Governor Seeks to Block Records in First Pension Case : Courts: Files on state agency appointee should be kept confidential, Wilson says. Data is sought in investment fraud suit.

SANTA ANA — Attorneys for Gov. Pete Wilson asked a court Thursday to block investors in the failed First Pension Corp. from gaining access to records on his appointment of Gary Mendoza to head a state agency.

The motion, filed in a pending Orange County Superior Court lawsuit, asks that files on Mendoza’s 1993 appointment as commissioner of the Department of Corporations be kept confidential, said Matt Ross, a spokesman for the state attorney general’s office.

The governor’s motion is a response to an effort by investors who have sued Mendoza and others in the $136-million investment scam to find out if First Pension founder and convicted swindler William E. Cooper used political clout with Wilson to help Mendoza obtain the post.

Records of Mendoza’s appointment are important to investors because the Department of Corporations is charged with investigating securities fraud in the state.

“If Cooper had a hand in Mendoza’s appointment, it might explain why the state Department of Corporations failed to take action” earlier against the Irvine pension fund manager, said Michael Aguirre, a San Diego lawyer for investors. First Pension failed last year, but evidence so far indicates that the fraud had lasted for at least 10 years.

“Why the governor would want to protect the privacy of Bill Cooper is a puzzle,” Aguirre said.

According to Wilson’s motion, the governor’s files on appointments contain “confidential and personal information, letters of recommendation . . . and written notations of telephone conversations.”

The files are “kept in the strictest confidence,” are exempt from the Public Records Act and are part of the governor’s confidential files when he leaves office, the motion asserts.

“We think all personnel documents need to be kept confidential,” said Paul Kranhold, spokesman for Wilson. “This is not just for Mendoza, it’s for all applications.”

Besides, Kranhold contended, “Mr. Cooper had nothing to do with Mendoza’s appointment.”

Mendoza on Thursday called Aguirre’s claims “ludicrous” and denied that Cooper had any role in getting him appointed.

Wilson recently decided to refund to investors about $8,000 in campaign contributions made to his gubernatorial campaigns by Cooper, once a prominent Orange County businessman and political fund-raiser.

Cooper and two cohorts pleaded guilty last fall to federal fraud charges and were sent to prison. Cooper is serving a 10-year term.

In several state and federal lawsuits, investors charge that Mendoza knew or should have known about the fraud at First Pension. Mendoza has contended that he was unaware of misdeeds at the company.

The lawsuits also name as defendants several law and accounting firms and a number of other individuals who handled First Pension deals. The individuals include Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach), who has denied any knowledge of wrongdoing.