“We care for many prominent people,” says Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian CEO Richard Afable. Recently two very prominent people—televangelist Oral Roberts and billionaire Roy Disney, Walt’s nephew—died at the hospital within hours of each other. Roberts, 91, died Dec. 15 of complications from pneumonia. Disney, 79, died the following day of stomach cancer. Burbank resident Disney was an avid sailor with close ties here, including membership in the Newport Harbor Yacht Club. Roberts was an Oklahoman who made a vacation home at Newport Beach CC his final residence. Afable emphasized that no information about the deaths came from Hoag, which maintains patient confidentiality: “I can’t even tell you they were here.” But he did say, “John Wayne had a preferred room here. That tradition continues” …
Enron prosecutor-turned-defense lawyer John Hueston (Irell & Manella) says he was “surprised” by the tactics his former U.S. Attorney’s Office colleagues used to pressure witnesses in the Broadcom stock options case. “That’s not the game you try to teach new prosecutors. What you teach is, ‘You hit hard, but you hit fairly,’” Hueston said on “Inside OC.” Citing prosecutorial misconduct, U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney dismissed all criminal charges related to $2.2 billion of options backdating against former Broadcom CFO Bill Ruehle and company founders Henry Samueli and Henry “Nick” Nicholas. Ex-CEO Nicholas still faces drug charges, but Hueston suggested the government settle by dropping an appeal of the options case in return for Nicholas accepting probation on the drug count. Nicholas “will have a quick exit soon. The government does not want anything else to do with the Broadcom case.” Hueston said the Broadcom episode has hurt the credibility of federal prosecutors in the Southland and will “affect prosecutorial decisions and their ability to sell their cases to the jury, I think, for the next couple of years” …
Memo to Dos Equis: Judge Carney is the most interesting man in the world …
Veteran fundraiser Terry Jones hasn’t had enough of chasing dollars for indebted concert halls. Jones had been fundraising for Chapman U since leaving the Segerstrom Concert Hall capital campaign—at last report still $52 million short of its goal. Now he’s been hired to help complete the capital campaign for the Smith Center for the Performing Arts in Las Vegas. “Only’ a $35 million gap,” he quips.
Tongue-in-cheek New Year’s predictions:
• The Henry T. Nicholas Foundation launches a hostile takeover bid for the Tiger Woods Foundation.
• Chapman U purchases the St. Regis Resort for faculty housing.
• The OC Fair moves from Costa Mesa to the Great Park. Jeff Teller loses his swap meet concession to Forde & Mollrich.
• New credit crisis: Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner discovers that all U.S. debt is held by China or Pimco.
• Meg Whitman forgets to vote, but wins the governorship anyway.
