Defense to rest in trial of man accused of bribing Palm Springs ex-mayor

BANNING, Calif. (KESQ) - The defense is slated to rest Thursday, setting the stage for closing arguments, in the trial of a real estate developer accused of enriching the one-time mayor of Palm Springs with six-figure bribes to cinch his support for downtown projects.

Testimony in the trial of 86-year-old John Elroy Wessman got underway two weeks ago at the Banning Justice Center. The prosecution rested Tuesday, after which the defense opened its case, which was expected to conclude on Thursday. Closing statements will start immediately after.

Wessman is charged with nine counts of bribery of a public official and one count of conspiracy to commit a felony.

"The law is very clear: You have to follow the rules,'' Riverside County Deputy District Attorney Amy Zois told jurors in her opening statement last month.

Zois characterized the business relationship with former Mayor Steve Pougnet as one of backroom deals intended to do one thing -- benefit Wessman and his ventures.

The prosecutor said the defendant and fellow developer Richard Hugh Meaney, 59, conspired to favor Pougnet with high-dollar rewards for gaining the mayor's support for the men's redevelopment projects between 2012 and 2014.   

"These men cared about money, property and control,'' Zois told jurors.   

She said Pougnet's $3,605-a-month salary during his two terms was "peanuts" compared to the hefty cash infusions into his bank account facilitated by the two developers.

Zois argued it was Wessman's influence that landed Pougnet work on the Palm Springs International Film Festival, for which he received $150,000 in 2012. The festival board chairman ended the mayor's consultancy when it didn't net the kind of results the board had wanted.

Zois alleged the developers provided $225,000 in illicit payoffs to the mayor, all to ensure his active support for the downtown renaissance projects, which records allege included construction of The Dakota, the Desert Fashion Plaza, The Morrison and Vivante.

Pougnet reached a plea agreement directly with the court last month, admitting nine counts of bribery by a public official, eight counts of illicit financial interest in public contracts and one count of conspiracy, as well as no contest to three perjury counts.

Superior Court Judge Samuel Diaz scheduled a sentencing hearing for July 2.   

All the felony charges against Meaney were dismissed over a year ago. However, he pleaded guilty to a reinstated misdemeanor count of financial conflict in a government contract. Like Wessman, Meaney is free on his own recognizance. He's due for sentencing Monday.  

Both the ex-mayor and Meaney are expected to receive terms of probation.   

"There is very little evidence against Mr. Wessman,'' defense attorney David Greenberg told jurors in his opening statement. "The payments were legit, the testimony against my client are not reliable, and there's no proof of specific intent to corrupt the mayor."

The attorney detailed how his client took appropriate steps and remained within the bounds of the law to get his projects approved by the Palm Springs City Council.

Greenberg underscored how Wessman relied on creative financing to contend with impacts of the Great Recession that started in 2008, seeking what amounted to a "public-private partnership'' between Wessman Development Inc. and the city to move forward with redevelopment.   

The efforts led to Measure J being put before voters citywide in 2011. It passed, resulting in $43 million in municipal bonds going to the developer's projects, which began in earnest in the winter of 2012, the defense said.

Greenberg leveled blame at Meaney for any improprieties connected to cash for Pougnet. The attorney insisted that his client always considered his dealings with the mayor and council above-board.  

Pougnet, Wessman and Meaney were criminally charged for the first time in 2017 and later indicted by a grand jury.  

The case began as a federal corruption probe until it was turned over to county investigators in 2016.

A trial judge in December 2020 dismissed all counts against Wessman, characterizing them as baseless, but the charges were reinstated by the Fourth District Court of Appeals in Riverside less than two years later.   

Pougnet was in office from 2007 to 2015.   

Payments to him were drawn directly from accounts maintained by Meaney's Union Abbey Co. and Wessman Development Inc., according to the prosecution.

A prosecutor told the grand jury in 2019 that Pougnet planned to moveto Colorado to join his husband and two children when his first term ended in 2011, but the two developers put him ``on their payroll'' in order to gain him votes of confidence in their projects.