CASE OF INTEREST

Date: July 24, 2007

Case: People v. Susan Lesniewski

Contact: Amy Holliday
             Deputy District Attorney, Career Criminal Prosecution Unit
             (916) 874-5103


District Attorney Jan Scully announced that on July 23, 2007, Susan Lesniewski was sentenced to one year in the county jail by the Honorable William Gallagher. On June 25, 2007, Lesniewski was convicted by a jury of one count of perjury under oath, a felony offense.

In August of 2005, Michael Mancheno was arrested and charged with possession of narcotics for purposes of sale and transportation of narcotics. Bail was set at $250,000.00 and a hold pursuant to Penal Code Section 1275.1 hold was placed on the bail. Penal Code Section 1275.1 allows the court to examine the source of bail funds in order to prevent persons who are arrested from posting bail using money obtained from a felonious source, such as profits from the sale of illegal narcotics.

On August 28, 2005, Susan Lesniewski entered into a contract with a local bail bonds company to post a premium for bail on behalf of Mr. Mancheno in the amount of $20,010.00. On the same date Lesniewski and the bail agent executed a “1275 Agreement” wherein Lesniewski promised under penalty of perjury that the premium paid for the bail bond for Mancheno was a gift that was not to be repaid from any source.

On September 1, 2005, a bail hearing was held in Mancheno’s case. At that hearing Lesniewski testified, under oath and under penalty of perjury, that the bail premium in the amount of $20,010.00 was to be a gift to Mancheno and that she was not to receive any gifts or money back from Mancheno. Lesniewski presented financial documentation as verification that her money was from legitimate sources. Based on her sworn testimony the court made a finding that the source of bail money was legitimate and Lesniewski then posted bail for Mancheno who was subsequently released from custody.

In April of 2006 an investigator learned that Lesniewski attempted to take possession of a motorcycle owned by Mancheno because he owed her money for a loan she made to him in August 2005. During an undercover telephone call, Lesniewski acknowledged that she knew Mancheno was not supposed to pay her back based due to her testimony that the bail money was a gift and not a loan. Lesniewski also acknowledged that she could go to prison if the District Attorney’s Office found out that she had made a loan to Mancheno instead of a gift. During the undercover call, Lesniewski repeatedly asks that the conversation remain confidential and that the information not be provided to the District Attorney’s Office.

Deputy District Attorney Amy Holliday said, “The commission of perjury under oath tears at the very core of our judicial system. Every day both jurors and judges rely on the sworn testimony of witnesses to make critical decisions in both criminal and civil cases. Thanks to the quick work of District Attorney Investigator James Ross, Ms. Lesniewski and others who consider testifying to anything other than the truth will know that perjury will not be tolerated in Sacramento County.”