District Attorney

A former county district attorney pleaded guilty in Green Bay to federal charges he accepted more than $48,000 in bribes for dismissing or reducing charges against 22 defendants. Joseph Paulus, Winnebago County's district attorney for 14 years, apologized for a "great shame" that he had caused himself, his family and community, and the legal profession. "My lapse of judgment in engaging in the behavior that brought me to court is without any rational justification," he said in a statement.

The Sacramento district attorney's office plans to investigate charges by Assemblyman Richard E. Floyd (D-Carson) that the California Horse Racing Board conducted secret meetings. Floyd outlined the serial telephone meetings in a letter to Steve White, Sacramento district attorney on Tuesday. "We intend to make all the inquiries into the nature of this matter," said Albert Locher, a prosecutor in the district attorney's office.

Police officers who fatally shot a knife-wielding woman over the summer were identified Tuesday as Read Park and Shawn Randell. Both officers have continued their duties while the Orange County Sheriff's Department conducted a criminal investigation into the controversial Aug. 25 shooting of Ashley MacDonald, 18. A report on the shooting was given to the district attorney's office this week.

Retiring Dist. Atty. Cecil Hicks for the first time Wednesday publicly endorsed his chief assistant, Michael R. Capizzi, for the county's top law enforcement job. A statement from Hicks, who recently announced he would not seek reelection in 1990 as district attorney, said he is excited about Capizzi's candidacy and had encouraged him to seek election. Hicks' statement was distributed by Capizzi at a press conference in Santa Ana, where he officially announced his candidacy.

Challenger John Lynch kicked off the fall campaign for Los Angeles County district attorney on Wednesday, declaring at a news conference that the office is "in chaos" and that incumbent Gil Garcetti is to blame. Lynch, who heads the district attorney's Norwalk branch, said Garcetti has lost the "trust of his own deputies, the respect of the legal community and the confidence of the general public." Lynch made it clear that the failed murder prosecution of O.J.

A lawyer who served a federal prison term for failing to pay taxes has been elected Mendocino County district attorney. Norman Vroman scored a 52%-48% upset victory over Susan Massini, one of Mendocino County's longest-serving district attorneys. She is president-elect of the California District Attorneys Assn. "I'm very gratified in the trust and confidence that the voters of Mendocino County have given me," Vroman said Wednesday.

Michael G. Carpenter was chosen prosecutor of the year Saturday night by the Deputy District Attorney Assn. of San Diego County. The award came at the group's annual dinner at the Omni Hotel. Carpenter, 44, has been a deputy district attorney for 14 years, serving in virtually every assignment available to prosecutors.

Mendocino County Dist. Atty. Norman Vroman, a self-described "tax rebel," had $2,064 garnished from his paychecks earlier this year as the government sought to recover $557,000 in unpaid income taxes. Making an exception to state law, Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer decided that the amount of Vroman's paycheck deductions can be released to the public, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reported.

Police Chief Dexter Atkinson will not be criminally charged for allowing a three-time convicted drunk driver to do remodeling work at the Claremont police station in lieu of serving a mandatory jail sentence, the district attorney's office announced Wednesday.

One day after the election, Gil Garcetti was already on the move. The 51-year-old career prosecutor will not take office as the newly elected Los Angeles County district attorney until Dec. 7, but he was walking through the agency's downtown Los Angeles offices Wednesday, armed with a memo for his new staff that already showed a change in style from his more aloof predecessor, Ira Reiner.