-Caveat Lector-
Monday, February 12, 2001
L.A. Politicians Urged Pardon of Cocaine Dealer
By STEPHEN BRAUN,RICHARD A. SERRANO and JUDY PASTERNAK
Los Angeles Times
Staff Writers
WASHINGTON--President Clinton released a convicted Los Angeles
cocaine dealer from federal prison after influential congressmen
and city leaders personally lobbied the White House and the
Justice Department to secure his commutation, it was learned
Sunday.
The concerted effort to free Carlos Vignali included a series of
personal contacts between California Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Los
Angeles) and the White House, and correspondence from former
California Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa. Cardinal Roger
M. Mahony of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca
also wrote letters.
The letters, some written as early as 1996 and others sent last
year, suggested that Vignali was wrongly convicted and that his
case deserved a careful review by the White House.
Their view conflicted sharply with the position of federal law
enforcement authorities, who insisted that Vignali deserved his
15-year prison sentence for his central role in a narcotics
operation that stretched from Los Angeles to Minneapolis,
delivering more than 800 pounds of cocaine.
Clinton commuted Vignali's sentence, and he was freed from prison
on Jan. 20 after serving six years. On his last day in office,
Clinton issued 140 pardons and 36 commutations. Clinton
spokesman Jake Siewert, asked about cases such as Vignali's, said
he did not remember any specific cases but added: "We tried to
make a judgment on the merits."
The Times reported Sunday that law enforcement authorities were
indignant that the convicted cocaine dealer had been freed and
suggested that he never would have been released without
political intervention.
Vignali's request for clemency went first to the Justice
Department and then to the White House with a recommendation that
has not been determined. Former President Clinton has not fully
explained why he pardoned 140 individuals and commuted the
sentences of 36 others on his last day in office. Vignali's
father, Horacio Vignali, is an affluent Los Angeles businessman
with deep ties in the Latino community who became a major
political contributor to top state and federal officeholders
after his son was convicted and imprisoned in 1994.
Both Becerra and Villaraigosa are candidates for mayor of Los
Angeles.
On Jan. 19, Clinton's last night in office, Becerra said he
phoned the White House and the Justice Department to find out if
Vignali had a chance of being pardoned.
The call was only the most recent of a series of contacts with
the White House that Becerra pursued to bring Vignali's case
before Clinton, Becerra acknowledged Sunday night.
Becerra conceded that the Vignalis were not his constituents but
added that the father had been a major contributor and a friend
of five years. However, the congressman denied that he was
helping the son in return for the father's political
contributions. Vignali had donated at least $11,000 to Becerra's
political action committee over the last three years.
The congressman said he never investigated the accuracy of the
father's description of his son's case. "They [the Vignali
family] believed to the depths of their heart he was innocent,"
Becerra said.
Becerra said Horacio Vignali had repeatedly asked him since 1996
to help him win his son's release. But the congressman insisted
his intervention was aimed only at finding out about the son's
case--not securing his freedom.
"I told him [Horacio Vignali] I thought it was a longshot to do
this," Becerra said. "I said I'd try to find out what it looked
like."
In a Nov. 21, 2000, letter to Clinton, Becerra said: "Mr.
Vignali's parents are dear friends of mine and solid, upstanding
members of the Los Angeles community. They have made it their
personal crusade to clear their son's record and bring him home.
"They believe their son to be innocent and, in any case, feel
strongly that he has paid his debt to society," Becerra wrote.
Becerra then noted that a number of influential Los Angeles area
leaders "have weighed in on behalf of Mr. Vignali."
"I respectfully urge you to take a thoughtful look at this case.
The Vignali family's efforts deserve your careful consideration,"
he concluded.
Starting in mid-December, Becerra said, he had a series of
telephone conversations with Deputy White House Chief of Staff
Maria Echaveste about Vignali's case.
"I at one point raised it with her," Becerra said. "When we got
close to the closing of the [congressional] session, I asked,
'Are you familiar with the request for commutation on this
particular case?' She said she didn't know anything about it. I
said, 'Would you mind checking?' "
Becerra said Echaveste "got back to me within a week. She said
there's no word on any particular progress on the case."
Echaveste said Sunday night that she recalled the phone
conversation and that Becerra was only calling to check on the
status of the case. "I simply referred the matter to the White
House counsel's office," she said.
The Becerra effort was part of a concerted campaign to sway
Clinton's decision on a commutation that included letters from
Mahony, Baca, former U.S. Rep. Esteban Torres and Villaraigosa.
Becerra said that the letters were prompted by lobbying from the
father--who told The Times last week that he asked no one to work
on behalf of his son.
Torres wrote two letters on behalf of Vignali in 1996. The first
was to Atty. Gen. Janet Reno and the warden at the Colorado
federal prison where Carlos Vignali was incarcerated.
In the letter to Reno, Torres wrote, "I am asking that you
carefully review Mr. Vignali's case and give this matter your
every consideration." Torres told the warden of the Federal
Correctional Institute in Florence, Colo., Joe W. Booker Jr.,
that Vignali should be housed closer to his family in Los
Angeles.
Vignali eventually was transferred to a federal prison in
southeastern Arizona, from which he was released in January.
In 1998, Torres wrote a third letter on Vignali's behalf, this
one to President Clinton. "I would appreciate your careful
review and your immediate consideration of approval of his
petition" for a commutation, Torres wrote.
Torres could not be reached for comment Sunday night.
A similar letter from Villaraigosa in May 1996 went to the U.S.
pardon attorney's office.
"I am convinced that he has been falsely linked to a drug ring .
. . ," he wrote. "In the interest of justice I urge you to give
Mr. Vignali's case prompt and thorough consideration."
Villaraigosa was phoned repeatedly, but he, too, could not be
found for comment Sunday night.
Mahony also wrote the pardon office in 1996. He noted that
Torres, Villaraigosa, state Sen. Richard G. Polanco and L.A.
City Councilman Richard Alatorre "had reviewed this case very
carefully and each one has concluded that the facts in this case
merit a full evaluation and review . . .
"I now wish to add my voice recommending that all of the process,
the law and the facts in this case be reviewed fully to determine
if justice has been achieved in the case of Mr. Carlos Vignali
Jr." the cardinal wrote. Calls to Mahony's office went
unanswered Sunday night.
Baca, then a county sheriff's chief, wrote in 1996 to the U.S.
probation office in Minnesota urging Vignali's transfer to a
penitentiary closer to Los Angeles.
Baca declined to comment, according to his spokesman.
According to a Times analysis of political contribution records,
Horacio Vignali gave Polanco $26,000 and made donations worth
$2,795 to Villaraigosa. The Times' analysis found no
contributions from Horacio Vignali to Torres.
=================================================================
Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHVH, TZEVAOT
FROM THE DESK OF:
*Michael Spitzer* <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Best Way To Destroy Enemies Is To Change Them To Friends
=================================================================
<A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A>
DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER
==========
CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic
screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are
sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis-
directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with
major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought.
That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and
always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no
credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply.
Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector.
========================================================================
Archives Available at:
http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html
<A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of
[EMAIL PROTECTED]</A>
http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/
<A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A>
========================================================================
To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Om
