the Palm Springs Film Festival Foundation. We asked the film festival about Wessman’s involvement and what, if any, concerns the organization might have about him.

The festival board responded with a statement:

“John Wessman has not attended a board meeting or Film Festival event for well over a year. Regarding his Board membership, the Board strongly believes in the American justice system as well as the fundamental tenet that every accused is innocent until proven guilty. Accordingly, the Board awaits the final disposition of the criminal case before making any assessment or changes to the composition of the Board.” – Palm Springs International Film Festival board

Wessman’s attorney has not responded to our requests for a comment.

In December, Kimpton the Rowan Hotel opened to great fanfare. The hotel here opened, despite the downtown redevelopment project being surrounded by the bribery and conflict of interest allegations. The DA now says the criminal case is moving forward despite its many complexities.

“The reality is, these cases are complicated and are going to take some time,” said Mike Hestrin. “These factors aren’t totally in our control,” Hestrin added.

We checked with the District Attorney for updates on the case. He says the DAs Office has gathered evidence, is making sure the defense has that evidence and working on pretrial motions.

“I always want to get these complex cases to trial within a year. We’re not going to make a year here, but hopefully, sometime in 2018, this case will get to trial,” said Hestrin.

We reached out to the attorneys for all three defendants to get their take on the proceedings.

Pougnet’s attorney Malcolm Segal responding with this statement:

“The case is still in its very early stages. The District Attorney hasn’t yet provided us with all of the discovery and evidence and we are still talking to witnesses. Everyone knows that Steve Pougnet did a great job as Mayor for the people of Palm Springs and he still wishes them the very best as the city continues to grow.” – Malcolm Segal

The attorney for Richard Meaney, the third defendant, did not respond to our request.

The I-Team reported last year, Meaney disconnected the two phone numbers we had for him and he sold his Palm Springs home.

If convicted on all counts, Pougnet could face up to 19 years in state prison and be barred for life from holding public office; Meaney and Wessman could each face a maximum of 12 years behind bars.

All three defendants are expected back in court next month, on March 23.