Three Years and 24 Postponements Later, Case Gets Under Way

One of the longest-delayed sentencings at the Los Angeles County Courthouse--postponed 24 times over a three-year period--is turning into one of the longest-running sentencing hearings in memory.

At issue is the fate of George Le Fave, 42, a Pasadena producer who pleaded no contest in 1982 to six felony counts of unlawfully selling securities. The case stems from an investment scheme in which dozens of schoolteachers and retirees lost more than $1 million.

Le Fave, who declared bankruptcy after promising returns of up to 40% on investments in such productions as an animated TV cartoon called “The Bear That Slept Through Christmas,� faces a maximum six-year prison term.

The hearing--frequently delayed at the request of defense counsel Howard L. Weitzman, who had been busy defending auto maker John Z. DeLorean on drug trafficking charges and, lately, Cathy Evelyn Smith on murder charges in the drug overdose death of comic John Belushi--finally got under way Monday.

Heard Testimony

By Thursday, after three half-day sessions, Superior Court Judge Gordon Ringer had heard testimony from six prosecution witnesses and two defense witnesses.

Weitzman also presented as evidence to Ringer a number of bear products, including Ted E. Bear stuffed dolls and talking power toothbrushes, to show attempts to market the cartoon.

Ringer finally asked if he had any T-shirts.

Still, after all this, the participants in the Le Fave case are not yet out of the woods.

In order to prepare for the testimony of Le Fave’s auditor, Ringer announced Thursday morning that he would spend the afternoon poring through three bulging file folders full of accounting records that Weitzman turned over to him this week.

Meanwhile, Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert M. Youngdahl, who is prosecuting the case, is under court order to appear as a witness in an unrelated civil case today. In addition, Weitzman, after speaking at a legal convention in Louisiana on Saturday and running in the New York City Marathon on Sunday, is scheduled to appear for depositions and pretrial conferences on unrelated legal matters in New York and Washington next week.

Latest Client

Therefore, the hearing cannot resume until Nov. 5, Ringer said, the day after Weitzman appears in Los Angeles federal court with his latest client, West Hollywood’s first mayor, Valerie Terrigno, who is scheduled for arraignment on embezzlement charges.

Attorneys for both sides said it is highly unusual for a sentencing hearing to last longer than several hours, except in cases involving a possible death sentence.

Weitzman estimated that the hearing can be concluded in four more sessions. He said he plans to call Le Fave, as well as Le Fave’s auditor and his court-appointed bankruptcy trustee, to the witness stand.

The defense maintains that “the evidence will show (Le Fave) never intended to take anybody’s money without intending to give it back,� Weitzman said.

The victims have a different perspective.

Ray Brown, a furniture salesman from Glendale who lost about $85,000, testified that Le Fave was a smooth salesman who “should be penalized for his total disrespect for the law.�

All Agree

On at least one issue, all parties appear to agree: The lengthy sentencing hearing is reasonable, because Ringer has not previously heard evidence in the case due to Le Fave’s pretrial plea.