DA Dumanis’ day in court as a witness

The ongoing trial of a wealthy Mexican businessman accused of scheming to give illegal campaign contributions to San Diego politicians ramped up a notch last week.

After four weeks, federal prosecutors rested their case Tuesday against José Susumo Azano Matsura, his son, a political consultant and a lobbyist. They are accused of conspiring to funnel $600,000 in cash and services to candidates in San Diego’s 2012 mayoral race.

But to those watching the high-profile case, perhaps no witness was more highly anticipated than District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, who prosecutors say benefited from more than $115,000 in donations from Azano in her unsuccessful bid for mayor.

Called by Azano’s lawyer, Dumanis took the stand Wednesday morning.

That made for a memorable day in the downtown federal court. While not unprecedented, it’s rare for the county’s top prosecutor to testify as a witness in a criminal trial. And that was evident at the courthouse.

In court, lawyers made polite references to Dumanis’ “busy schedule” as she sat on the witness stand, and the judge allowed the attorneys to keep questioning her well past noon so that she would not have to return to federal court after the lunch break.

An extra layer of security also was set up, apparently for her protection.

U.S. District Judge Michael Anello, who is presiding over the Azano case, issued an order Monday barring the public, which includes the news media, from bringing electronic devices capable of recording audio or video into his courtroom. That meant no cellphones.

Audio and video recording have long been banned in the federal courts, but cellphones are allowed inside San Diego’s two federal courthouse buildings. The public, including reporters, can usually bring smartphones into the courtrooms as long as they don’t break the audio and video rules. Reporters regularly use their phones in courtrooms to tweet out newsworthy testimony and even write online stories.

To carry out Anello’s order, U.S. marshals searched bags at the federal court entrance and again outside the doors to his courtroom, causing some consternation among the defense lawyers.

“I’m wondering what led to that,” defense attorney Nancy Rosenfeld asked the judge on Tuesday, saying jurors might interpret the additional security measures as having something to do with the defendants. Another defense lawyer, Michael Lipman, noted that the trial had gone roughly 18 days without the need for additional security.

“I’m assuming that was precipitated by Ms. Dumanis’ testimony,” said Lipman, who represents political consultant Ravneet Singh.

Anello said his order was recommended by the U.S. Marshals Office, which handles security in the federal courts. He told the jury “nothing really scary” was going on, but there had been some concern that recording of the proceedings either had occurred “or may occur.”

Rosenfeld raised the issue again Wednesday, telling the judge that her client, lobbyist Marco Polo Cortes, had been asked to empty his pockets at the secondary checkpoint in front of jurors in the hallway. Again, she and Lipman suggested that Dumanis was the main reason for the change in security protocol.

“That was not the only reason for the security,” Anello responded, adding that he agreed the defendants in the case should not be singled out in the courthouse hallway.

Initially, the order was to stay in place for the remainder of the trial. But by Thursday morning, the day after Dumanis testified, the order had been lifted.

The district attorney was the second witness called by Texas-based attorney Michael Wynne, who represents Azano.

View the Video Bonnie Dumanis - Corruption Investigation

Wynne has said Azano was preyed on by Ernie Encinas, a retired San Diego detective who ran a security business, and Marc Chase, the owner of Symbolic Motors in La Jolla. Both wanted a higher profile in San Diego politics and business, Wynne told the jury, and the two men viewed Azano as an easy mark.

Encinas and Chase have pleaded guilty in the case. Chase has testified. Encinas has not, but he cooperated with the government, secretly recording conversations with Azano and others.

Dumanis testified she met face to face with the Mexican business tycoon two times — in December 2011 and March 2012 — and was told by her fundraiser that Azano was “helping” with the campaign.

She said she couldn’t recall what they talked about during those “meet and greets” but remembered some discussion about Azano’s high-end car collection during the December lunch at his Coronado home. She also remembered that Azano talked about golf with Sheriff Bill Gore at the March meeting she initiated.

When questioned by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Schopler, Dumanis said she could not remember whether Azano had mentioned recently returning from a trip to Miami or expressed an interest in buying the Chargers football team.

“I think he probably talked about his travel, but I don’t recall,” she said.

She insisted, however, that she had no reason to question Azano’s citizenship status when she met with him.

It is illegal for foreign citizens to contribute to U.S. campaigns. In May 2012, San Diego CityBeat reported that Azano was linked to a $100,000 donation to an independent committee supporting Dumanis’ run for mayor. At that time, the manager of the committee said the donation was legal because Azano had a green card.

He did not.

“From all accounts, he appeared to be a U.S. citizen to me,” Dumanis testified.

Azano is also accused of donating campaign funds to Bob Filner’s 2012 mayoral campaign, a race he won. He later resigned amid a sexual harassment scandal.

Filner’s name does not appear in the latest version of the list of potential witnesses submitted Friday by Azano’s lawyer and the lawyer representing his son, Edward Susumo Azano Hester. Among the names that stand out are Rep. Juan Vargas, D-San Diego, and Deputy District Attorney Robert Hickey, a candidate for San Diego city attorney in November.

The defense case will continue Monday. The lawyers have indicated they may begin closing arguments sometime this week.