Judge Allows Moreno Freed on Bail

A federal judge agreed Friday to release Santa Ana Councilman Ted R. Moreno from jail until his December sentencing on political corruption charges, but only after he agreed to reside outside Orange County.

Moreno will live under electronic “house arrest” with his sister in the northern San Diego County town of Vista--a point required by prosecutors who feared the suspended councilman might somehow lash out at colleagues at City Hall.

His attorney, Dean Steward, said federal authorities wanted Moreno to live outside the county because it would give police a better chance to take action if the official left his sister’s house en route to City Hall.

Handcuffed and dressed in a jail-issued T-shirt and trousers, Moreno smiled at supporters in a Santa Ana courtroom after U.S. District Judge Gary L. Taylor ordered his release on $200,000 bond.

Moreno has been held in a federal jail in Los Angeles following his Sept. 5 conviction on 25 charges of extortion, money laundering and mail fraud stemming from an elaborate scheme to win majority control on the City Council.

During a three-week trial that began in August, prosecutors presented evidence that Moreno accepted cash from a businessman in exchange for his promise to approve a beer-and-wine permit at a Santa Ana service station. In one videotaped exchange, Moreno gave the businessman a “high-five” after accepting an envelope with cash.

Moreno, who was suspended from the council after his conviction, was being processed for release late Friday from the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles and was to be transported to his sister’s home. He faces up to nine years in prison at his Dec. 20 sentencing.

Supporters wept and blew kisses to Moreno when he was led into the courtroom in handcuffs. Moreno appeared on the verge of tears when he saw relatives sobbing in the courtroom. After the hearing, his family and supporters appeared in much better spirits.

“He’s going to be able to hold his kids again,” Moreno’s wife, Claudia, said after Friday’s hearing. The Morenos have four children.

Santa Ana Police Chief Paul M. Walters testified after Moreno’s conviction that several council members were concerned Moreno might harm them if allowed to remain free pending sentencing.

Steward said he thinks those concerns are unwarranted.

“We think that’s ridiculous,” he said. “But if that’s what it takes, that’s what it takes.”

As a condition of his release, Moreno was ordered to remain in his sister’s house day and night, except for counseling or doctor visits. The former councilman was also required to post his Santa Ana house as partial collateral for the bond and agree not to apply for a passport, possess a gun or visit an airport.

“We’re satisfied with these substantial and meaningful restrictions and the increased bail that he will not flee and will not represent a danger to the community,” said Assistant U.S. Atty. John Hueston.

Chief Walters described the requirement that he live in San Diego County as “a fair compromise.”

“We’ll be notified right away if he does leave the home,” Walters said. “I think that gives us the protection we were worried about.”

Steward also thought the councilman’s release was fair, noting he was convicted of a white-collar, nonviolent crime.

“He gets to go home to his family until December. That’s a terrific outcome. Jail is never fun. It’s been hard on him.”