Sedona, AZ — By Tommy Acosta…
The misdemeanor charges against Cliff Ochser filed against him by the Sedona City Attorney have been dismissed.
The dismissal avoided what would have been a sensational trial where the prosecution would have had to prove beyond reasonable doubt Mr. Ochser’s letter to former Mayoral candidate Matthew Turner was threatening bodily hard or death to Mr. Turner, amidst revelations Mr. Turner solicited sex and posted nude photos of him self on the internet.
Mr. Ochser believes the charges filed against him were politically motivated because of his support for Mayor Rob Adams, a candidate for mayor at that time and because he was a member of the 89A Safety Committee. He believes the case against him was driven by elements in the city hoping to use the charges against him as a means of discrediting him; diminishing his value to the 89A Safety Committee; and discrediting Mayor Adams through association.
In an exclusive interview with the Sedona-Verde Valley Times Mr. Ochser details what he believes are the circumstances leading to the trial and its eventual dismissal.
SVVT: Do you still feel the charges against you were politically motivated?
OCHSER: Absolutely. They were politically motivated right from the beginning to the very end.
SVVT: Do you see an end to any more litigation or will there be further court action in the future?
OCHSER: I believe the prosecution against me was malicious and I was the victim of a conspiracy. I am weighing my options.
SVVT: Did you suffer monetarily because of the charges?
OCHSER: I lost my biggest client in April 2008 because of the charges, who told me they had to protect their brand. That was $1,000 a week in revenue. Tack that on to my legal fees and we are talking quite a bit of money.
SVVT: How did the whole thing begin?
OCHSER: In January of 2008, I filed a complaint against Matthew Turner who was running for office. The inquiry was sent to the City of Sedona Attorney , Mike Goimarac and asked for an investigation regarding improper use of a 501 c 3 Charitable Organization to support Mr. Turner’s political campaign. It was determined that Mr. Turner did indeed use the mailing list of Green Sedona, the charity, to perform fund raising for his campaign, a violation of Federal Law. No formal action was taken by the City of Sedona to enforce the law or the integrity of the election.
SVVT: Then what happened?
OCHSER: Several weeks later, I wrote a confidential letter to Mr. Turner informing him that there was clear evidence in the public domain (internet) that he was engaged in the solicitation of sexual activity and was posting lewd, fully-nude pictures of himself on the internet. The letter suggested that Mr. Turner was not fit to represent the City of Sedona . Although not artfully written, the letter was not threatening but firm in its tone that Mr. Turner should disclose this information to the public or it would be disclosed.
SVVT: How did Mr. Turner react?
OCSHER: Turner spent the three subsequent weeks after receiving the letter conducting interviews in the press, conducting his own investigation and continuing to run his campaign for Mayor. Mr. Turner continued to insist that Rob Adams directed the letter to be written and sent. Turner used this opportunity for the purpose of gaining sympathy, smearing Adams and gaining benefit for his election bid.
SVVT: When did Mr. Turner file a complaint against you?
OCHSER: Three weeks after receiving the letter, he then filed a complaint with the Sedona Police Department and denied in a formal police report that he had posted obscene advertisements on the Internet, which was the primary allegation in the letter.
SVVT: What was the result of the initial police investigation?
OCHSER: The SPD investigating officer, Sgt. Spokes stated in his report regarding the letter Mr. Ochser admitted to sending — “I read the letter. There are no threats in the letter.”
SVVT: Were charges filed at that time?
OCHSER: Not at that time.
SVVT: When were they filed — before or after the election?
OCHSER: Turner lost in the election and a runoff between the two remaining candidates began. Shortly after this date, the city attorney filed misdemeanor charges against me. It should be noted I was also a participant in the 89A Safety Panel and Rob Adams was clearly opposed on the issue of lights on Hwy. 89A. At that time, I was volunteering on Mr. Adams campaign committee and Adams did not support the lights.
SVVT: Why would the city file charges against you after a police report stated the investigation found your letter not to be threatening?
OCSHER: That’s the million-dollar question. It is important to know that not only were charges filed against me after the Sedona Police Department did not recommend prosecution; but a story ran above the fold on the Red Rock News about my being charged before I was served a summons. It is clear that since the City Attorney was quoted in the article and that he was the only one who could authorize the release of the summons, that he was the source of the information to the press.
SVVT: Who stood to benefit from the charges being filed against you?
OCHSER: The questions on this issue becomes why did the City Attorney provide a copy of the summons to the local newspaper before I was even aware that I was being charged? Why did the city attorney move forward filing charges after the Sedona Police Department did not recommend prosecution? Did the city attorney have conversations with the incumbent mayor and the city manager about the benefit of prosecution to influence the voting public by continuing to intimate that Mr. Adams was behind the letter, even after the SPD determined that not to be the case? Was there a conspiracy to prosecute me to benefit the campaign of the incumbent Mayor? These are civil matters which will be dealt with in the Judicial Courts, not the Court of public opinion.
SVVT: When did Mr. Turner admit he was placing ads for sex on the Internet?
OCHSER: Turner denied to SPD investigators that he had sexually explicit advertisements on the internet in April of 2008 when charges were filed against me. Four months later, in September of 2008, when confronted with the fact that several highly-credible people verified the existence of the ads to the city attorney he admitted to SPD that he lied and did indeed have the ads and supplied copies of the ads as well as obscene pictures of himself which were used for that purpose.
SVVT: Was Turner charged for lying to a police officer?
OCHSER: It is a felony in the State of Arizona to lie to a police officer in an investigation. To date Turner has not been charged with a crime. The verification of the ads is information that was not disclosed by the Sedona City Attorney to my defense attorney for almost four weeks, a clear violation of disclosure rules and a serious offense of the Bar of the State of Arizona by the City Attorney.
SVVT: Were any attempts made to settle the case before it went to court.
OCHSER: The Sedona City Attorney, in May of 2008 offered to dismiss all the charges if I would consent to write a letter of apology to Turner. It was too late, the damage was done. I had to hire an attorney to defend myself, lost several prominent clients after the article was published on the front page of the Red Rock News and had numerous communications with community members regarding his actions which severely affected my life, reputation and business interests. I countered the City Attorney’s proposal to include a joint statement clearing me of wrongdoing, payment of attorney fees and payment of a fraction of the limited damages. The Sedona City Attorney rejected the counter proposal.
SVVT: So it was decided to go to trial?
OCHSER: The case would have come down to whether Mr. Turner felt that he was threatened with death or serious physical injury when he read that letter. The trial would have seriously embarrassed Turner and the city because the explicit content of his sex ads would have been revealed and the elements of the conspiracy to damage my reputation and affect the election would have come to light. Turner had everything to lose and would have been humiliated had he agreed to come to the trial. The same for the city.
SVVT: Do you feel vindicated.
OCSHER: The damage to my reputation and business can never be healed.