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A former San Bernardino County Supervisor testified Tuesday that he never saw a Rancho Cucamonga developer offer a bribe to any of the three former county officials charged in connection with the Colonies corruption case.
Dennis Hansberger was one of two supervisors who in Nov. 2006 voted against the $102 million settlement that facilitated development of the Colonies Crossroads commercial project in Upland.
Hansberger told jurors the board was anxious to settle the matter with developer Jeff Burum after a five-year legal battle regarding who would pay for flood control improvements on the 434-acre site next to the Foothill Freeway.
Hansberger, the first witness called by the prosecution, said there was a “very strong desire” among board members to settle the issue because it had gone on for so long and had become so contentious on both sides.
But, Hansberger added, he never witnessed anything that appeared to be a bribe being offered or exchanged, and he admitted he could not address the “State of mind” of his three fellow supervisors when they voted in favor of the settlement.
Burum is accused of bribing former Supervisors Paul Biane, Bill Postmus, Mark Kirk, former chief of staff to one-time Supervisor Gary Ovitt and James Erwin, the county’s former assistant assessor. The alleged bribes were made in the form of contributions, after the settlement vote, to political action committees controlled by all three men.
During his opening remarks last week, Stephen Larson, Burum’s attorney, told jurors that those donations were legal contributions that developers make routinely, and that no one ever offers a bribe once a vote has taken place.
All four defendants maintain their innocence and have called the charges against them politically motivated.
Hansberger is expected to continue his testimony today.
