Jury finds Azano guilty on 36 counts in foreign money case

A wealthy Mexican businessman accused of making illegal campaign donations to candidates in San Diego’s 2012 mayoral race was convicted Friday of 36 counts including conspiracy to make political contributions by a foreign national.

José Susumo Azano Matsura, 51, also was found guilty in federal court of making contributions in other people’s names and falsifying records related to campaign finance. He could face prison time at a sentencing hearing scheduled for Dec. 12.

The jury, which deliberated about a week, was unable to reach a unanimous decision on whether Azano unlawfully possessed a firearm, and several other charges related to the other defendants in the high-profile case. U.S. District Judge Michael Anello declared a mistrial on those counts.

Federal prosecutors had also charged campaign services specialist Ravneet Singh, lobbyist Marco Polo Cortes and Azano’s son, Edward, with the same charges of conspiracy and falsifying records. Azano and Cortes were also charged with conspiracy to make donations in the name of another.

Singh, 44, was found guilty of all four counts with which he had been charged.

Edward Azano Hester, 24, was convicted of conspiracy and donations by a foreign national, but the jury acquitted him of six counts related to falsifying records and deadlocked on six others.

The jury found Cortes, 46, not guilty of four counts related to falsifying records. The panel did not reach verdicts on other charges against Cortes, including conspiracy.

The case focused on more than $500,000 of Azano’s money that was funneled into the campaigns of Republican District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis and Democratic Congressman Bob Filner when both were running for San Diego mayor in 2012. Filner won the race but resigned several months later amid a sexual harassment scandal.

Azano money also went to the county Democratic Party and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, prosecutors said.

As a foreign citizen without legal status in the U.S., Azano was prohibited by law from donating to domestic campaigns. Although he lived in a Coronado Cays mansion and both his wife and son were U.S. citizens, Azano did not have a green card or any immigration status that would allow him to financially support political campaigns in this country.

The evidence included numerous bank records, emails and billing invoices that prosecutors said showed the route the money took from Azano bank accounts. The money made it into campaigns via straw donors — friends or family members who made donations to the Dumanis and Filner campaigns and were reimbursed by Azano, sometimes on the same day.

Prosecutors said that Azano secretly paid Singh’s company, which specialized in political social media campaigns, to work for Dumanis and later Filner. The largest contributions went to supportive political committees, via a shell corporation owned by Azano, and through businesses owned by La Jolla luxury car dealer Marc Chase.

Chase testified that Azano asked him to make the donations during a meeting in the business tycoon’s Coronado kitchen. He said Azano later reimbursed him. Azano, a car buff, had purchased more than 20 luxury vehicles, including Lamborghinis and Rolls-Royces, from Chase, who pleaded guilty earlier in the case and agreed to testify against Azano.

Another key conduit was retired San Diego police detective Ernie Encinas, who was Azano’s security chief. Prosecutors said he was the go-between who connected Azano and his money to the campaigns and political professionals.

Encinas agreed to cooperate during the investigation and pleaded guilty after Azano was arrested in January 2014. Though he was expected to be a star witness, the former police officer was never called to testify, either by the government or the defense.

The trial had several high-profile witnesses, including Dumanis and Sheriff Bill Gore. Dumanis testified that she had little memory of her interactions with Azano, other than she believed he was a legal resident and allowed to contribute to her campaign. 　

Azano’s lawyer, Michael Wynne, argued his client was targeted and victimized by Encinas and Chase, who used his money to elevate their own status and businesses, then turned on their benefactor to aid the government investigation.

Wynne said after the verdicts on Friday that he and his client would continue the fight the case, even all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, if necessary.

“I am absolutely confident that we will win on appeal,” he said outside the courthouse. He declined to comment further.

It’s not yet clear exactly how much prison time Azano could be facing. The conspiracy count and other charges each carry a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison and a $250,00 fine. Falsification of records carries a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office said each of the defendants could receive the maximum on each count, but the judge is expected to “consider a variety of factors (including the sentencing guidelines) before imposing the sentence.”

Azano and Singh are scheduled to be sentenced on the same day. Azano’s son will be sentenced on Dec. 5.

Meanwhile the judge has allowed the elder Azano to remain free until the next hearing. Prosecutors had asked for him to be placed in custody immediately in light of the verdicts, arguing that he is a flight risk because of his wealth as well as his business and personal connections to Mexico.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Pletcher cited the words of Azano’s own lawyer when noting that Azano spent 800 hours traveling by air every year.

Wynne, however, said Azano does not have the financial resources he had before he was prosecuted in this case, noting for example that he no longer has any private planes. The attorney noted that Azano’s wife is a U.S. citizen as is his 10-year-old daughter.

“He has every reason to stay here,” Wynne said, adding that his client is both a “man of honor” and a “man of integrity.”

An immigration lawyer told the judge that proceedings began about four or five months ago to make Azano a legal resident of the United States.

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Greg Moran on KPBS