Former Hilton Prosecutor Faces Own Trials

As celebrity heiress Paris Hilton was prematurely released from jail early last month before being sent back to eventually serve just over three weeks of her 45-day sentence, one man did all that he could to make sure she stayed there.

But that man, often dubbed “The Paris Hilton Prosecutor,” once hailed from an area far away from the bright lights of the Hollywood spotlight.

After growing up in the relatively poor area of East Los Angeles, Rockard “Rocky” J. Delgadillo ’82 made his way to Harvard in 1978.

“He was very sincere and very caring,” said Paul E. Scheper ’82, one of Delgadillo’s freshman roommates. “He just had a really soft heart.”

But after gaining national media attention for his prosecution of Hilton, who was arrested for driving with a suspended license in February, Delgadillo’s own indiscretions were called into question.

The current Los Angeles city attorney has recently found himself once again the focus of the press—but not for something as minor as prosecuting the much-talked about socialite.

He recently admitted that his wife had been driving his city-owned car—on a suspended license of her own, no less—when she crashed it before using the city’s tax money for the repairs.

An arrest warrant issued for his wife for failing to appear in court for driving without insurance on a suspended license in an unregistered car in 1998 was still valid—and never acted upon—until she finally went to court last month.

Delgadillo has also claimed in the past that he received a football scholarship to Harvard, was selected as an All-American, and played professional football.

In fact, Harvard did not and still does not give athletic scholarships, and Delgadillo only earned a failed tryout with the New York Giants.

But Scheper, who played alongside Delgadillo on both the Harvard football and baseball teams, stands by his former roommate.

“I know the real Rocky,” Scheper said. “And I know how much this hurt him for this to come out. He’s not duplicitous, not a liar, not a hypocrite.”

Scheper said he last saw Delgadillo in early June at their 25th reunion, just days before reporters began delving into his past records.

Scheper recalled hugging Delgadillo and having what he described as “a freshman football reunion.”

Having known Delgadillo well for so long, Scheper said he doesn’t believe there was any intentional wrongdoing on his part.

“I call it a lack of proper housekeeping and honest oversight by his staff,” he said. “When you’ve got young kids and a wife running around, details can get away from you. I don’t see a cover-up here.”

Delgadillo, who holds a degree from Columbia Law School, is also an elected director of the Harvard Alumni Association (HAA). And though none of his fellow directors nor any executive committee member contacted by The Crimson remembers working directly with Delgadillo, incoming HAA Executive Committee President Jonathan L.S. Byrnes described him as a “dedicated and effective volunteer.”

Jack P. Reardon Jr. ’60, the executive director of the HAA, wrote in an e-mailed statement that he shared similar sentiments about Delgadillo.

“He is in the third year of a three-year term and attends up to three meetings a year,” Reardon wrote. “Rocky has been a good citizen in his involvements with the Harvard Alumni Association.”

Scheper said his support for his friend has never wavered.

“I support him, and I back him,” he said. “And I know he’ll come out of this better than ever.”

—Staff writer Nathan C. Strauss can be reached at strauss@fas.harvard.edu.