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Former RadiumOne CEO Reportedly Sought Willie Brown's Help In Fighting Domestic Violence Charges

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- A Bay Area tech mogul who faced domestic violence charges sought help from former Assembly Speaker and San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown to make the case disappear, according to a published report.

The Wall Street Journal reported documents reviewed by the Journal show former RadiumOne CEO Gurbaksh Chahal met with Brown in December 2013 in the hope he could make the charges against Chahal "go away."

Days prior in an email to Chahal, former RadiumOne board member and one-time California controller Steve Westly suggested to Chahal that Brown was "a very good deal broker" and could possibly get the district attorney to back off, according to the Journal.

According to another email cited in documents obtained by the Journal, Chahal told Westly, ""Just met him. Wants $1 million if he can make this go away. Just gave him a $250K retainer. If you meet him tomorrow. Apply some pressure on him to make this go away in 2013."

RadiumOne was planning an initial public offering at the time, and the correspondence reviewed by the Journal indicated board members and attorneys were concerned how Chahal's legal issues would affect the IPO, which never happened.

In April 2014, a judge ruled that home security video purportedly showing Chahal beating and kicking his girlfriend over 100 times during a 30-minute period was inadmissible as evidence because it was seized without a warrant.

The Journal reported that days after the judge's ruling on the video evidence, Brown returned $198,400 of Chahal's retainer.

Without the video and without the cooperation of the victim, Chahal – who was charged with more than 40 felony counts - was able to plead guilty to two misdemeanors, received three years probation and a $500 fine.

There was no evidence that Brown ever met with District Attorney George Gascon over the case, according to the Journal. Gascon sent a statement to the Journal saying "it was particularly frustrating when the video evidence was thrown out and the victim became uncooperative…. You have brought some documents and e-mails to our attention that we had no knowledge of. My office is not for sale."

Chahal, Brown and Westly did not repond to requests for comment from either the Wall Street Journal or KPIX 5.

Chahal, who was fired by the RadiumOne board and now heads software advertising firm Gravity4, may have his probation revoked after being accused by another woman of kicking her repeatedly five months after his guilty plea in the previous case.

The San Francisco Business Times reported Chahal was arrested on the new charges in October and freed on $100,000 bail. A hearing to determine whether Chahal's probation is revoked was scheduled for Friday.

Meanwhile, a former Gravity4 executive Erika Alonso sued Chahal and the company in April alleging age and gender discrimination. Alonso also claims the company illegally spied on her at work and that Chahal and other executives told her she was hired in part because having a female executive would help with Chahal's image.
Carlos E. Castañeda is Senior Editor, News & Social Media for CBS San Francisco and a San Francisco native. You can follow him on Twitter or send him an email.

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