Governor names Ramos to standards board

FILE PHOTO/2010

San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael Ramos, left, and then-Attorney General Jerry Brown confer in February 2010.

BY JIM MILLER

SACRAMENTO BUREAU

jmiller@pe.com

Published: 15 November 2011 04:13 PM

SACRAMENTO – Gov. Jerry Brown has appointed San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael Ramos to the Commission for Peace Officer Standards.

Ramos, of Redlands, has been district attorney since 2002 and has been with the district attorney’s office since 1989. Ramos, a Republican, and Brown, a Democrat, have worked together on various issues, such as Ramos’ support this year for the governor’s proposal to extend temporary tax increases.

To read the rest of the story, click here.

Mark Kirk

I was caught a little off guard last night when I was told that an iePolitics.com post was part of the documents in the Grand Jury proceedings to indict Jeff Burum, Paul Biane, Mark Kirk, and Jim Erwin.  Supposedly, it was used by one of the defense attorneys as part of an argument that an indictment should not occur.  That makes zero sense to me.  Does anyone know anything about this?

New developments in the Colonies case may very well be on the horizon.  I thought before that happens, I would make a few predictions.

First, it is my belief that all charges will eventually be dropped against Jeff Burum.  There is simply too much pointing to the fact that it seems the District Attorney’s Office really screwed this up.  As I have written before, I don’t believe there is a judge on the San Bernardino County Superior Court with guts enough to do it.  Those experienced enough to have this case in their courtroom owe District Attorney Mike Ramos too much.  I believe it will have to go to the Court of Appeal.

Second, it is my belief that Jim Erwin will be convicted on numerous felonies leading to a prison term of ten years or more.  I do not write this because I believe he deserves this. I write this because I believe that Ramos and his campaign manager, Dave Ellis, will do anything, and I mean ANYTHING, to be sure that Erwin does hard time.

I have written many time before that I believe all of the defendants need to go to the FBI.  If the FBI heard everyone’s story, I have to believe they would see this case for what it is.

These guys are no angels, but it is hard to find an angel anywhere in government, politics, or big business.  Based on the Grand Jury testimony, it is hard to believe that all of them are not guilty as sin.  But the Grand Jury testimony is not a full or even accurate account of everything that occurred.

For example, I fail to see how Burum can be convicted of bribery.  The most any one of those charged gained was $20,000.  Mark Kirk was making $200,000-plus a year.  When you compare $20,000 to $102 million, I’d say he’s not very bright if this was really a bribe.  It was barely a month’s salary.  Not that I could be bought, but if I could, it would be a heck of a lot more than $20,000 for helping someone get $102 million.

Even if one tries to suggest it was about the power of influencing a campaign, I don’t see any of these guys gaining much from a $5000 contribution to a mayoral race or $3000 to an Assembly race.  It doesn’t buy one much political pull.  To me the bribery just does not make sense.

And finally, it is my belief that either Mark Kirk or Paul Biane will cut a deal—maybe both of them.  And that takes me back to point number two.  I have been able to watch the District Attorney’s office manipulate information and testimony for months now to reach the conclusions they want to reach—truth be damned.  Whether Kirk or Biane think Erwin was involved in bribery or extortion will not matter.  Eventually, with enough manipulation and convincing and explaining, their testimony will fit as needed to convince a jury to convict him.  I hope I am wrong.

]]> http://iepolitics.net/2011/08/06/iepolitics-a-few-things-about-the-colonies-scandal/feed/ 11 http://iepolitics.net/2011/07/05/iepolitics-for-those-who-keep-asking-who/ http://iepolitics.net/2011/07/05/iepolitics-for-those-who-keep-asking-who/#comments Wed, 06 Jul 2011 03:18:39 +0000 Administrator http://iepolitics.com/?p=9777 Continue reading →]]> Some time ago I received a series of emails containing racist and sexual emails that had been distributed among and passed on by county figures and often on county computers.  I published one set but felt the others were too inflammatory.  Of course, among quite a few other emails, those emails “disappeared” from my inbox.

I have changed my mind about the inflammatory part.  If someone will send them to me again, I will be glad to print them with the complete emails addresses of those who find this crap funny and appropriate for county computers.

Also, if the person who has the Andrew Lamberto emails will send those to me again, I think it is time to print them so the world can see what he does on county time with county computers.

Mike Ramos and Rod Hoops

Editor’s Note:  The photo above is from Ramos’ Facebook page.  Even we would not stoop this low. See previous post.

Ramos to represent California in national group
Staff Report
Created: 06/29/2011 03:42:31 PM PDT

The Board of Directors for the National District Attorneys Association has unanimously voted in District Attorney Michael A. Ramos as its newest member.

Ramos will hold the position for one year, and he has been asked by NDAA President-elect Jan Scully to serve as co-chair of the committee for corrections and prison re-entry, according to a press statement released today by the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office.

“Because of my work as president of the CDAA with Governor Brown on AB 109 this past year, I have been noticed as an expert in this area,” said Ramos, who is serving in his third term as the county’s top prosecutor.

Read more: http://www.dailybulletin.com/news/ci_18378230#ixzz1Qp494eI2

Two questions come to mind.  First, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that San Manuel hits this blog multiple times a day.  It is not possible for them not to know Abernathie’s background.

Second, with the exception of James Mills, does anyone have doubt that Abernathie lied about his POST scandal involvement?  Seriously.  The whole story about why he was leaving SEBA so suddenly has not panned out.  I have always refused to back down on that story simply because it came straight from a member who was present when Abernathie told the SEBA board he was stepping down.

Some have tried to say that since Abernathie was not indicted, he was not involved.  But sources from everywhere, including the SBSD, BOS, DA, and defense counsel, say there is a minimum of 62 others involved that are being handled administratively.  They are being meted out various types of punishment, including be allowed to quietly retire sooner than they wanted to (like that is really punishment), with no criminal action being taken.

I still hope that Mike Stodelle will meet with the FBI and spill his guts about what is going on with the SBSD and DA.  It is about the only thing he could do to redeem himself.  I can put him in touch with the “right” agent but I suspect it is wishful thinking.

Mark is good friends with both Jeff Burum and Greg Devereaux.  Jeff Burum and Greg Devereaux.  Greg Devereaux is very close with John Doe No. 2, the so-far unindicted co-conspirator and partner of Jeff Burum, Dan Richards.

It’s not likely Kirk could cut a deal without burning Burum.  That could put Devereaux in a very sticky position.  And don’t forget it was Devereaux who was on that private jet with Biane and Richards.  It’s entirely possible that Kirk knows enough to take out Devereaux also, something that could make Ramos happy during this budget crisis.  As much of an ass as Devereaux is, how could he possibly cut Ramos’ budget with the possibility of criminal charges hanging over his head.

