"The Favor," a special report about political power and justice Los Angeles Times | December 23, 2014 | 4:01 AM Dear Readers: It was a deal that prosecutors in the case didn’t want to make. Esteban Nuñez and a friend were facing murder charges in the stabbing death of Luis Santos, 22. Now San Diego Dist. Atty. Bonnie Dumanis was willing to drop the murder charges if the defendants would plead to manslaughter. Instead of a possible life sentence, the defendants would serve 16 years at most. “Listen, the Santos family doesn’t want this -- they want us to go to trial,” prosecutor Rick Clabby said he told Dumanis. The deal went ahead anyway. The Santos family took comfort in the belief that the sentence handed down by the judge, 16 years, was final. Then Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a close friend of Esteban Nuñez’s father, former California Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez, intervened. In “The Favor,” the Nuñezes, father and son, give their most detailed account of the events. We invite you to be among the first to read the second of two parts: On the eve of a murder trial, a deal is struck. But will it stick? For those of you who already subscribe to the Los Angeles Times, I want to thank you for your support, which makes this important journalism possible. Davan Maharaj, editor P.S. If you missed the first chapter, catch up here: Knives, a death, a famous name For the latest information go to www.latimes.com.