Judge dismisses corruption charges in Colonies case

A Superior Court judge today dismissed criminal charges against a Rancho Cucamonga developer and three former San Bernardino County officials in the Colonies corruption trial.

Judge Michael A. Smith dismissed three tax evasion charges against former Supervisor Paul Biane, charges that stemmed from a $100,000 contribution developer Jeff Burum made to one of Biane’s political action committees.

Smith also threw out charges against Biane, former Assistant Assessor Jim Erwin and Mark Kirk, former chief of staff to Supervisor Gary Ovitt: those charges included failing to report the alleged $100,000 bribe, perjury and income tax evasion.

“Donations to a PAC do not constitute income, even if the person receiving the donation controls the PAC,” Smith said during a lengthy ruling on various motions to dismiss filed by the defense. “The courts have ruled repeatedly on that. There is no evidence that the donation had any impact on Mr. Biane’s income.”

Prosecutors allege that Burum, developer of the 443-acre Colonies Crossroads project in Upland, made that payment to obtain a $102 million settlement from the Board of Supervisors so he could proceed with the retail-residential project.

Specifically, there was a disagreement regarding the placement of a flood control channel that was delaying development of Colonies Crossroads.

All four defendants maintain their innocence and say the charges against them are politically motivated.

Smith threw out conflict-of-interest charges against Burum and Erwin. He also declined to uphold prosecutorial misconduct charges made by the defense, and said a grand jury received proper instruction in the case, despite claims to the contrary by defense attorneys.

The prosecutorial misconduct charges stemmed from a search by San Bernardino County law enforcement officials of the offices of a private investigator hired by Stephen Larson, Burum’s attorney.

“This was a legal investigation, carried out with appropriate authority,” Smith said. “The prosecution did not obtain any illegal information or gain an unfair advantage.”