San Francisco Police last week arrested Point Reyes Station resident Bea Flint on two fraudulent-check charges that grew out of the so-called "Foxglove" murder-conspiracy case.

The charges against Flint were part of a grand jury indictment which implicated others in more serious acts.

Her father Dick Flint this week characterized his daughter's involvement in the case as no more than guilt by association.

Ms. Flint, the widow of a Marin sheriff's deputy who drowned in Tomales Bay, had once dated a major suspect in the Foxglove case, Danny Tene.

She has been released on $25,000 bail and is scheduled to be arraigned Dec. 2.

A law enforcement source described Flint as a "very minor player" in the inquiry, as evidenced by the relatively minor allegations and low bail.

The arrest marks the second time Flint's relationship with Tene eight years ago has brought her in contact with police. In September of 1996, the SFPD homicide division raided her Ma–ana Way home in search of evidence against Tene.

Speaking for his daughter, who was unavailable for comment, Dick Flint said the arrest came as a terrible shock and that Bea was "at a complete loss" as to the reason for the charges.

"She's completely devastated," he said. "She has no idea what this all about. She dated the guy. That's all."

San Francisco authorities believe Tene was involved in a scheme to swindle and ultimately murder wealthy senior citizens. Targets were supposedly befriended, persuaded to make gifts or bequests of their assets, and then gradually poisoned with digitalis, a heart medication derived from the foxglove plant.

San Francisco authorities have identified five Bay Area men as victims who were poisoned between 1984 and 1994. The conspiracy theory is centered around members of Tene's immediate family, part of a well-known Gypsy clan.

A grand jury in San Francisco returned eight indictments in the case last week, including Tene's and Flint's. Tene and four others were immediately arrested and remain in custody; two suspects remain at large.

While the indictments remain sealed, the most serious charges will likely include conspiracy to commit murder. The initial five suspects are being held without bail or with bail set at a million dollars or more.

According to Dick Flint, his daughter was arrested at her workplace and was not clearly informed as to the charges against her. "We're all still mystified. What we know we learned from the bail-bondsman."

Bea dated Danny Tene for "a year or two" beginning roughly eight years ago, said her father. He also stated that she was never aware of any wrongdoing by Tene and has "no idea" if there is merit to charges against him. They are still on good terms, he added.

Flint went on to declare that Bea has never met Tene's family, and was not a part of his business life. "We knew of some financial problems, and that he had real estate, some of which was damaged in the [1989] earthquake."

Indeed, it may well be Tene's property which has linked him to the "Foxglove" allegations.

John Nazarian of San Francisco, a private investigator involved in the case, said Danny Tene and his brother managed a San Francisco property that had been the home of Konstantin Liotweizen, one of the victims allegedly murdered.

Nazarian also noted Tene was involved with an elderly San Francisco resident, Hope Beesley. Her move shortly before her death to make Tene owner of her house has been hotly contested by her surviving family, Nazarian said.