Ex-Compton Official Moore May Call Farrakhan as a Witness

Former Compton City Councilwoman Patricia Moore, who contends that she is a target of a government plot to destroy America’s black leadership, has indicated that she might call Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan as a defense witness in her upcoming federal extortion trial.

In a letter to government prosecutors Thursday, Moore’s lawyer, Thomas A. Mesereau Jr., said the defense reserved the right to call Farrakhan as well as the Rev. Al Sharpton, Rodney King, San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, the Rev. Cecil Murray and Los Angeles Councilman Nate Holden.

“It is our belief that the government may attempt to deny its racist history or policies in its case-in-chief,” Mesereau wrote. “If it does so, we reserve the right to contradict the government’s evidence with these witnesses.”

Mesereau said the prosecution is balking at the proposed list of defense witnesses.

“At this juncture we’re not objecting to them calling anyone,” said Assistant U.S. Atty. John M. Potter. “However, we would protest their calling witnesses who do not have relevant or admissible evidence.” If it can be shown, for example, that Farrakhan meets those standards, he said, the prosecution will not object to his appearance at trial.

Potter said the prosecution is preparing an official response to the controversy over witnesses. He said the defense list includes several hundred names.

Ultimately, Consuelo B. Marshall, the trial judge, will have the last word on who testifies.

The clash over prospective witnesses came on the same day that the judge began a hearing to consider Moore’s claim that she was targeted for prosecution because she is black.

Moore, who served on the Compton City Council from 1989 to 1993, was confronted by the FBI in 1994 with videotapes that allegedly showed her accepting bribes from Compton businessmen.

In exchange for leniency, she agreed to plead guilty to two criminal counts and to work undercover for the FBI in an ongoing investigation of official corruption in Compton.

But after several months, she pulled out of the deal and was indicted anew on 25 counts of extortion and income tax fraud.

On the witness stand Thursday, Moore testified that she was coerced into becoming a “cooperating witness” for the FBI and was warned that she could be sentenced to “200 years behind bars” if she refused to cooperate.

During her several-month stint as an undercover operative, she said, prosecutor Potter and FBI Agent Kevin Adley made clear to her that their objective was to “take down the entire black leadership of Compton.”

When she inquired about possibly corrupt white public officials, she said, they expressed disinterest.

Moore said the FBI asked her about numerous black political figures outside Compton, including Farrakhan, Willie Brown, Jesse Jackson and the late Commerce Secretary Ronald Brown.

Potter was called to the stand and denied Moore’s contention that the FBI probe was racially motivated.

Under questioning by defense lawyer Rex Beaber, Potter said Moore was employed by the FBI in an investigation of white businessmen, including Kosti Shirvanian, owner of Western Waste Industries, which had an exclusive contract to haul industrial waste in Compton.

According to an FBI affidavit, Moore admitted receiving monthly bribes of $500 to $1,000 from a Western Waste representative while serving on the Compton City Council.

During his questioning of Moore on Thursday, Potter revealed that Moore wore a concealed body wire during meetings with Shirvanian and with Western Waste Vice Presidents George Osepian and Jake Tufenkian.

Asked after the court session what became of the Western Waste investigation, Potter would only say, “No comment.”

The hearing on the selective prosecution issue will resume May 29, when FBI agents are expected to testify.