Powerful gay men. Vulnerable teen-age boys. Murder. For years, some prominent local men who led secret lives were rumored to be protected. Whispers surrounding another important man's death prompt the question: Is there really a conspiracy?

The D.A.'s go-to guy

By ROBERT PRICE, Californian staff writer
e-mail: rprice@bakersfield.com

Monday January 20, 2003, 03:40:00 PM

Tauzer came to Kern County in November 1971, and eventually joined two other UC Davis Law School grads in the D.A.'s office: William L. Fisher and Clarence Westra.

Fisher, who died of AIDS in 1995 at age 50, was hired by then-District Attorney Al Leddy in January 1971, almost immediately after passing the state bar exam (on the same day as Tauzer).

Westra, who graduated a year behind Fisher and Tauzer, was hired by the district attorney in January 1972.

But, unlike his two fellow UCD alumni, Tauzer found his place more slowly, moving first into the county Public Defender's office.

Jagels joined the D.A.'s office in April 1975, fresh out of San Francisco's University of California, Hastings College of Law.

Four months later, Tauzer -- who'd quit the Public Defender's office in late 1974 to briefly try his hand at private practice -- joined Jagels and Leddy.

Tauzer quickly established himself as a key player and by the time Westra left for the Superior Court bench in mid-1983, Tauzer was a go-to guy. Jagels, just 33, had been elected district attorney the year before.

Every employee evaluation Tauzer ever received while he worked in the office was glowing -- with one exception. In a July 1983 evaluation, Tauzer's first under his new boss, Jagels snipped: "Mr. Tauzer is OK but I don't think as highly of him as (then-Assistant D.A. Richard) Bradshaw did."

Jagels must have changed his mind, because Tauzer became assistant district attorney -- the No. 2 man -- when Bradshaw retired in 1987.

Colleagues and adversaries, past and recent, generally have looked favorably on Tauzer.

An overwhelming number say he was a gentle soul, devoted to his work and the mission of his office.

Many have described the rumpled, unassuming man as a "teddy bear" in both physical appearance and approach to life.

Attorneys who battled him in the courtroom eulogized him as a worthy opponent who won them over, at least to some degree, with good humor and fair-mindedness.

Tauzer himself was proud to have received a letter of acknowledgement and respect from at least one felon he'd helped put away.

"He was actually a Democrat at one time, and he changed parties when he became assistant D.A.," said a former D.A.'s employee who asked that his name not be used. "But he brought a lot of liberalism to an office that sometimes needed it. I saw him do a lot wonderful things in the interest of justice."

Four years ago, Tauzer suffered two massive heart attacks and was given a 1 percent chance for survival.

On Oct. 7, 1998, Tauzer was unpacking his things at a child-support conference in Visalia when he was stricken. His mother, 77 at the time, recalls Tauzer's heart surgeon say he was "the sickest person they ever had ... who survived."