Art Dealer Accused Of Conspiracy Pleads Guilty

INDIO -An art dealer accused of conspiring with five others to bilk a Palm Springs retiree — who is missing and presumed dead — out of his financial assets, pleaded guilty today to fraud-related charges and was sentenced to five years in prison.

Russell Herbert Manning, 68, of San Francisco, entered his plea to Riverside County Superior Court Judge Thomas Douglass over the objection of prosecutors.

Manning and the five co-defendants — San Francisco attorney David Replogle, 60, Kaushal Niroula, 28, Danny Garcia, 27, Miguel Bustamante, 27, and Craig McCarthy, 30 –allegedly forged a power of attorney document to empty the bank accounts and sell the million-dollar home of 74-year-old Clifford Lambert, who has been missing since December 2008.

Murder charges stemming from Lambert’s apparent death were dropped against Manning in September, while the other men were ordered by a judge to stand trial for his slaying.

Manning’s attorney, Brenda Miller, said he entered his plea directly to the judge because prosecutors would not give him a deal, and he could have faced up to 14 years in prison.

Deputy District Attorney Lisa DiMaria, who is prosecuting the case, declined to comment.

Miller said outside court that Manning had no part in the murder and was swindled by his co-defendants.

“(Manning) was told the guy, the owner (Lambert), was in prison or hiding out,” Miller said. “He really didn’t question it. He had to think something was a little off at some point.”

The attorney said Manning got involved with “some very bad people” because he was living on Social Security payments, which was not enough money.

“He was double-crossed by these guys, who are much slicker than him.

He’s not slick,” Miller said.

However, she said Manning is extremely intelligent, and that he has a master’s degree in fine arts and gets The New York Times delivered to him in jail.

Meantime, both Niroula and Manning were free on bail on a separate case of fraud in San Francisco, involving a $400,000 fraudulent art deal with a Silicon Valley resident, when they came to Palm Springs, said Inspector Gregory Ovanessian of the San Francisco Police Department.

That case has been on hold because of the Palm Springs case, but Manning can now be prosecuted in San Francisco.

Manning and Niroula are accused of lying to the Silicon Valley resident about a piece of rare art and its availability, according to the inspector.

Ovanessian said Manning sold art for several art galleries in San Francisco before he branched out and began to sell pieces independently.

“In San Francisco, when he was arrested on our case here, he had no priors at all. No history, criminally,” the inspector said.

Ovanessian said he did not know why Manning partnered up with Niroula as he believes the art dealer was successful.

“He only knows the answer,” Ovanessian said.

Before he was brought to Riverside County for prosecution, Manning was in a Mexican prison on a drug possession charge, and he told investigators he suspected he was arrested in Mexico because he had been set up by Niroula, according to court documents obtained by City News Service.

In an interview with police, Manning admitted to signing the listing papers for the sale of Lambert’s home, writing out checks from Lambert’s Pacific Western Account and taking $5,000 for himself.

During a lunch in November 2008 at the Riviera Hotel in Palm Springs, Replogle and Niroula reportedly told the art dealer he had to pose as having the power of attorney over Lambert because the retiree was in a Mexican jail and could not return to the United States, according to the court document.

Manning told police he believed the men had planned on paying a judge in Mexico to get Lambert out of jail and send him to Argentina or Brazil, according to the documents.

Manning’s attorney said it is up to her client whether he will testify against his co-defendants.

“It’s up to him. If he wants to testify, great. If he doesn’t want to testify, great,” Miller said.

Manning’s co-defendants are due in court Friday for a trial-readiness conference.

The men are accused of killing Lambert so that he could not contest forged power of attorney documents.

Investigators believe Niroula let McCarthy and Bustamante into Lambert’s home on Dec. 5, 2008, and that Bustamante stabbed the retiree to death.

The three allegedly loaded Lambert’s body into the trunk of his Mercedes-Benz and dumped his body in the hills in Fontana.

Lambert was reported missing two days later by a friend. Detectives went to Lambert’s home at 317 Camino Norte and found the mailbox full and his silver 2004 Mercedes missing.

Following Lambert’s death, Replogle allegedly created a false power of attorney document that allowed the co-defendants to empty his bank accounts.

They also allegedly tried to complete a quick sale of his $1 million home for less than $300,000. A judge later halted the sale.

Garcia was caught with Lambert’s debit card, which was used to withdraw money from one of the retiree’s accounts for a two-week period after the murder.

Bustamante was caught by police while emptying Lambert’s home, and he implicated the other men in Lambert’s murder, according to the prosecution.