The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • Page 189

mmwii (0oii usy IP 1 SATURDAY FEBRUARY 28, 1998 ccf Drunk Driver Given 15 Years W.W-lnm'MT''''l'l': "I We all stick together, men and women, because when you get down to it, we're all Marines. The "History of Women in the U.S. Marine Corps" exhibit at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station includes many uniforms, old and new. At right is an insignia used during World War II; at far right is the current evening dress uniform for a sergeant major. to life Sentence for Killing 2 Courts: Fernando Q.

Perez was on way to buy more beer when he smashed into another car, killing a girl, 14, and a boy, 4. ADA DODSON Corps Values Women Marines Honored at El Toro By GREG HERNANDEZ TIMES STAFF WRITER SANTA ANA In a courtroom filled with angry and tearful relatives, a judge on Friday sentenced a Santa Ana man to 15 years to life in prison for killing a 4-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl in a drunk driving accident and then fleeing. Fernando Q. Perez, 30, sat with his head bowed and his eyes filled with tears as relatives of the little boy he killed spoke 1 1 By H.G. REZA TIMES STAFF WRITER EL TORO bitterly of their loss at the hands of Perez, who had been convicted of drunk driving three times before the fatal crash in 1996.

"We are living a life spent without our children, and it's full of pain and misery and a lot of anger too," A- othing is more important in Ada Dodson's life than her family and the U.S. Marine Corps. One is as close to her heart as the other. The 83-year-old World War II veteran and mother of four was discharged from the Marines in 1946, but 52 years later she still stands at attention whenever she hears the Marines' Hymn. And she flies the Marine flag in front of her 6 mmmmmmmmmmF-mmmmm ,1 ill.

said Knstine Qui-roga, mother of the boy, speaking for both victims' families. "He just left them there to die. That was my son, that was my daughter's best friend, and he just left them there. That's what pains house on special occasions. "I joined the Marines because they are the toughest and the best," said Dodson, a Cypress resident.

"That was true in 1943 when I joined and it's still true today. After the war, one life ended and another one began for me, but the Marines have always been a part of my life." The loyalty and contributions by Dodson and thousands of female Marine veterans had gone mostly unrecognized by the Corps until recently, when officials dedicated an exhibit of the "History of Women in the U.S. Marine Corps" at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station. The exhibit, part of the base's Jay W. Hubbard Command Museum, offers an intriguing look at the role of women in the Marine Corps since they were first allowed to enlist in 1918.

In putting together the exhibit, Marine officials wisely chose to Please see MARINES, B4 me the most." Ruben Qulroga, top, and Perez, who al- Sonla Ruiz died in 1998 ready was drunk Santa Ana crash. and had gone out to buy more beer, crashed his car into one being driven by 14-year-old Sonia Ruiz at Flower Street and Wilshire Avenue in Santa Ana. The underage driver had taken her friend, Elina Quiroga, also 14, and the friend's 4-year-old brother, Ruben, for a ride around the block. Sonia and Ruben died of their injuries. Bystanders caught Perez after he tried to Please see SENTENCE, BS Photoa by ALEXANDER GALLARDO Loa AngelnTima Ada Dodson of Cypress says she joined the Marines in 1943 "because they are the toughest and the best." City Officials Tried to Thwart Probe, Ex-Chief Says HIGHLIGHTS Politics: Dismissed head of Orange Police Department blames opponents of his investigation of alleged fraud in exclusive trash and recycling contracts, saying 'I am being terminated for doing my Lottery Results SUPER LOTTO Tonight'! Jackpot; $7 million Time: Sales close at 7:40 p.m.

For Friday, Feb. 27 FANTASY 5 Winning Number 4-11-1 5-22-35 DAILY 3 Winning Numbert: 5-8-8 DAILY DERBY In this case, the path that led to Robertson's demise goes back to April, when the Police Department learned that the trash and recycling companies that have held the exclusive contract with the city since 1955 may have misappropriated millions of dollars of municipal funds. That police investigation focused on Jeffery Hambarian, the head of Orange Resource Recovery Systems Inc. Hambarian and his attorneys have consistenUy refused to comment on the investigation to the press. Hambarian's prominent parents, Sam and Alyce, who own the city's trash hauling company, also came under scrutiny, although their attorney has denied any wrongdoing on their part.

The case now is being handled by the district attorney. In August, police began investigating the leak of an affidavit detailing the case. But Robertson said his fall was set in motion Please see ORANGE, B4 vit to the The Times. The city hired two law firms and spent close to $100,000 to investigate Robertson. He eventually sat before independent hearing officer Edward Kreins, who found evidence of "poor judgment" by Robertson, but said termination would be legally difficult to sustain.

