Two victims of so-called "dirty DUI" arrests testified at the trial of
the arresting officer in federal court in San Francisco Tuesday that
they were plied with wine at a Danville bar on the night of the
incidents.
"He kept ordering flights of wine," said witness Mitchell Katz,
referring to a man he knew only as "Benny," who was present at a 2011
meeting at The Vine, a wine-tasting bar, that was supposedly for the
purpose of discussing a future television program.
Katz, the owner of a Livermore winery, and Verizon technology strategist
Hasan Aksu, of Martinez, were called to the stand by prosecutors
at the trial of former Contra Costa County Deputy Sheriff Stephen Tanabe.
Tanabe, 50, of Alamo, is facing federal charges of conspiracy, wire
fraud and extortion for his alleged role in the drunken driving arrests
of Katz, Aksu and a third man in late 2010 and early 2011.
Prosecutors allege the arrests were part of a scheme by former private
investigator Christopher Butler to get husbands in divorce cases drunk
and then arrested for driving under the influence.
The men were husbands or ex-husbands of female clients of Butler's who
were seeking to gain an advantage in divorce or custody disputes. The
arrests were dubbed dirty DUIs.
Butler, who is expected to be a key prosecution witness against Tanabe,
pleaded guilty last year to an array of charges including drug offenses,
conspiracy and civil rights violations. He was sentenced to eight years
in prison.
He and former Central Contra Costa County Narcotics Enforcement Team
Commander Norman Wielsch were chief figures in a police corruption
scandal that included their sale of drugs Wielsch stole from CNET
evidence lockers, phony arrests, extortion and Butler's orchestration of
dirty DUI
arrests and wiretapping of clients' husbands' cars.
Tanabe is accused only in connection with three DUI arrests.
He faces one count of conspiracy to deprive others of his honest
services; three counts of wire fraud related to text messages he and
Butler
exchanged before the arrests; and three counts of extortion for
allegedly receiving cocaine and a Glock gun from Butler in payment.
His trial in the court of U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer began Monday and is expected to last about two weeks.
Defense attorney Tim Pori told the jury during his opening statement
Monday that the arrests were within Tanabe's duties and there was no
proof he received cocaine and a gun in payment.
Tanabe, assigned to work as a Danville police officer, arrested Katz as
he drove away from the bar on Jan. 14, 2011. Tanabe arrested Aksu on
Jan. 9.
He asked another officer to arrest Lane Bauldry outside a different
Danville bar on Nov. 2, 2010, because Tanabe was off duty that night,
according to prosecutors.
On the stand, Katz and Aksu gave similar accounts of how they were allegedly enticed to drink at the bar.
Aksu said a man who used the name John Brownell invited him to come to
the bar for an interview for a magazine article about successful
European-born businessmen in the East Bay.
Katz said "John Brownell" told him he was a producer for the A&E
Network who wanted to talk about a possible television program comparing
Livermore and Napa wineries.
The man turned out to be Carl Marino, an actor who was a top Butler aide.
Both men were told that the meeting had to be at the Danville bar and
had to be on a weekend evening. Both said attractive women later joined
them at their table.
Both said that either "John" or the man known as "Benny" ordered them
several flights of wine, with each flight made up of three one-ounce
glasses of different wines for tasting.
Katz said that after being arrested, handcuffed and taken to the
Danville police station, he began to suspect he was the victim of a
scheme
and voiced his suspicions to an officer there.
"I told him I felt it was set up," Katz said.
Butler and Wielsch were arrested a month later, and DUI charges against Katz and Aksu were never pursued.
The trial resumes in Breyer's Federal Building courtroom on Thursday after a one-day break.
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