Oooo, this is interesting! Don't quite know what to make of it
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3. Testimony of Donald Raymond Loar and Frank Kovacevich.
Donald Raymond Loar was a convicted felon who had testified at the request of the Los Angeles County District Attorney in other cases prior to his testimony in the present case. He testified that in October 1987 he was in the protective custody unit of the Los Angeles County jail. He first met defendant while attending church services at the jail, and then was defendant's cellmate for approximately six to eight weeks. While the two men were "discussing cases," defendant told Loar that he was charged with murder and wanted a witness in Indio eliminated. Loar testified: "Well, we was discussing the cases and people, relatives and all of that. [¶] And my wife's godfather is Jimmy Hoffa, [
sic] dad is secretary treasurer to the Teamster's union. [¶] [Defendant] felt that I had Mafia ties, I guess, and he told me that there was a witness that was a thorn in his side that could do him a lot of harm if he testified, that could put him and a murder victim together. [¶] And he wanted me to get somebody from back east or a hit man, so to speak, to get rid of the witness so he wouldn't have to worry about — about that guy in court. He would beat his murder case. . . . [¶] . . . He wanted the guy eliminated."
Loar testified that following this conversation, he telephoned the district attorney's office and spoke to Deputy District Attorney Hodgman about Loar's conversation with defendant. In doing so, Loar hoped that, in exchange for his cooperation, he would receive favorable treatment with regard to his own case.
Hodgman referred Loar to a district attorney's investigator, Frank Kovacevich, who in turn arranged to impersonate the "hit man" whom defendant sought to contact. Loar placed a telephone call to Kovacevich from the jail, told Kovacevich that defendant wished to speak with him, and handed defendant the telephone. Loar testified that following the telephone conversation, defendant appeared relieved and happy, stating that the "problem is going to be resolved, that the guy he just talked to is going to take care of the witness for — for him." Loar testified that, at the request of Kovacevich, he arranged for a second telephone conversation between Kovacevich and defendant.
Kovacevich testified that on October 28, 1987, following a telephone call from Loar, he arranged to speak to defendant telephonically while impersonating a hired assassin. Kovacevich had two telephone conversations with defendant, both of which were tape-recorded. The tape recordings of the conversations (the transcriptions of which are set forth in relevant part in the margin below) were played to the jury at trial.
