Judge Halts Release of Corona E-Mails

A Riverside County judge on Friday issued a temporary restraining order preventing Corona from releasing 338 e-mails written by two city councilmen whose defunct utility consulting firm is being investigated by the FBI.

The messages were written by Councilmen Jeff Miller and Darrell Talbert, who formed a consulting firm aimed at helping cities start municipal utilities at the same time Corona was trying to take over Southern California Edison’s power lines in the city.

Judge Sharon Waters has scheduled a June 1 hearing on whether to release the e-mails.

“These are personal e-mails from personal computers,” said Mark J. Austin, Talbert’s and Miller’s attorney. “If they are released, there is nothing my clients can do to unring the bell.”

Peter Mort, the city’s attorney, argued that the e-mails involve city business: the City Council dropped its takeover plans because of the e-mails. There is an “overriding public interest” in their release, he said.

After Friday’s court hearing, the City Council met in closed session to discuss the case for nearly an hour but took no action. Miller and Talbert did not attend. Attempts to reach them were unsuccessful.

In June 2002, Talbert and Miller formed Municipal Energy Solutions with Glenn Prentice and George Hanson, the then-general manager and assistant general manager of the city’s utility, and David Huard, a lawyer with Manatt, Phelps & Phillips who represented Corona on energy issues.

Miller and Talbert were advocates of a plan to take over Edison facilities that was approved by the council in late 2002. Edison fought the plan, and the city dropped its bid in May 2003 after spending more than $3 million.

In December, community activists Jack Wyatt and Louise Mazochi filed public records act requests about the spending. They have seen thousands of pages of legal bills and other documents and allege that Miller and Talbert had a conflict of interest and personally benefited from money the city spent on its utility effort. They believe the e-mails, which came into city hands during litigation with Edison, will prove it.

In recent months, the FBI and Corona Police Department have interviewed council members and residents about Municipal Energy Solutions.