HUNTINGTON BEACH : Ticket ‘Extortion’ Case Moving Along

An unusual federal suit charging that Huntington Beach is guilty of “extortion” because it operates a “speed trap” has had its first airing before a federal judge in Los Angeles.

Deputy City Atty. Robert Sangster said he appeared before U.S. Judge Stephen Wilson on Monday and argued for dismissal of the suit, saying the city does not operate a speed trap or commit extortion.

At issue is a suit filed March 20 by Ernest J. Franceschi Jr., a Seal Beach lawyer. Franceschi, who has been arrested on speeding charges three times in the past 18 months in Huntington Beach, charged in the suit that the city is operating a speed trap.

His suit seeks millions of dollars from the city as restitution to motorists, including himself, who allegedly have been illegally trapped while driving on Pacific Coast Highway in the city.

The suit charges that the alleged speed trap is a violation of the federal anti-racketeering, or RICO, law because people stopped for speeding must post bail or else face the “threat of arrest, imprisonment or other official action . . . “ That is tantamount to “extortion,” Franceschi said.

Sangster, in his appearance before Wilson, argued that people arrested for speeding are not always required to post bail. Wilson asked for more information on bail procedures, saying he would then decide whether or not to dismiss the case.