Written by City News Service
A one-time Green Beret and Rialto police officer was sentenced today to nearly three years in federal prison for his part in a bribery scheme to help an Arizona businessman avoid prosecution for head- butting a car rental manager at John Wayne Airport.
Aaron Scott Vigil was sentenced to the 33-month term by U.S. District Judge Andrew Guilford, who handed down the lightest punishment within the sentencing guidelines because of the 43-year-old defendant's past service to his country and community, as well as testimonials from an ex-wife and friends.
Vigil has been in custody about a year, so he has about another year to serve behind bars, Assistant U.S. Attorney Rob Keenan said after the hearing.
Co-defendant attorney Lawrence Witsoe, who has a law office in Tustin and resides in Mission Viejo, is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec 9. The 71- year-old lawyer faces up to 35 years in prison, but Keenan has recommended a 33- month term because of Witsoe's age and poor health.
Vigil and Witsoe were convicted May 14 of conspiring to solicit and accept a bribe.
Witsoe was additionally convicted of soliciting and accepting the bribe from his client, but the jury could not reach a verdict for Vigil on that count, according to Keenan, who moved to have that charge against Vigil dismissed today.
Witsoe was also convicted of offering and giving a bribe to Vigil, and jurors acquitted him of one count of witness tampering and could not reach a verdict on another count.
Defense attorney Michael Schwartz, in arguing for less time and home confinement for Vigil, told the judge his client “up until this case served both his country and his communities extremely well.”
Guilford noted he has handled high-profile public corruption cases in the past, such as that of former Orange County Sheriff Michael Carona, and has tended to hand down tougher sentences because of the breach of public trust.
Guilford cited a testimonial by the defendant's ex-wife praising Vigil's efforts as a single father, as well as his lack of a prior criminal record and a back injury he suffered while in service to his country.
Vigil's crime, however, warranted the judge's attention, Guilford said.
“I consider this to be a very serious offense. It's a breach of the public trust,” he said.
Guilford noted that Vigil falsely vouched for the defendant in the head-butting incident, leading the judge to question the claims of law enforcement in the future.
“Now I'm going to have to think twice about the source of facts,” Guilford said. "You put the process into question.”
At the time of the bribe, Vigil was assigned to a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration task force in Riverside, an assignment he earned shortly after being named the state's "officer of the year” in 2008.
Prosecutors say the conspiracy started with a head-butting in March 2009 at John Wayne Airport that resulted in misdemeanor assault and battery charges against a Phoenix man who was upset over how long it was taking to rent a vehicle at the Budget rental car counter, Keenan said.
The Arizona resident, Wayne Gillis, hired Witsoe, who gave him “three options” -- accept a plea bargain, take his chances at trial or try “option three -- the criminal option -- pay a bribe,” Keenan told jurors.
The scheme involved Gillis pretending to be a confidential informant for Vigil, who would seek favorable treatment from prosecutors in the Orange County District Attorney's Office as a “favor” that would cost Gillis $2,500, Keenan said.
“Mr. Gillis started thinking about that option and thought that doesn't sound right, so he decided to talk to another attorney” in Phoenix, who had Gillis record a phone call with Witsoe in November 2009 about the case and then dropped off the tape with the FBI, Keenan said.
Vigil had declared bankruptcy. He and his wife “were making plenty of money, but they were simply living beyond their means,” Keenan said, telling jurors that the defendant owed $876 for the bankruptcy filing but had only about $250 in his bank account.
Vigil placed a phone call to Deputy District Attorney Dan Hess, in which he falsely claimed Gillis was a confidential informant who helped seize $110,000 worth of drugs in Phoenix, Keenan said.
When Hess requested some documentation, “that spooked Officer Vigil,” Keenan said.
It's also when Gillis was told about Vigil, so Gillis could back up Vigil if prosecutors or the officer's boss called Gillis, Keenan said.
Vigil later told Hess he could not find any documentation, “and for good reason because Wayne Gillis never cooperated with the DEA,” Keenan said.
Hess, who was working with the FBI at the time, informed Vigil in December 2009 the case had been dropped, Keenan said.
Vigil forwarded the email to Witsoe without comment so his “fingerprints” would not be on the scheme, Keenan said.
Witsoe passed on Vigil's email to Gillis, who was instructed to deposit $2,500 into the attorney's account, Keenan said. Witsoe also instructed Gillis to delete the emails, Keenan said.
Witsoe wrote a $2,500 check to the estranged wife of a private investigator who was an associate of Vigil and Witsoe, Keenan said. She deposited the money and on two separate occasions withdrew $1,240 cash and then $1,200 in cash, Keenan said.
A week later, Vigil deposited $900 in cash into his credit union account and then got a cashier's check for $876, which he owed to the Chapter 13 bankruptcy trustee, Keenan said.
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