Daily Archives: February 3, 2010

iePolitics: Supervisor Paul Biane a crook?

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The story from InlandPolitics below is simply amazing.  We all heard the rumors of District Attorney Mike Ramos putting the screws to Supervisor Paul Biane.  We heard stories of him being in hiding and waiting for District Attorney investigators to show up at his door to place him in handcuffs.  His attendance at Board of Supervisors meetings waned.  He looked sullen when he did appear in public.  Some suspected it was his alcoholism but those in the know knew it he was scared to death.  He seemed paralyzed.

Why shouldn’t he be scared?  Of course he should be scared.  The stories of backroom payments from developers abound but those could be true or they could be urban legend.  What we know to be true are the unreported gifts such as the recent revelation about the trip with a developer on a private jet to a football game back East.  There are also other stories of trips to Mexico and Cuba.  And we know from the “Jim Erwin Model” that such lapses result in felony charges and arrests.  Paul has had a lot to be worried about. Continue reading →

iePolitics: Political Action Committees

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As I started reviewing the financials for the 63rd Assembly District, I came across a trend that prompted me to dig a little deeper.  We will post more tomorrow, but for now take a look at the donations from Lewis Homes, one of the largest developers in the state of California.  You will see a lot of money being donated to political campaigns, but as we will show tomorrow, that is only part of the story: Continue reading →

InlandPolitics: S.B. County: Biane paid $50,000 to criminal defense firm

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  • Posted February 3, 2010 at 5:26 pm

Supervisor Paul Biane

Campaign finance records obtained from the San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters reveal a county supervisor retained a criminal defense attorney last year.

Apparently, Second District Supervisor Paul Biane was concerned enough over an investigation by District Attorney Mike Ramos that he retained legal counsel. Records show Biane paid $49,782.53 from his campaign funds to the Los Angeles-based law firm of Corbin, Fitzgerald and Athey LLP for legal services. Continue reading →

iePolitics: Will copulating with the District Attorney prevent criminal prosecution?

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Twelve citizens of the city of Grand Terrace have a filed a request with District Attorney Mike Ramos to investigate one of his many mistresses for Government Code section 1090 violations.  Which mistress you may ask.  Yes, I realize it is difficult to keep them all straight.  This time around it is Bertha Bea Cortes, a councilwoman for Grand Terrace.

Cortes has bragged to community members about her relationship with Ramos and her use of that relationship to effect a prosecution of fellow councilman Jim Miller for, you guess it, Government Code section 1090 violations.  What’s that old adage about “living in glass houses”?

Unlike Miller, Cortes’ violations appear deliberate.  Additionally, Cortes, who sources indicate to iePolitics has children living in the home, reports no income whatsoever despite an active real estate license, and advertising by herself and her broker on her behalf.  It is unclear how she paid to keep her license active or for the advertising, or for that matter how she feeds and clothes her children with no income.  There are no $11,000 payments on Ramos’ 460 to Cortes, so her source of support remains a mystery.

Continue reading →

iePolitics: Another 11k for the wife; another 11k for the mistress

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A trip to the Registrar of Voters office today was fruitful indeed.  First, we find that the San Bernardino County Auditor-Controller-Treasurer has a hard time meeting accounting deadlines.  His financial statements, which were due February 1, 2010, have yet to be filed with the Registrar’s office.  They checked several “boxes” for me to be sure and there was nada.

Senator Gloria Negrete McCloud also has the same issue.  Not sure if we can chalk it up to laziness, an oversight, or a flagrant lack of respect for the law.

San Bernardino County District Attorney Mike Ramos filed his financials timely.  He shows an ending balance of cash on hand of $393,592.28.  It’s his expenditures that are interesting.  InlandPolitics will have additional information on some of those expenses that we will cross-post here.  But there are others we want to share now. Continue reading →

InlandPolitics: SB County supervisors campaign financials prove interesting

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  • Posted February 3, 2010 at 12:25 pm

The campaign finance disclosure statements for members of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors have some interesting characteristics of note.

Here is the annual summary of all five supervisors who collectively raised $899,384.54 in 2009.

Not bad for a poor economy.

 Continue reading →