Every source I have tells me the word on the street is that Devereaux is being investigated.  The question is whether or not it is a real investigation or one to handcuff Devereaux a bit, figuratively speaking in this case.

118.1. Every peace officer who files any report with the agency which employs him or her regarding the commission of any crime or any investigation of any crime, if he or she knowingly and intentionally makes any statement regarding any material matter in the report which the officer knows to be false, whether or not the statement is certified or otherwise expressly reported as true, is guilty of filing a false report punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for up to one year, or in the state prison for one, two, or three years. This section shall not apply to the contents of any statement which the peace officer attributes in the report to any other person.

127. Every person who willfully procures another person to commit perjury is guilty of subornation of perjury, and is punishable in the same manner as he would be if personally guilty of the perjury so procured.

First of all, is the Public Integrity Unit investigators “peace officers” under this section and do the reports they write that result in criminal filings or information they testify to in front of a criminal grand jury constitute a “report” under this section?  I ask this question based on conversations I personally had with Adam Aleman, Mark Kirk, and others where they indicated to me that when interrogated by the PIU they felt pressured to lie. Also, we know that Andrew Lamberto lied on the witness stand about things he should have been an expert about and that the district attorney should have also been personally knowledgeable about.  There are numerous other stories from various people involved as witnesses in these cases where they indicate on condition of anonymity that they felt pressured to lie by the investigators.  So when is it simply an interrogation technique and when does it become a crime?

1. Who will be indicted?
2. When will the indictments occur?
3. How high will the bail be?
4. How many new charges will there be for Jim Erwin?

I want to preface my guesses with if this were any other county I don’t believe there would be charges to begin with and if these were anyone but Hansberger enemies I don’t believe there would arrests or bail.  There is no justification for anything but a surrender to the court and OR release on any of them.  But this is San Bernardino County and very likely will be Judge Rouse signing the arrest warrants and setting bail, so, here goes:

1.  My guess is Jim Erwin, Paul Biane, Mark Kirk, and Jeff Burum.  Neil Derry, Gary Ovitt, Greg Devereaux and others may come later.  This Grand Jury still has lots of work to do.

2.  My guess is by next Thursday.

3.  My guess is Jim Erwin:  $1,000,000; Jeff Burum: $2.5 million.  I can’t gauge the others but I think it will be high enough to keep them in custody long enough to parade all four of them into a courtroom in handcuffs, shackles, and jumpsuits for a good photo op.

4.  My guess is a whole bunch.

Ok, so I could be way off.  I’m only basing this on rumors I’m hearing.  We shall see if they are true or not.

Yellow Rat Snake

There is a post over at www.inlandpolitics.com regarding Supervisor Paul Biane’s former Chief of Staff Matt Brown’s Young Republican PAC.  Here is the link:  Young Republican PAC.

Brown is one of the sleaziest county politicos in the whole county corruption scandal.  He attempted to record his former boss while collecting a $200,000-plus salary from him.  It is also thought he is behind many of the recent leaks.

Some might call Brown a hero.  The only problem with Matt is that he is just about the worst of the worst in terms of dirty politicos in this county.  He has used his close relationships with District Attorney Mike Ramos and Mark Uffer to insulate himself from what should be criminal charges as great as any of those already charged or expected for the John Does.

We can only hope that the FBI, which at very least, is investigating the Brown’s use of free medical care at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center dig a little deeper.  And, we can only hope Jim is right.  We would expect to see no less than felony charges against Brown filed by the Attorney General if he is.  Yea, sure we do!

One thing I always think about in terms of Matt Brown is Mark Kirk telling me what a good friend Matt was and what a good person Matt also was.  I suspect Matt stabbed Mark in the back too.  And I wonder when he will take out Larry Walker for all of us.  It’s only a matter of time.

Testimony continues before the criminal Grand Jury where we expect to see a number of the unnamed co-conspirators indicted.  It is conceivable that the district attorney will drop charges against Erwin and then indict him to avoid the preliminary hearing altogether.  Erwin has subpoenaed several current and former officials including District Attorney Mike Ramos.

We expect Rouse to rule in the District Attorney’s favor.

District Attorney Michael Ramos stated, “The plea today resulted from the filing of Conspiracy charges in connection with the Colonies Settlement last year by my Office and the Attorney General and demonstrates that public officials will be held accountable for violations of the public trust while in office. The District Attorney’s Office and the Attorney General will continue to vigorously pursue our investigation and prosecutions in this joint effort to seek justice for the citizens of San Bernardino County.”

Though the account has not been confirmed by any of the principals said to be involved, an individual of considerable standing and substance at the courthouse has told the Sentinel that just prior to Judge Frank Gafkowski’s ruling on a matter believed to be of major import to Ramos’ professional standing and political future, the district attorney dispatched a senior member of his office to confront Gafkowski and present him with an ultimatum regarding that pending ruling. That ultimatum contained a warning that if Gafkowski made a finding contrary to Ramos’ interests, efforts would be undertaken to ensure that Gafkowski would lose his current judicial assignment.

Gafkowski, a retired jurist, sits as a judge on the San Bernardino Court by assignment. While he was neither elected to the post he holds nor appointed to it by the governor as is the case with most judges, he was selected by the chief justice of the California Supreme Court to assist the San Bernardino Superior Court in handling its civil case overload. Gafkowski hears civil cases almost exclusively in that assignment.

Among the cases he is hearing is one brought by Cheryl Ristow, a former evidence technician in the district attorney’s office. In August 2010, Ristow, through her attorney Jim Reiss, filed a lawsuit alleging she had an 18-month affair with Ramos that included sexual relations that took place in Lake Arrowhead during a city-county conference they attended on behalf of the district attorney’s office, in Ramos’ office at the district attorney’s headquarters, as well as in Ramos’ county-issued car. Ristow’s suit further claims that after she ended the affair, Ramos sexually assaulted her at her workplace when he “grabbed and fondled” her against her will. When news of the affair came out, she alleged that Ramos and some of his employees retaliated against her.

Ramos and his attorney, Richard Marca, have denied the allegations contained in the suit. The district attorney’s office and the county have maintained that Ristow was properly reprimanded for office dress code and attendance violations. Ramos has personally denied having had an affair or improper relations with Ristow.

In the months both before and after the filing of the suit, Reiss was gathering information and evidence to support the assertions in the suit. Earlier this year he drafted an amended complaint in answer to the legal arguments and motions filed by Marca that there is insufficient grounds upon which to proceed with the suit.

As late as March 2 Gafkowski had given indication he would allow the case to proceed toward trial, issuing a tentative ruling giving Reiss 20 days to file a second amended complaint and proceed with discovery for the case. That discovery would have included taking the depositions of, i.e. questioning under oath, those involved, including Ristow and Ramos, as well as witnesses, such as other office employees, some of whom Ramos is alleged to have also been sexually involved with.

