Deputy DA: Griesa 'kind of an idiot'
Yuba County prosecutors thought former towing company manager Joseph Griesa was "kind of an idiot" for letting an attorney convince him he could buy his way out of a sexual assault case, a deputy district attorney testified Thursday in Yuba County Superior Court.
Lawyers for the attorney, David Vasquez, called Deputy District Attorney John Vacek to the witness stand. Vasquez and attorney Jesse Santana are charged with bribery and obstruction of justice for allegedly trying to pay Griesa's juvenile victim $100,000.
Griesa was convicted last year of misdemeanor sex charges involving the then-17-year-old girl and still faces felony charges.
Vacek testified that Griesa "perceived himself as a victim" and offered incriminating evidence against Vasquez and Santana.
"In short, we thought Mr. Griesa was kind of an idiot" for not realizing the solution offered by Vasquez was illegal, Vacek said.
Griesa deposited $50,000 into Vasquez's trust account, although the girl never received the $100,000.
The other prosecutor in the Griesa case, Melanie Bendorf, testified Griesa apparently thought paying the girl was legal because he inquired about having Mitchell's Towing Service's insurance carrier cover the payment.
The insurance company's attorney told Griesa the payment would be illegal in a case involving a minor.
Griesa, who had already been indicted on sex charges, testified at grand jury proceedings in 2008 that led to indictments of the attorneys.
Attorneys Craig Leri and Michael Barrette, representing Santana and Vasquez, are trying to convince visiting Judge John Darlington that prosecutors offered to unconditionally drop charges against Griesa in exchange for his testimony.
The real targets were Vasquez and Santana, defense attorneys who often beat the District Attorney's Office, they said. In addition, prosecutors wanted to make sure Santana was not appointed to a vacant Sutter County judgeship, they contend.
After Griesa was indicted, he and his attorney at the time, Timothy Evans, came to the District Attorney's Office for an interview on June 19, 2008, that turned into a discussion of the attorney case, Vacek said.
Griesa "was absolutely willing to go after the attorneys. I don't know what he was thinking," Vacek testified.
Griesa began by reading from a prepared statement — his own "self-serving" account of what had happened since the case against him began, Vacek said.
"I didn't know what to make of his prepared statement. It was kind of rambling. He was getting kind of worked up," Vacek said.
Bendorf, who was also at the meeting, said there was never an unconditional offer to drop the charges.
"As I recall, Mr. Griesa said he thought the whole thing was going to go away," Bendorf said.
Leri exhibited a blown-up letter from Evans to Griesa on April 30, 2008, stating that criminal charges have "disappeared."
Bendorf said she never told Evans that charges would unconditionally be dropped.
Leri responded that she let Griesa believe the opposite was true.
"You sat there (in the meeting) knowing he thought he was a team player with the D.A., that he would hold onto that impression. You allowed Mr. Griesa to sustain that state of mind that he had a deal," Leri said.
