Informant Testifies Against Tucker : Courts: John Macardican also implicates former Councilman Maxcy Filer in corruption case. He denies any wrongdoing.

The chief prosecution witness in the extortion trial of Rep. Walter R. Tucker III on Thursday introduced a new name to the government’s account of political corruption in Compton: retired City Council member Maxcy Filer.

John Macardican, taking the witness stand for the first time, said Filer sought a $3,000 payoff in return for supporting his proposed $125-million refuse treatment plant in Compton.

In the end, Filer and the four other City Council members voted to kill the plan.

Filer, long known as the “conscience of Compton” because of his efforts to curb wasteful government spending, reacted with disbelief when told of Macardican’s allegations.

“It never happened. . . . It never happened,” he said.

He said his only financial transaction with Macardican occurred in 1991 when he retired from politics and began practicing law.

“He came to my office and brought me five civil cases,” Filer said. “One was a personal injury suit, and the others were cases where people said Macardican owed them money.”

Filer said he settled three or four of the cases, but withdrew before resolving the last one because Macardican would not pay his legal fees.

“He paid me $1,000, but he still owes me $5,000,” Filer said. “I wrote him letters and left telephone messages, but he never returned my calls.”

Filer speculated that Macardican brought him legal work to win favor with Filer’s son, Kelvin, then a member of the Compton Board of Education.

In 1991, Macardican wanted to buy school district land in a renewed attempt to build his waste-to-energy conversion plant.

This time, however, Macardican was working as an undercover informant for the FBI, which had launched a probe of political corruption in Compton.

As a result, Tucker, then serving as Compton’s mayor, has been accused of extorting $30,000 from Macardican’s company, Compton Energy Systems, and demanding a $250,000 kickback from an undercover FBI agent who was posing as Macardican’s financial backer. He also is accused of extorting $7,500 from Murcole Disposal Inc., which had an exclusive contract to collect residential rubbish in Compton.

After walking Macardican through a history of his waste-conversion project Thursday, prosecutors played an hourlong audiotape for the federal court jury that was recorded when Tucker and Macardican met for lunch for the first time.

Macardican can be heard on tape asking Tucker to “send me a signal” how he could be supportive of the mayor.

This taped conversation followed:

Tucker: “Well, I guess I’m not unlike any other politician. I just came off the campaign and I have a debt to retire. What I’m comfortable with is--and again it depends on how you like to do it--it’s probably to your and mine and the project’s benefit to not have checks. . . .

Macardican: “Absolutely.”

Tucker: “Right, yeah, that’s right, that’s just a deal-breaker, you wouldn’t want to do that. But I would be comfortable with a check or checks in some other name. That would be very comfortable with me.”

Macardican: “OK.”

Tucker: “As I say, you know, I have a relatively considerable debt. It’s not that bad, but whatever you can muster, something in the area of, maybe 10 grand could help.”

Macardican: “OK.”