On March 3, however, Gafkowski abruptly changed course, and dismissed Ristow’s suit.

Gafkowski’s ruling that the sexual harassment lawsuit against the district attorney lacked sufficient evidence to back Ristow’s claims stunned knowledgeable legal authorities, in that there were factual issues that yet needed to be explored to ascertain whether Ristow’s case was in fact viable, and the judge’s ruling precluded the fact-finding necessary to make that determination.

According to a current member of the district attorney’s office, however, Gafkowski’s paradoxical legal ruling can be explicated by an event that took place just prior to his dismissal of the suit.

Speaking with a strict understanding of anonymity, the prosecutor said a high ranking member of the office, by inference assistant district attorney Jim Hackleman, buttonholed Gafkowski. Ramos’ emissary informed the judge that unless the case pending against Ramos was disposed of expeditiously, the district attorney’s office would approach San Bernardino County Superior Court Presiding Judge Douglas Elwell to tell him Gafkowski’s continued assignment was unacceptable to the prosecutor’s office.

A member of the court staff, also speaking with a guarantee of anonymity, told the Sentinel that Gafkowski had a discussion regarding the case without Ristow’s legal team being present.

Court records also show Gafkowski holding discussions regarding Ristow’s case with Ramos’ lawyer without Ristow or her legal team being present in the courtroom.
Gafkowski’s courtroom is located in the San Bernardino Superior Court’s Civil Division at 303 W. Third Street in San Bernardino. Ramos has his office two floors above Gafkowski’s courtroom in the same building.

A phone call to Gafkowski was intercepted by his courtroom clerk. She said all inquiries to the judge had to be routed through the court’s executive office. The Sentinel posted an email to Gafkowski, seeking his version of events, through a secretary with the court’s executive office, Michelle Stallone. At press time, Gafkowski had not responded to that email.

A request for comment from Ramos and Hackleman was relayed to them through their secretary, Kathy Dolan. Neither responded.

Susan Mickey, the district attorney’s office’s public information officer, told the Sentinel, “I’m sorry, but I don’t have any response to that. I don’t know what this is about. You might want to contact Mr. Ramos’ attorney, Richard Marca.”

Marca told the Sentinel, “This is an absolutely ridiculous accusation – that a judge of Judge Gafkowski’s integrity who has an absolutely sterling reputation would even entertain such a conversation or that someone from the district attorney’s office would engage in it.”

Any change of attitude Gafkowski evinced toward the case, Marca said, was based on the inherent weaknesses of the plaintiff’s position. “He ruled one way and after oral arguments he ruled in a different way because her [Ristow’s] attorney had an obligation to show facts supporting why this case should go to trial. There were no facts at the beginning, in the middle or on the last day we were there to flat warrant this case to continue on, unless they made them up. They were supposed to present to the court a viable case that warrants further litigation. Theirs did not warrant further litigation.”

Marca said the report of Gafkowski being threatened by someone working on behalf of his client was “an absurd fabrication, which is just a continuation of the fabrications which have been involved in this case.” He said, “As the lead lawyer in this case, I had every confidence the case would have no other outcome than the result that occurred no matter how long this case lasted. Who would resort to attacking the integrity of the judiciary? It is unfortunate that someone would make these kinds of accusations about a sitting judge, a man of solid integrity like Judge Gafkowski, and not care about their accusations and what they do to someone’s reputation.”

Marca said he was “not monitoring the activity of everyone in the district attorney’s office.” He said “I am not aware of any such information” regarding a meeting between Hackelman or anyone else from the district attorney’s office and Gafkowski. He reiterated his belief that such a meeting “just didn’t happen. It doesn’t make sense.”

Reiss told the Sentinel he considered Gafkowski’s ruling to dismiss the case “highly unusual. Just the day before, he had issued a tentative ruling to let us submit a second amended complaint. He just flipped over on us. He had no basis to dismiss the case under the law. The whole process exists so that plaintiffs and defendants get their day in court.”

Reiss said unresolved issues yet exist.

“He [Ramos] says there was no relationship, consensual or otherwise, and there was no retaliation when the relationship went sour,” he said. “We say there was. It’s a he said, she said kind of thing. That’s why there needs to be evidence considered and witnesses heard.”

Reiss said the report going around that Ramos had sent someone over to threaten Gafkowski was “pretty shocking. That’s basically extortion.”

Reiss said, though, that since Gafkowski’s cases are primarily or exclusively civil ones and the district attorney’s office engages in criminal filings, any complaint the district attorney’s office might make about Gafkowski’s acceptability would not, or at least should not, carry much weight with Elwell.

“The district attorney’s office doesn’t have much leverage over him as a judge hearing civil cases, I would think,” Reiss said.

Ramos, however, has cultivated his relationship with the county’s judges and the succession of presiding judges who have served in that capacity while he has been district attorney. In 2009, for example, Ramos supported the continuation of San Bernardino County’s practice of augmenting the county judges’ state paid incomes with an additional $20,000 stipend. Critics of the stipend, including county supervisor Neil Derry, said the payment was adverse to the state constitution and a represented a conflict of interest for judges, who often hear cases in which the county is either a plaintiff or a defendant. Ramos asserted that it was neither unconstitutional nor a conflict, and the county has continued the practice.

Jeff Burum

So, I thought the idea was to fund an opponent?  Or was it to let Rex take a hit for you?  I’m beginning to wonder.

I didn’t use to feel this way, but I do now.  I hope the thug squad shows up at your office one day with the steel bracelets.  Then you will know what it feels like to be sold out by those you trust.

We are not ready to say Ramos is equally bizarre.  But he is still a predator, a predator who could be retired as of today had promises been kept.

But promises were not kept.  And now we are likely to have Ramos as our District Attorney for four more years.  Of course, that will give him four more years to figure out how to send Jim Erwin, Jeff Burum, Dan Richards, Mark Kirk, and Patrick O’Reilly to prison for very long terms.  We only hope he adds Greg Devereaux, Andrew Lamberto, and Gary Ovitt to the list.  San Quentin would be a good place.

