With city leaders facing investigators from federal agencies, it may just be a matter of time until officials, perhaps even Mayor Dick Murphy, face indictments. If that happens, don’t be surprised to see (along with “Free Martha,” and “Free Wynonia” T-shirts) shirts that read “Free Dick”.

Ironically, little attention has been directed towards those being investigated, but instead on the new city attorney, Mike Aguirre.

Some suggest he’s too aggressive in his efforts to find blame for the city’s imminent bankruptcy.

In my past columns, I have suggested that the City Attorney’s Office needed a change in leadership.

I’ve known Aguirre for 25 years, and he really hasn’t changed at all since he arrived. Back in the ’80s, County Sheriff John Duffy was guilty of some not-so-nice practices. Recruits for deputy sheriff posts were asked if they were homosexual during interviews, because Duffy wouldn’t hire homosexuals. Not only were recruits asked, they were given a lie detector test.

Duffy also didn’t like the California Supreme Court at that time. So, he printed up cards supporting a recall of the court and he made deputies pass them out with traffic tickets.

There were other, more egregious things that happened during his time. And some of these things mentioned above really ticked off Aguirre.

No one in San Diego was willing to take on John Duffy except Aguirre. He pressed the Department of Justice to get Duffy to change his ways. And he did. It takes guts to take on police corruption. He did it because it was the right thing to do.

In his private practice, Aguirre represented teachers, seniors and others who lost everything they had because they (or their agents) invested their retirement in investments that went belly up. In all these cases, not surprisingly, the investments went bad but not before the promoters made millions.

In suits against the promoters, Aguirre proved that the unsophisticated investors gave their money based upon untrue factual statements contained in disclosure statements for investments such as municipal bonds. Cities represent to investors that their municipal corporations are solvent and likely to continue to meet debts. However, it’s not always true. And, in those cases, cities can default on bond obligations. Or, more likely, the risk of default is much greater that the bond rating drops so low as to make the security unmarketable to other buyers. Thus, investors suffer a loss.

The same principles that apply to private corporate finance and accounting also apply to municipal corporations (more familiarly known as city government). It’s a complex area, but it’s an area that Aguirre knows better than anyone else.

Today’s complexities in accounting and disclosures make it all the more possible for good meaning people, be it the mayor or other members of the council, to be accused of negligence or worse.

The reality today is that, despite the absence of a profit motive, nonprofit boards are just as apt to get into securities trouble today as Enron. Not so surprisingly, federal and state measures are taking aim at nonprofits.

When Aguirre accuses members of the city council of wrongdoing, keep in mind that it’s not necessarily a criminal act.

It is completely possible that a board of directors is negligent simply because the board relied upon faulty accounting, finance or legal advice. It happens all the time. Principals are liable for the negligent acts of agents.

Of course, the one good thing about getting bad advice from attorneys – other than the city attorney – is that the city can seek indemnification for any losses it suffers as a result of the bad advice. It’s called legal malpractice. And bond counsels get sued all the time, and the insurance carriers for the attorneys settle. It’s the nature of the business.

That may be one lesson here – to rely more on outside legal experts.

My only concern with Aguirre is that this financial crisis will be all-consuming. But as I’ve pointed out before, the city attorney has never filed a civil rights action in its history. And there’s a lot to be done.