Daily Archives: April 26, 2010

iePolitics: Patient Abuse and Malpractice at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center

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Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (ARMC) continues to be the subject of numerous investigations and inquiries.  The hospital, once a shining star in our county, has lost its luster in wake of  accusations of mismanagement, malpractice, patient abuse, and fraud.  Much of the controversy involves the empire-building by former County Administrative Office Mark Uffer and ARMC Medical Director Dr. Dev Gnanadev.  Both men are known for their tyrannical control of every aspect of hospital operations, with Gnanadev even running roughshod over the always-despotic Uffer.

In their quest to gain recognition and respect for ARMC and, more importantly, themselves, both men plotted to contain any negative publicity about the hospital.  Employees who question practices or report misconduct are themselves subjected to threats of discipline, using the loss of  medical licenses due to phony accusations by hospital management as  a means of control. Continue reading →

SBSun: Trial postponed in libel lawsuit filed by former sheriff’s wife

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Posted: 04/23/2010 05:55:44 PM PDT

A civil trial in a multi-million dollar libel lawsuit filed by the wife of former Sheriff Gary Penrod against a High Desert newspaper publisher and has been postponed until August.

Lawyer John Rowell, who represents Penrod’s wife Nancy Bohl, appeared for a hearing via telephone Thursday in San Bernardino Superior Court and requested a continuance, according to court records. The trial that was set to begin Monday was re-scheduled for Aug. 9 with a trial readiness hearing set for Aug. 5. Continue reading →

iePolitics: Ramos FPPC Complaint Moves Ahead

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San Bernardino County District Attorney Mike Ramos and the treasurer for his re-election committee have been notified by the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) of the recently-filed complaint regarding their claim that there were a minimum of 127 credit card purchases under a $100 that did not have to be itemized on their Form 460.  This means that the Commission did not reject the complaint outright but will be investigating it further.

This is the second time in recent months Ramos has been the subject of a FPPC investigation.  Earlier, he was found to have not reported $10,000 in income given to his wife Gretchen for campaign-related functions.  Ramos paid a $200 fine to settle the claim.

iePolitics: To Waive or Not to Waive

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It is expected that the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors will discuss the California Attorney General’s request that the county waive its attorney-client privilege regarding the $102 million Colonies settlement in closed session during their April 27, 2010, regularly-scheduled meeting.  Second District Supervisor Paul Biane and Fourth District Supervisor Gary Ovitt have both recused themselves.  Third District Supervisor Neil Derry and Fifth District Supervisor Josie Gonzales have suggested they will vote in favor of waiving privilege.  Only Supervisor Mitzelfelt has not committed one way or another.

In a strongly-worded letter, Senior Assistant Attorney General Gary Schons threatened county supervisors with legal action if they did not waive their attorney-client privilege.   However, the supervisors’ duty is to the citizens of San Bernardino County, not an Attorney General grandstanding for political benefit. Continue reading →

iePolitics: Postmus/Erwin Arraignment

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Former San Bernardino County Assessor Bill Postmus and former Assistant Assessor Jim Erwin were arragined today in Department S23 of the San Bernardino district of the  Superior Court of California where Judge Michael M. Dest entered pleas of “not guilty” for both defendants.  In addition to Raj Maline, counsel for Erwin, and Steve Levine, counsel for Postmus, Steve Harmon was present as a new member of the defense team.

On advice of attorneys, the “not guilty” pleas were entered with the condition they could later be withdrawn.  As stated repeatedly on iePolitics, there simply is no evidence that a criminal act has been committed as the elements of Forgery, Bribery, and Extortion are not present.  It is expected that the pleas will be withdrawn and a motion made for the case to be dismissed.  The case is set for a dispo hearing on June 3, 2010. Continue reading →

iePolitics: Possible Bombshells This Week

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There is quite a potential for bombshells dropping this week in a number of ongoing corruption-related issues.

On Monday, we have the arraignment of former San Bernardino County Assessor Bill Postmus and former Chief of Staff Jim Erwin.  It is expected that the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office will turn over discovery for the case.   This may very well prove to be interesting.  First, the rumor that the District Attorney may ask for a gag order would be funny if it didn’t keep popping its ugly head up.  If true, it begs the question, “What is the District Attorney trying to hide?”  Well, that has birthed a few more rumors, the most prevalent of which is that among the discovery will be information showing that Second Supervisorial District Chief of Staff Matt Brown dropped a dime on his boss, Supervisor Paul Biane.  Rumors of Matt’s pending termination have been running rampant for a couple of weeks now. Continue reading →