OC Register: 'Nick' awaits trial but puts kids in school

When a Wellesley student from Santa Ana wrote to ask for work five years ago, she offered to wash my VW bus, if that's what the job entailed. As my assistant, Erika Torres never had to wash my bus, although she did have to ride in it. She eventually left to go the big-and-better route. When I heard from her a month ago, it was in her latest role as an assistant to the brilliant-but-flawed: Her new boss is billionaire Henry T. Nicholas III. Probably doesn't even have to wash his jet.

But she did have another favor to ask of her old boss: Would I at least come out and have a look at the two after-school academic centers Nicholas is funding in Santa Ana? This was after I'd written a piece about the options-backdating trial of one of his former execs at Broadcom, in which I noted that Nicholas goes on trial on those charges – as well as drug charges – next year. There's another side to "Nick," says Erika.

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