Kreins' report also stated that some of the charges against Robertson were vague and that part of the probe appeared to be a "fishing trip." Some of Pham's actions were so questionable, Kreins said, that they might warrant investigation. City Atty. David A. De Berry said the charges indeed may have lacked some specifics. The firing nonetheless could be defended in court, he added.

Robertson and his attorney, Christopher Miller, who frequently represents law enforcement officers, said that the firing of a police chief is not uncommon when elected officials are facing high-profile scandals in their cities. Robertson, police chief since 1992, was fired by a 3-2 vote of the City Council on Tuesday. He had been on paid leave since Oct. 15, when he was issued a gag order. He described the last four months as "hellish" and "devastating" for him, his wife and his three children, who, he said, have been subjected to taunts by classmates.

In October, City Personnel Director Steven V. Pham said the city was investigating allegations that the chief created a hostile workplace in the department. But it quickly developed that the primary reason he was in trouble was that he had ordered fingerprint checks on City Manager David L. Rudat and City Council members last summer to see if any of them had leaked a sealed search-warrant affida By LESLEY WRIGHT SPECIAL TO THE TIMES ORANGE Breaking his forced silence for the first time, former Police Chief John R. Robertson calmly accused city officials Friday of destroying his career to thwart an investigation of a fraud scandal involving the city's trash and recycling companies.

"There is no doubt in my mind I am being terminated for doing my job," Robertson said at his attorney's office in Santa Ana. "It's very difficult to be put on administrative leave, to be given an order that you can't talk, that you can't respond, and to watch yourself get slammed, your character be assassinated." Winning Hones: (3) Hot Shot (6) Whirl Win (8) Gorgeous George Race Tuna: 1:46.01 To win the grand prize, ticket-holders must match, in exact order, the first-, second- and third-place horses and the winning race time. Lesser prizes are given to ticket-holders who match horses Of the race time. ON THE WEB: For current and past lottery numbers, winners and other information, go to The Times' Web site at- http:www.latirnes.com Ok on News, then elk on California Lottery. BY PHONE: Results in English and Spanish: (800) 225-6669 Former Vietnam Commander Shows a New Mettle of Honor Arts Executives Skeptical About Fund-Raising for New Concert Hall Entertainment: Some doubt whether $100 million can be collected for facility.

Chairman of Performing Arts Center vows it can be done. INDEX adesago. Working side by side with Thu and other former guerrilla soldiers to clear brush from the cemetery, Donlon found the spirit of forgiveness in himself. "His willingness to help was a signal to me of a new time," Donlon said. "That was the beginning for me." Inspired by that visit, Donlon came 1 back to the United States and started an educational foundation a year and a half ago, named after retired Army Gen.

William C. Westmoreland, the com- mander of U.S. troops in Vietnam, and his wife, Kitsy. Dedicated to improving relations be- tween the U.S. and Vietnam, the foun- daiion offers college scholarships to Vietnamese and Vietnamese American Please see SOLDIER, B5 By TINI TRAN TIMES STAFF WRITER WESTMINSTER-Army Col.

Roger Donlon made his peace with the Vietnam War at an abandoned graveyard deep in the mountains of central Vietnam, surrounded by his former enemies. Donlon, the first soldier to win a Medal of Honor for his service in Vietnam, returned three years ago to honor the graves of the South Vietnamese soldiers who served and died under his command. He found some unlikely help in Nguyen Can Thu, the Viet Cong leader who had planned the ambush that devastated Donlon's camp three dec- O.C. Focus B2, 3 Weather BIO Air Quality BIO Letters Bll co-managing partner of C.J. Segerstrom Sons, has agreed "in principle" to donate a seven-acre parcel at Town Center Drive and Avenue of the Arts for the new concert hall and possibly an art museum.

He acknowledged Friday that the fund-raising effort to build it "will be different from the last," referring to the hard-won $72.3 million raised over several decades to build the 12-year-old arts center. "The entire community must be involved," he said, "corporations, individuals, foundations, trusts and regional arts organizations. Something this big has to be ecumenical." Evidence of the challenge ahead lies less than 45 miles away at the empty site of the Please see HAtL, B12 By JAN HERMAN TIMES STAFF WRITER The announcement this week of plans to raise $100 million for a new concert hall next to the Performing Arts Center met with some scepticism Friday by local arts executives, who wondered if it can be done. "I just don't see it," said Dean Corey, executive director of the Philharmonic Society of Orange County. "I just don't know where $100 million is going to come from.

That's an astounding amount of money." Mark Chapin Johnson, chairman of the Orange County Performing Arts Center, said Thursday that Henry Segerstrom, How to Reach Us B3 Jerry Hicks has the day off. JERRY HICKS.