• Credible candidate would run and be funded against Mike Ramos.
• There would a press conference right after the June primary in relationship to a package turned over to federal authorities.  The package was said to have been compiled by private investigators for Jeff Burum showing District Attorney to be guilty of one solid felony.
• Search warrants would be served on the District Attorney by the feds.
• Steve Cooley would easily be elected as Attorney General and would review corruption cases.
• Paul Biane would be re-elected.
• Meg Whitman would be easily elected and Jerry Brown would be retired.
• There would be a hung jury in Rex’s second case.
• There would be an appeal filed based on juror misconduct in Rex’s second case.
• Rex would no serve any prison time.
• The courts would remove the District Attorney from the corruption cases.
• The Colonies Partners were going to sue the county for the $300 million for challenging the decision.
• The Colonies Partners were going to sue the county for defamation in the corruption scandal.
• The statute of limitations has run our on the five John Does when in reality the District Attorney indicates they still have a couple of more years to arrest Burum, Richards, and Kirk.
• The Ristow affidavits would be released.
• Attoney General’s Office would drop the corruption cases once they realized Ramos was only trying to further his political career.
• Ruth Stringer and Doreen Boxer would be gone by January 2010.
• An outside attorney would appointed as county counsel.
• Greg Devereaux would clean up the county and most Uffer appointees would be fired.
• Adam Aleman would be crucified in the Gutierrez trial and shown to be a liar.  The jurors would never believe him.
• Bill Postmus would never stay clean.
• The search warrants would be thrown out.
• iePolitics would shut down this year.

Corruption probes cast wide net

The past year has been fraught with scandal in San Bernardino County as state and local prosecutors charged two former county officials in a sweeping corruption complaint related to a $102million land dispute and convicted a third former county official on charges of fraud, theft and conspiracy.Also in 2010, federal investigators raided the county’s Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton and Upland City Hall in what appear to be unrelated investigations.

Most recently, District Attorney Michael A. Ramos announced that federal investigators had joined the ongoing state and local probe into corruption in county government.

“As we come to the end of the year, we are pleased to join with the FBI in the establishment of the San Bernardino County Corruption Task Force. And our partnership with the Attorney General’s Office remains stronger than ever,” Ramos said.

“I made a commitment to the citizens of this county to fight public corruption. I will devote every necessary resource to hold accountable those who have violated the public’s trust and to restore confidence in our local government.”

County officials and spokesmen for Rancho Cucamonga developer Colonies Partners LP maintain the $102 million settlement between the county’s Flood Control District and Colonies was the product of a fair process and hard bargaining that ultimately saved taxpayers from a judgment that might have reached $300million had the county lost in court.

Still, Board of Supervisors Chairman Gary Ovitt, who voted along with then-supervisors Bill Postmus and Paul Biane to approve the settlement, said the county “supports any investigation of possible wrongdoing.”

“Let justice be served,” Ovitt said in a statement. “Anyone convicted of wrongdoing should be held accountable.”

Ovitt stressed, however, that county leaders have not let the scandal deter them from the public’s business.

“The county has not been fixated on or distracted by these matters,” he said.

To read the rest of the story, click here.

ReprintPrint Email Font Resize Corruption probes cast wide net Investigators pursue cases across county Joe Nelson, Staff Writer Posted: 12/30/2010 05:47:55 PM PST Updated: 12/30/2010 06:49:15 PM PST The past year has been fraught with scandal in San Bernardino County as state and local prosecutors charged two former county officials in a sweeping corruption complaint related to a $102million land dispute and convicted a third former county official on charges of fraud, theft and conspiracy.Also in 2010, federal investigators raided the county’s Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton and Upland City Hall in what appear to be unrelated investigations. Most recently, District Attorney Michael A. Ramos announced that federal investigators had joined the ongoing state and local probe into corruption in county government. “As we come to the end of the year, we are pleased to join with the FBI in the establishment of the San Bernardino County Corruption Task Force. And our partnership with the Attorney General’s Office remains stronger than ever,” Ramos said. “I made a commitment to the citizens of this county to fight public corruption. I will devote every necessary resource to hold accountable those who have violated the public’s trust and to restore confidence in our local government.” County officials and spokesmen for Rancho Cucamonga developer Colonies Partners LP maintain the $102 million settlement between the county’s Flood Control District and Colonies was the product of a fair process and hard bargaining that ultimately saved taxpayers from a judgment that might have reached $300million had the county lost in court. Advertisement Still, Board of Supervisors Chairman Gary Ovitt, who voted along with then-supervisors Bill Postmus and Paul Biane to approve the settlement, said the county “supports any investigation of possible wrongdoing.” “Let justice be served,” Ovitt said in a statement. “Anyone convicted of wrongdoing should be held accountable.” Ovitt stressed, however, that county leaders have not let the scandal deter them from the public’s business. “The county has not been fixated on or distracted by these matters,” he said.

The key to the Ristow case is the up-to-now confidential affidavits signed by five women who were involved with Ramos.  Making those affidavits public will take Ramos down and he knows it.

So far none of the predictions about his demise have come true.  The BOS has only seen a report that basically puts all the blame on Ristow.  Mark Kirk , Andrew Lamberto, and Ruth Stringer made sure the truth did not come out.

Ramos has two votes on the Board of Supervisors, Supervisors Gary Ovitt and Josie Gonzales.  If he wants the county to pay off Ristow to settle the case with the guarantee the affidavits are sealed and kept away from the public, both of those supervisors will do so.

Mikey needs a third vote.  We know Supervisor Neil Derry will never vote to keep the affidavits sealed no matter what Ramos threatens him with.

But Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt has some skeletons in his closet whether imagined or not.  Brad “Bill Who?” Mitzelfelt has tippytoed around Ramos for two years, scared to death of what he knows Ramos is capable of to control him.

If we have learned anything about Mitzelfelt in the past few months it is he is a wimp and lacks integrity.  If Ramos orders his Thug Squad to look in Brad’s direction, Brad will do WHATEVER it takes to keep them as far away as possible and we believe that includes voting for a multi-million dollar settlement if necessary.

The other vote could also come from Supervisor Janice Rutherford.  She has never been presented with any evidence that we are aware of to show Ramos the thug that he is.  If he wanted to call in a favor with her, insiders say she very well could vote on his behalf.

If Ristow is taken out of the picture, Ramos will have four more years of unbridled politicking in the name of “cleaning up corruption.”  He very well could rehabilitate himself into a viable candidate for Congressman Jerry Lewis’ job in four years or win a fourth term as district attorney.

I know Cheryl and she very much wants the truth to come out more than anything else.  But I also know there is a plan in place for a brutal court trial if Mikey’s hand is forced.  I’m not sure anyone in Ristow’s shoes is up to that.  I hope she holds firm, but also won’t blame her if she doesn’t.

]]> http://iepolitics.net/2010/12/28/iepolitics-how-the-ristow-case-will-resolve/feed/ 4 http://iepolitics.net/2010/12/17/sbsun-san-bernardino-county-district-attorney-attends-meeting-with-gov-elect-jerry-brown/ http://iepolitics.net/2010/12/17/sbsun-san-bernardino-county-district-attorney-attends-meeting-with-gov-elect-jerry-brown/#comments Sat, 18 Dec 2010 03:20:01 +0000 Administrator http://iepolitics.com/?p=6792 Continue reading →]]>

In the last week he was seen coming out of the governor’s office in Sacramento.  Sources close to him seem to think Governor Schwarzenegger will make the appointment before leaving office.

