FORMER EXEC STODDER PLEADS NOT GUILTY.

Byline: James Nash Staff Writer

A former Fleishman-Hillard public-relations executive pleaded not guilty Monday to 11 counts of wire fraud, becoming the first defendant to formally answer criminal charges stemming from a federal investigation into corruption at City Hall.

John Stodder, 49, a former senior vice president at Fleishman-Hillard, is accused of directing employees to pad their invoices by $250,000 in bills submitted to the Department of Water and Power as part of a controversial $3 million-a-year contract.

Stodder's lawyer, Jan Handzlik, and Assistant U.S Attorney Adam Kamenstein tentatively agreed on a trial to begin in August.

Kamenstein told U.S. District Court Judge Gary Feess that prosecutors have compiled CD-ROMs with the equivalent of 40 binders of documents, including ``probably well over 1 million e-mails.''

``We're well aware of the volumes of evidence and we feel that when the evidence comes out in court, he will be exonerated,'' Handzlik said.

The Jan. 13 indictment of Stodder alleges two ``co-schemers'' participated in a plot to add hours to the monthly bills submitted by Fleishman-Hillard to the DWP, the Port of Los Angeles, architect Frank Gehry's firm and the World Wide Church of God.

Kamenstein said that the federal investigation is ongoing but he declined to comment on any future indictments.

Fleishman-Hillard confirmed in January that Stodder, Senior Vice President Steve Getzug and Doug Dowie, the head of the Los Angeles office, had left the firm. The three men supervised the firm's contract with the DWP.

James Nash, [phone]

james.nash(at)dailynews.com