86-Year-Old Real Estate Developer Found Not Guilty In Palm Springs Bribery Case

PALM SPRINGS, CA — After roughly a week of deliberations, a Banning jury Monday acquitted an 86-year-old real estate developer of conspiring in a scheme to enrich the one-time mayor of Palm Springs with six-figure bribes to cinch his support for projects.

On Monday afternoon, jurors returned not guilty verdicts for John Wessman on nine counts of bribery of a public official and one count of conspiracy to commit a felony. The panel started deliberations on June 6 after three weeks of testimony.

Riverside County Superior Court Judge Samuel Diaz exonerated any remaining bond obligations for the defendant.

"Mr. Wessman is not guilty," defense attorney Elliot Peters told jurors in his closing statement. "What you heard was speculation, guesswork and the false testimony of Mr. (Richard Hugh) Meaney."

The attorney characterized the witness as a "dishonest, manipulative person."

Peters affirmed his client took appropriate steps and remained within the bounds of the law to get his projects approved by the Palm Springs City Council.

"Who picked the amounts and the dates (for financial transactions)? Meaney did," the attorney said. "He choreographed and was at the center of this."

He asserted that Wessman was steeped in business affairs, deferring to Meaney to handle smaller details, including direct email correspondence with the mayor.

The defense underscored how Wessman relied on creative financing to contend with impacts of the Great Recession that started in 2008, seeking what amounted to a "public-private partnership" between Wessman Development Inc. and the city to move forward.

The efforts led to Measure J being put before voters in 2011. It passed, resulting in $43 million in municipal bonds going to the developer's projects, which began in the winter of 2012.

Deputy District Attorney Amy Zois told the jury Wessman had "acted with the intent to bribe."

"This is ... about corruption and the public trust," Zois said.

She reminded the jury of evidence confirming Wessman's signature on numerous checks issued against Wessman Development Inc. in 2012 and 2013. The money was part of the payoff scheme involving then-Mayor Steve Pougnet, the prosecutor said.

"It's ridiculous to believe that a CEO wouldn't follow the major decisions of his own company," she said, dismissing the defendant's claims of ignorance about the flow of funds.

Zois said the defendant and fellow developer Meaney, 59, conspired to favor Pougnet with high-dollar rewards for gaining his support for the men's redevelopment projects between 2012 and 2014.

All the felony charges against Meaney were dismissed over a year ago. However, he pleaded guilty to a reinstated misdemeanor count of financial conflict in a government contract. He testified for the prosecution during Wessman's trial.

Zois said Pougnet's $3,605-a-month salary during his two terms was "peanuts" compared to the hefty cash infusions into his bank account facilitated by the developers.

She argued it was Wessman's influence that landed Pougnet work on the Palm Springs International Film Festival, for which he received $150,000 in 2012. The festival board chairman ended the mayor's consultancy when it didn't net the desired results.

Zois alleged the developers provided $225,000 in illicit payoffs to the mayor, all to ensure his active support for the downtown renaissance projects, which records allege included construction of the The Dakota, the Desert Fashion Plaza, The Morrison and Vivante.

Pougnet reached a plea agreement directly with the court last month, admitting nine counts of bribery by a public official, eight counts of illicit financial interest in public contracts and one count of conspiracy, as well as no contest to three perjury counts.

Pougnet's sentencing is set for July 2. Meaney's is scheduled for July 28. Both the ex-mayor and Meaney are free on their own recognizance and are expected to receive terms of probation.

Pougnet, Wessman and Meaney were criminally charged, for the first time, in 2017 and later indicted by a grand jury. The case began as a federal corruption probe until it was turned over to county investigators in 2016.

A judge in December 2020 dismissed all counts against Wessman, characterizing them as baseless, but the charges were reinstated by the Fourth District Court of Appeals in Riverside less than two years later.

Pougnet was in office from 2007 to 2015.