If there is truth to this rumor, it could impact the prosecutions significantly.  We shall see.

District Attorney Mike Ramos

www.inlandpolitics.com

Sunday, December 5, 2010 – 01:30 p.m.

Last week another round of perjury for San Bernardino County District Attorney Mike Ramos.

Last week another list of excuses and deflections by his biggest defender.

The editorial board of The Sun seems to be on its heels over the latest screw-up by Ramos, but rushed to his defense none-the-less.

Last week the California Fair Political Practices Commission announced it intended to fine Ramos and his campaign treasurer, San Bernardino-based certified public accountant Marvin Reiter, for nine errors on Ramos’ campaign finance disclosure.

Most of the some $9,000 in omissions were credit card charges related to hotels and bars.

The lastest episode comes on the heels of Ramos being caught for failing to disclose a $10,000 payment he made to his wife from his campaign funds in 2009 for alleged campaign work.

A practice which is now banned under state law.

Both Ramos and Reiter have admitted to the latest offense.

There is circumstantial evidence to believe Ramos turned to his campaign credit card as a source to supplement his income in the second half of 2009 after his county-issued government credit card use fell under the scrutiny from at least one county supervisor and a reporter for The Sun.

The investigation into questionable activities by reporter Joe Nelson was quashed by editor Frank Pine as not being newsworthy.

To read the rest of the article, click here.

One of my disappointments during the past eleven days of non-blogging has been my inability to write about the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) findings against San Bernardino County District Attorney Mike Ramos.  Many of you may remember that we filed the complaint against him that resulted in this fine.  See:  Mike Ramos

Although we are happy with the finding of guilt, we do not believe the commission is going far enough.  Ramos is actively prosecuting his  political enemies for similar deeds, charging infractions as felonies.  Yet, as an attorney he should be held to a higher standard.  But instead he is receiving a slap on the hand in comparison to others.

Letters can be sent to the FPPC prior to the December 9 board meeting,requesting that the commission look into the matter further.  Considering Ramos’ propensity for hotel encounters with his various paramours, examining the thousands of dollars in hotel bills taken from his campaign war chest is warranted.

If you are interested in requesting that the commission hold Ramos to the same standard as he holds his political enemies, you can fax a letter to (916) 322-0886.  Several letters have already been collected and will be faxed prior to the meeting.

]]> http://iepolitics.net/2010/12/04/iepolitics-the-ramos-fine/feed/ 0 http://iepolitics.net/2010/12/01/iepolitics-exclusive-the-eylerpostmus-witness-list-%e2%80%93-updated-2/ http://iepolitics.net/2010/12/01/iepolitics-exclusive-the-eylerpostmus-witness-list-%e2%80%93-updated-2/#comments Wed, 01 Dec 2010 16:00:19 +0000 Administrator http://iepolitics.com/?p=6502 Continue reading →]]>

Editor’s Note:  For a blog that “no one reads,” stories that are printed on it sure do have the tendency to create havoc.  We knew there would be several additional names to this list, but then presents drop from the sky.  And those presents were read by the defense.

iePolitics has obtained a partial list of witnesses expected to be called as a part of the upcoming corruption trial in People v. Postmus, et al.  Attorneys for the defendants have given the judge an expected length of seven to eight weeks for the trial.  Here are the names we have been given so far:

• Mike Ramos
• Female DA Employee No. 1
• Female DA Employee No. 2
• Female DA Employee No. 3
• Female DA Employee No. 4
• Female DA Employee No. 5
• Matt Brown
• Adam Aleman
• Brad Mitzelfelt
• Mark Kirk
• Gary Ovitt
• Mark Uffer
• Sheila Raines
• Harlow Cameron
• Dennis Draeger
• Bud Randles
• Bob Schreiber
• Ruth Stringer
• Michael Smith
• Maury Weiss
• Tim Johnson
• Josh Candaleria
• Bob Smith
• Josh White
• Naseem Farooqi
• Robert Eland
• Steve Hauer
• Bob Windle
• Andrew Lamberto
• Cheryl Ristow

Additions:

• Brenda Solis
• Burt Southard
• Brian Johns
• Bobby Cox
• SB Cty Fire Crew Member No. 2
• SB Cty Fire Crew Member No. 3
• Amy Sheldon
• Mike Richman
• Roman Nava
• Doreen Boxer
• Lauri Ferguson

We expect the prelim to take place early February.  It shall be interesting to see what happens.

Editor’s Note:  For a blog that “no one reads,” stories that are printed on it sure do have the tendency to create havoc.  We knew there would be several additional names to this list, but then presents drop from the sky.  And those presents were read by the defense.

iePolitics has obtained a partial list of witnesses expected to be called as a part of the upcoming corruption trial in People v. Postmus, et al.  Attorneys for the defendants have given the judge an expected length of seven to eight weeks for the trial.  Here are the names we have been given so far:

• Mike Ramos
• Female DA Employee No. 1
• Female DA Employee No. 2
• Female DA Employee No. 3
• Female DA Employee No. 4
• Female DA Employee No. 5
• Matt Brown
• Adam Aleman
• Brad Mitzelfelt
• Mark Kirk
• Gary Ovitt
• Mark Uffer
• Sheila Raines
• Harlow Cameron
• Dennis Draeger
• Bud Randles
• Bob Schreiber
• Ruth Stringer
• Michael Smith
• Maury Weiss
• Tim Johnson
• Josh Candaleria
• Bob Smith
• Josh White
• Naseem Farooqi
• Robert Eland
• Steve Hauer
• Bob Windle
• Andrew Lamberto
• Cheryl Ristow

Additions:

• Brenda Solis
• Burt Southard
• Brian Johns
• Bobby Cox
• Fire Crew Member No. 2
• Fire Crew Member No. 3
• Amy Sheldon

Our condolences to the family.

www.inlandpolitics.com

Wednesday, November 10, 2010 – 9:28 a.m.

Is the District Attorney really calling the shots in the investigation involving activities at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (ARMC)?

The evidence is building, and it’s beginning to look more and more like the answer is “no”.

Confidential sources tell The Insider that federal agents were doing the questioning of hospital staff, not investigators for District Attorney Michael Ramos, as everyone is being led to believe.

Considering all of Ramos’ personal and professional issues, can anyone really blame the feds.

The level of seriousness of the ARMC investigation can be drawn from the line of questioning.

