Three of the four defendants in the San Bernardino County Colonies corruption case were found not guilty of all charges after a marathon trial that lasted nearly eight months.
Larson O’Brien client, Rancho Cucamonga developer Jeffrey Burum, and two former county officials—Supervisor Paul Biane and Mark Kirk, former chief of staff for then-County Supervisor Gary Ovitt—were charged with bribery, conflict of interest, and improper influence in an alleged scheme to get county approval of a $102 million court settlement in favor of a developer.
Partner Stephen G. Larson, who led the defense of Mr. Burum with partner Jonathan E. Phillips, said the not-guilty verdicts were “a tremendous vindication of the position we have taken from Day 1. This case was political retribution, it was irresponsibly investigated, and it was just a horrible decision” to go forward and prosecute.
Read the full article by Joe Nelson and Richard K. De Atley of the San Bernardino Sun here.
