BREA : City May Pay Legal Costs of Councilman

The City Council tonight will consider a proposal to pay legal costs for Councilman Wayne D. Wedin, who has been charged with five counts of misdemeanor conflict-of-interest law violations.

The charges filed in September against Wedin, 52, allege that the councilman violated the state’s Political Reform Act in 1990 by helping a Costa Mesa-based company win a job with the city of Brea while Wedin was accepting more than $37,000 from the firm for work as a consultant.

Wedin also is accused of failing to list the company, the Keith Cos., as a source of income in his 1990 financial disclosure statement, which he filed in February, 1991.

Wedin has pleaded not guilty. He said in an open letter to the city after the charges were filed Sept. 28 that they “resulted from performing my duties as a council member . . . while seeking to secure the best professional talent to meet the city’s needs.”

Wedin has hired the law firm of Michael R. McDonnell Inc. to represent him. In a retainer agreement with his attorney, Wedin agreed to pay a non-refundable $20,000 fee. The money will cover expenses for preparation of the case and up to five days of the trial, if that becomes necessary. Expenses for defense investigations and for expert witnesses are not included.

In the letter to Brea residents, Wedin said that in exchange for his guilty plea on two misdemeanor charges, the district attorney’s office offered him a $2,500 fine plus assessments and four years’ probation. He would also be prohibited from seeking public office during the probation period.

Prosecutors handling the case could not be reached for comment Monday.

Wedin said that even if the plea bargain had been less costly, “I cannot in good conscience admit to a wrongdoing which I did not do.”

“However, I deeply regret and apologize for the negative publicity that will be generated for my family and for the city of Brea,” Wedin said.