Sources tell The Insider the alleged conduct under investigation includes, but is not limited to; medical treatment of uncharted and unregistered patients who are public officials; the theft of public services; allegations of threats and intimidation of medical providers and staff; and allegations of abuse in the Department of Behavioral Health inpatient unit.

The buzz on this issue? Ramos dragged his feet on the whole ARMC matter until finally the feds had to step in.

Ramos, who has been accused of utilizing his office to lash out at his political enemies, has also worked tirelessly to protect those he views as allies.

Other sources say Ramos may have been out to protect one member of the board of supervisors in particular. Someone Ramos views as an ally.

To read the rest of the story, click here.

Supervisor-elect Janice Rutherford

www.grapevine.com

The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors is playing fast and loose with the rules once again.  And this time around it seems they may very well be in such a hurry so to prevent newcomer Supervisor-elect Janice Rutherford, who ran on a platform of ethics reform, from providing her input into a law that will affect her ability to serve her constituents  for her entire term of office and keeping her promises to voters.

Four out of the five current supervisors supported Rutherford’s opponent and now they are pushing through a new county ordinance to transfer authority from the Board of Supervisors to their hand-selected County Administrative Officer Greg Devereaux.  Devereaux appears to have little concern for ethics reform as evidenced by his handling of the Arrowhead Regional Medical Center scandal, which was highlighted this past week with his misstatements to the press and his covering for supervisors who are accused of wrongdoing.  Inside sources say that those supervisors were targeted in the search warrants and criminal charges against them are possible.

Sources also say Devereaux is also behind the extended stay of County Counsel, Ruth Stringer, whom a majority of the Board wanted to terminate over a year ago.   The Board handed her termination process over to Devereaux months ago, but he has been slow to respond.

Stringer has been a driving force in prodding BOS members into misbehavior, often rendering unorthodox, if not bizarre, legal opinions to cover for suspicious actions of those members she has aligned herself with and who have protected her despite the fact she has cost the taxpayers tens of millions of dollars in unnecessary legal fees and litigation.

Stringer has been responsible for persuading the Board to fund the civil complaints associated with the Hueston investigation of the Assessor’s Office to the tune of $1.6 million and growing by the day.  But more importantly, without Board approval, she violated attorney-client privilege by turning over parts of the Hueston Report over to her friend, District Attorney Mike Ramos, before getting approval from the Board.

To read the rest of the story, click here.

www.inlandpolitics.com

Saturday, November 6, 2010 – 12:20 p.m.

Last Updated: November 6, 2010 – 05:30 p.m.

Now the lid has finally blown on the scandal at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (ARMC).

What a surprise to us all.

Well, not really.

Saturday mornings local news articles related to federal agents raiding the facility and seizing records were horrendous to say the least.

All of those denials. Or should I say lies.

The most outrageous is courtesy of former ARMC administrator and fired county administrative officer Mark H. Uffer, who through his attorney Sanford Kassel, denies any knowledge of free health care for county elected and appointed officials.

Kassel says Uffer was shocked to hear about the goings on at ARMC.

Shocked? Give me a break.

An interesting statement coming from the ring leader of the V.I.P. care at the hospital.

Mr. Uffer, are you sure your name wasn’t listed on the search warrant?

Even I had a close call with the “I’ll take care of your bill” plan courtesy of Uffer.

Back in the 2003-4 time period I was covered by Kaiser Permanente through the county benefit plan, and had a medical condition arise. I was offered the opportunity to be seen at ARMC through Uffer. When I arrived, I was immediately seen by the emergency room staff, and given various tests. I later received a bill from ARMC and from the attending physician.

I paid both to the tune of about $3,000.

Later, Uffer told me that if I had brought the bill to him he would have taken care of it.

To read the rest of the story, click here.

We are still having technical difficulties getting the video of Bob Schreiber posted but it hasn’t been forgotten!  We will post a link as soon as it is available.

Finally, we are still preparing the Grand Jury and/or State Bar complaints against Jean-Rene Basle, district attorney staff, and Andrew Lamberto.  Again, as soon as they are filed, we will post a copy.

We finally called the Los Angeles FBI office to determine if the listed address for their Public Integrity Unit is the same as their general address on their website.  We know the PIU has taken over the SB County investigation.  They can be reached at 11000 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90024.  Phone number is (310) 477-6565.  They answer up to 10 p.m. for sure as we just called.

Brown made headlines earlier this year when he complained that he was the victim of a hostile work environment because he also wore a wire in an attempt to entrap his boss, Supervisor Paul Biane, on behalf of the District Attorney’s Office.  Brown went out on stress and returned months later after settling with the county for $25,000 a new job paying the equivalent to his $225,000 annual salary and benefits he received working for Biane.

Brown is proving to be quite the snitch.  He and his wife Jessica have worked both sides for years.  Now he is working for another elected, Democratic Auditor-Controller-Tax Collector Larry Walker.  Walker is despised by many on the Fifth Floor.

It was Fifth Floor politicos who were instrumental in leaking information regarding the Walker-Thompson alliance to iePolitics a couple of years ago.  It makes us wonder who Brown is actually working for now and where his loyalties lie.  Republican politicians would like nothing better than to see Walker caught up in a headline-grabbing scandal.  Perhaps Brown can deliver in time.

]]> http://iepolitics.net/2010/11/01/iepolitics-more-prosecutorial-misconduct-exposed-at-postmus-prelim-matt-brown-proves-worth-to-opponents-once-again/feed/ 4 http://iepolitics.net/2010/10/31/iepolitics-email-hacking/ http://iepolitics.net/2010/10/31/iepolitics-email-hacking/#comments Mon, 01 Nov 2010 01:31:36 +0000 Administrator http://iepolitics.com/?p=6140 Continue reading →]]> After our story yesterday regarding someone hacking Bill Postmus’ email account, someone sent me this story:

Mendte takes a look at the media

By JONATHAN BERR Posted 5:45 PM 06/03/09 Columns

www.inlandpolitics.com

Saturday, October 30, 2010 – 1030 p.m.

Did Fridays preliminary hearing involving former San Bernardino County Assessor Bill Postmus and Taxpayer Advocate Gregory Eyler really take an unexpected turn?

Well according to people in the courtroom, maybe not.

District Attorney staff entering the courtroom before the hearing reportedly looked unhappy and stressed. Something you wouldn’t expect after securing a high-profile conviction just two days earlier.

Smiles should have been in order.

Senior District Attorney Investigator Hollis “Bud” Randles spent roughly four and one-half hours on the witness stand being cross-examined by defense attorneys over the District Attorneys public integrity units handling of key witness Adam Aleman.

Aleman, a former assistant assessor and convicted felon is at the core of the prosecutions cases against Postmus, Eyler, and former Assistant Assessor Jim Erwin.

