Supervisor Jim DeMartini testified in Stanislaus County Superior Court on Tuesday, insisting that he did not have an inappropriate relationship with a young woman who is accused of using his personal information to obtain credit cards and ring up $10,000 in charges.
Despite his denials, he could not escape the innuendo, and the topic of romance came up again and again as a preliminary hearing in the case of Serena Essapour, 22, of Turlock pushed forward.
The 54-year-old rancher and politician told the court he paid Mistlin Honda $6,500 and co-signed a loan for $21,600 more in June 2005 because Essapour had wrecked her car and needed a new one.
Though they went to lunch regularly, the supervisor said he never took Essapour to dinner. DeMartini said he did not ask Essapour to celebrate her 21st birthday with him at a hotel in Napa. He said he helped two other people get cars, too, but never would again co-sign such a loan.
When Deputy District Attorney Dawna Frenchie asked DeMartini if he had a sexual relationship with Essapour, who is charged with three felonies, DeMartini was firm.
"No, never," he said.
When defense attorney Mark Geragos of Los Angeles asked DeMartini if he had taken Essapour to Patterson's only hotel during any of their "nooner meetings," DeMartini was a bit vague.
"I do not recall taking her there," he said.
Moments later, DeMartini acknowledged that he did not tell his wife about the loan, or the $6,500 check written on his ranch account, until an investigator hired by Geragos knocked on their door.
The hearing, which began in October and resumes April 1, is needed so Judge Thomas Zeff can decide if Essapour should stand trial on charges of false impersonation, misuse of personal identifying information and grand theft. She is accused of ringing up fraudulent charges from May 16 to June 16, 2006.
DeMartini said he met Essapour three years ago when she moved from New York to Turlock and wanted a job with the Republican Central Committee.
Essapour did some temporary work organizing voter rolls for the committee, of which DeMartini is chairman, and later worked for several prominent players in the Republican Party.
By the time her case got to court, she was working as a reporter for the Turlock Journal newspaper. Essapour was put on leave after The Bee wrote about the charges she faces.
Just how Essapour got a celebrity attorney from Los Angeles to represent her is a matter of speculation among observers, including DeMartini, who doesn't think she can pay for her own defense. Geragos said he took the case because it is fun. He is best known for representing fertilizer salesman Scott Peterson of Modesto, who is on death row after being convicted of killing his wife and unborn son.
Authorities' contention that Essapour used information from the car loan application DeMartini filled out to obtain three credit cards appears undisputed. A paper trail shows Essapour opened accounts with her name and address but DeMartini's Social Security number.
Charges on the cards ran from mundane to bizarre, including flowers, balloons and a watch, which were sent to a Michigan woman named Rita Somo. Somo told authorities she doesn't know Essapour. She thought the gifts came from an online friend named "Steve."
Frenchie said the frivolous purchases show that Essapour had no intention of paying for her purchases. Geragos said the debts were repaid after Essapour was arrested.
DeMartini put a fraud alert on his accounts May 12, 2006, after officials from Discover Card called about the account. Five weeks later, he got a similar call from Washington Mutual. On June 26, 2006, he filed a complaint with authorities.
On July 11, 2006, Detective Mason Mineni confronted Essapour with videotapes of her using one of the cards at Walgreens in Turlock. He said Essapour admitted making every purchase.
Before arresting her, Mineni talked to DeMartini, who was at a swearing-in ceremony for Sheriff Adam Christianson and District Attorney Birgit Fladager.
DeMartini recalled that conversation for the court. Months earlier, Essapour had assured him that she knew nothing of the charges, he said. Earlier that day, Essapour had told him her cousin opened the accounts, he said. Then the detective assured him that Essapour was behind the trouble.
"I told him to go ahead and arrest her," DeMartini said.
Once Essapour was arrested, she pleaded for her cell phone so she could call DeMartini. By then, their friendship was over.
Bee staff writer Susan Herendeen can be reached at sherendeen@modbee.com or 578-2338.
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