Aleman has plead no-contest to four felony counts related to falsifying evidence and lying to a county grand jury. He is cooperating with county and state prosecutors in an effort to gain a lighter misdemeanor sentence.

However, what has now come into question is the District Attorney’s handling of various aspects of the investigation.

Some issues arising in Fridays hearing include;

To read the rest of the story, click here.

Our second most favorite District Attorney investigator, Bud Randle, was on the stand testifying as to the theft charges against Bill Postmus.  While discussing one of the charges, Randle was asked when they discovered the “crime.”  Before all was said and done, Randle had to admit that the District Attorney’s Office filed criminal charges three years and ONE MONTH after discovery.  In other words, they waited until AFTER the statute of limitations had expired to file.  That may very well be a problem.

Randle also protested over the defense’s claim that the county was reimbursed for the plane ticket for Dino DeFazio.  He stated that the county was not completely reimbursed.  When pushed, Randle had to admit that the amount of reimbursement that was NOT made was—drum roll please—ten cents.  Yes, you read that correctly—ONE THIN DIME.  At that point, Postmus attorney, Steve Levine, took a dime out of his pocket and tossed it in the director of Deputy District Attorney Lewis Cope.

But the most serious point made was the fact that the District Attorney’s Office had Adam Aleman wearing a wire long after Postmus had obtained legal counsel and had been charged.  I cannot begin to explain the issue with this, but apparently it is a very big deal.  And, none of those recordings have been turned over to the defense as part of discovery.  Randle was asked for a list of dates of when the recordings were made.  He could not remember.  He was asked where that list might be.  He said they were on his computer but apparently pleaded ignorance as to how to provide the court with a copy.  I believe it was Judge Smith who finally told Randle that he believed someone in the District Attorney’s Office should be capable of printing the list out off of the computer.  The District Attorney’s Office must provide that list on Monday.  It shall be interesting.

This case is NOT in Judge Rouse’s courtroom.  District Attorney staff did not look happy.

I had been leaning towards voting for Newsom because if we are going to have a Democrat in office, I would prefer one who admits to being a democrat.  Mikey is a former Democrat as well, changing parties when he decided to run for public office.

So, it’s decided for me.  Newsom has my vote.

Bob Smith

Certain subjects generate a lot of hits, while others a lot of comments, and still others a lot of private email.  For having a common name, stories on Bob Smith always generate a lot of negative emotion in the form of phone calls and email.  Our last story on this Bob Smith was no exception.

Much of what we received this time around has to do with Smith’s shenanigans in Yermo rather than the fraud he committed in the county.  We will save the Yermo story for a few days as I am trying to verify some of that information.

The most laughable information this time was from a deputy sheriff who wanted to tell me that Smith had tried to convince the residents of Helendale to give up their services from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, form their own police department, and make him chief of police.  If you’ve never been to Helendale . . . well think of Andy and Barney and you’ll get an idea of what a Helendale Police Department would be like.  The guy always has a scheme.

His best scheme, however, came as part of the Assessor’s Office scandal.  Apparently, when going to his “How to be a detective 101″ classes, he missed a few, specifically those on entrapment, illegal wires, etc.

Smith decided all on his own to wear a wire and record members of the Executive staff of the Assessor’s Office without the assistance or permission of the District Attorney.  Yep, yet another political snitch.  Did the District Attorney file charges?  Of course not.

But it gets better.  Smith was running for Assembly at the time.  He was caught running his campaign on county time.  As a matter of fact, campaign fliers were found on the county server.  Smith was fired by Postmus for this.  Did the District Attorney file charges?  Of course not.

So we have someone who operates a side business on county time, runs a campaign on county time, and wears an illegal wire.  But it gets even better.  Stay tuned for Part Three.

By the way, his illegal wire was for naught as he didn’t get anything on tape.

]]> http://iepolitics.net/2010/10/24/iepolitics-da-liar-no-2-part-two/feed/ 7 http://iepolitics.net/2010/10/21/inlandpolitics-lack-of-case-evident-in-final-day-of-gutierrez-trial/ http://iepolitics.net/2010/10/21/inlandpolitics-lack-of-case-evident-in-final-day-of-gutierrez-trial/#comments Thu, 21 Oct 2010 20:36:43 +0000 Administrator http://iepolitics.com/?p=5988 Continue reading →]]>

Thursday, October 21, 2010 – 01:15 p.m.

www.inlandpolitics.com

The final day in the trial of former San Bernardino County Assessor employee and Rancho Cucamonga city councilman Rex Gutierrez had some interesting events of note.

Gutierrez is charged with three felony counts related to alleged time card fraud during his employment under former Assessor Bill Postmus.

Events not covered by the local newspapers of course.

Two significant parts in Wednesdays proceedings was courtesy of key witness Adam Aleman and defense lawyer Jim Reiss.

Reiss recalled Aleman to the stand to further exploit Aleman’s inability to tell the truth.

In particular, Reiss inquired of Aleman as to why he lied to Ted Lehrer about getting married. After all, Lehrer was to be in Aleman’s wedding party. Aleman told Reiss he didn’t want to have anything to do with anyone from the Assessor’s office.

Aleman fell for the bait and was hit with an interesting question. Didn’t you speak to Lehrer last week? “Yes” Aleman replied. Didn’t you text message with Lehrer last week? “Yes” Aleman replied. Aleman ended up admitting he communicates with Lehrer all the time.

A few final questions from Reiss consisted of:

You submitted altered minutes (To the grand jury)? Aleman response “Yes”.

You pled guilty to felony crimes about lying? Aleman response “Yes”.

So you’re a convicted felon that has been convicted for lying? Aleman response “Yes”.

Yet the attorney general told you to tell the truth? Aleman response “Yes”.

In his closing argument, Reiss told jurors he wanted them to see Aleman lie again. “He’s a liar.” “He lied to you again here today.” Reiss said.

The District Attorney and Attorney General appear to be operating in the mode of “It’s a crime if we say it is”. An unfortunate situation to say the least. They know the case stinks and has serious evidentiary issues. Yet they plowed ahead a second time.

A purely politically-driven agenda. Especially since Mandel’s boss, Attorney General Brown, can’t take a hit in his corruption cases before the November 2nd election.

In rebuttal, all Deputy Attorney General Melissa Mandel could come up with was an outline of a duck to display on the courtroom overhead. After displaying the “duck outline” Mandel told the jury if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it must be a duck.

In referring to the phantom conspiracy I guess.

What’s even more amazing is the prosecution’s ever evolving fantasy theory involving developer Jeff Burum. In first trial, prosecutors said Burum pulled puppet strings in the Assessors operation, but now in the second trial he somehow exerts a shadow control over county government.

You gotta be kidding!

What a difference a couple months can make. Puppet strings to shadow control, yet Burum couldn’t even get his own property tax assessments lowered.

Yes, this bizarre story telling is actually occurring. No joke.

All this of course came after Mandel actually fell down on the floor in front of the jury while trying to push the podium closer. It seems the podium fell forward and Mandel went with it.

Reportedly, people in the courtroom, including the jurors, did well to contain their laughter.

Mandel, who seems to naturally have a high-pitched voice, repeatedly raised her voice, when speaking to the jury. And when she does this, Mandel comes across to the jury and courtroom observers as shrill.

To read the rest of this story, click here.

The truth is a little different.  What actually happened, had the investigators bothered to ask, is Burum and Jim Erwin were talking, as they often do since they are friends.  Burum mentioned Gutierrez and the fact he needed a job closer to home.  Burum asked if there were any jobs open in the Assessor’s Office—ANY!

Erwin told Jeff to have Gutierrez send him his résumé, which Rex eventually did.  From there the résumé was reviewed and Rex went through the regular hiring process that is used for any Exempt employee.

One of the problems with putting out the truth is that there are no conspiracy charges against Erwin in connection with the Assessor’s Office.  As a matter of fact, when Assessor Office staff were interviewed by investigators and John Hueston, they said Erwin did his job.  That truth doesn’t fit into the DA’s need for a conviction.

Lamberto’s testimony could not only send an innocent man to prison, but may very well impact numerous others working for the Board of Supervisors and County Administrative Office.  Mark Kirk in particular has been targeted by District Attorney investigators, and based on information from a confidential informant, we believe they have stepped up their investigation in the past week.  We have been told he is one of the individuals whose payroll records have been subjected to a search warrant/subpoena.

Some courtroom observers believe Gutierrez will be convicted of the time card fraud and conspiracy charges.  If that happens, then we can expect to see a lot more action against the five John Does—Jeff Burum, Dan Richards, Patrick O’Reilly, Mark Kirk, and Paul Biane.  Judge Duke Rouse seems to care little about statute of limitations or any of the finer points of law.  Observers also said it appeared Rouse has been doing everything he could to help the District attorney keep their case on life support.

We may know this week how much damage Lamberto’s testimony caused Gutierrez as there could be a verdict as early as today.  Even a “not guilty” verdict will not completely take other exempt employees off the hook.  We shall see.

It seems Assistant Attorney General Melissa Mandel fell head over heals over Rex Gutierrez today during the final stages of the trial.  The angry Ms. Mandel was pretty intense from what we hear, even attacking Rex’s wife during closing arguments.

The highlight of her argument was not what she said but  rather when she went to move the podium closer to the jury box so that the jury could fully appreciate her shrillness.  She fell head over heals . . . literally.  The bailiff had to sweep her up off of the floor.

It would be her luck, that because it was closing arguments, everyone from the District Attorney’s office and the Attorney General’s office was there to witness her performance.  Hey, at least she wasn’t boring.  They got an eyeful for sure.

Rather than concentrating their cases on his “criminal” activity, they have been far more interested in his love life.  Their exploitation has become egregious to the point that it seems they are purposely attempting to push him over the edge.  This time around the harassment is strengthening his resolve rather than weakening it.  I am happy to say that Bill now has 70 days clean and sober and the random drug tests to prove it.  Wonder what Bud will try next?

]]> http://iepolitics.net/2010/10/20/iepolitics-the-das-office-continues-to-pound/feed/ 1 http://iepolitics.net/2010/10/17/sbgrapevine-editorial-time-for-the-us-department-of-justice-to-step-in-compelled-to-deceive-part-three/ http://iepolitics.net/2010/10/17/sbgrapevine-editorial-time-for-the-us-department-of-justice-to-step-in-compelled-to-deceive-part-three/#comments Mon, 18 Oct 2010 01:59:20 +0000 Administrator http://iepolitics.com/?p=5878 Continue reading →]]>

Adam Aleman

www.sbgrapevine.com

Are you listening US Attorney?  San Bernardino County is in crisis.  It is a crisis that mocks our justice system; one that distorts the truth; and one where integrity is a forgotten.  Bringing about justice is no longer the highest priority of our county prosecutors; winning at any and all cost  is their goal—a goal that has little to do integrity, truth or . . . justice.

There are many lesser-known stories of justice gone awry in our county. Ours  starts with a little-known manager at the local Outback Steakhouse who went on to make headlines.  His name is familiar to all of us.  It is Adam Aleman.

Aleman caught the attention of then-Supervisor Bill Postmus many years ago.  He eventually left Outback Steakhouse to become a member of Postmus’ Board of Supervisors staff.

Adam came from a hard-working family and the values he was raised with served him well.  He proved to be a quick learner and a natural politico with a strong drive for success.  But along the way to climbing up the ladder to a position as Assistant Assessor at the age of 24, something went terribly wrong.

They say power corrupts.  They also say it goes to the head.  Aleman is an excellent argument for both statements.

The public never really heard the name “Adam Aleman” until San Bernardino County District Attorney Mike Ramos announced that search warrants were served on the San Bernardino County Assessor’s office where Bill Postmus had become Assessor a year earlier and Aleman became one of two assistant assessors.  Jim Erwin was the second.

The Assessor’s Office had been the subject of a Grand Jury probe, initiated as a result of Second District Supervisor Paul Biane filing a complaint with the District Attorney’s Public Integrity Unit over political work being done on county time.   The complaint alleged that Postmus was running a political operation out of the Assessor’s Office.

During the Grand Jury probe, documents from the Assessor’s Office were requested as part of the investigation.  Several Assessor’s Office employees were also asked for their testimony before the Grand Jury.  Adam Aleman was one of those employees.  He was also responsible for submitting the requested documents.

Whether it was his youth, fear, arrogance, or simply the fact that values his parents tried to instill in him did not take, Aleman started down the road of deception.  Before submitting the requested documents he altered them, and then lied about it.  He also lied to the Grand Jury and destroyed county property.

After months of investigation, on June 30, 2008, Aleman was arrested and charged with nine felonies.  One year to the day, June 30, 2009, Aleman plead guilty to four felony counts.  As part of the plea agreement, those felonies will be reduced in exchange for his truthful testimony against any and all other defendants in the Assessor’s Office corruption scandal and ancillary cases.

Long before June 2009, Aleman’s “deal” had become obvious to anyone connected in anyway with the corruption scandal.  Public officials and private citizens alike were interrogated, harassed, bullied, searched, accused, and intimidated by District Attorney investigators from the Public Integrity Unit based on “intel” provided to them from Aleman.

Aleman has described himself as a “master manipulator” on one hand but on the other has said privately that he was coerced into making statements about others by the investigators.  He claims he merely told them he was passing along rumors that he expected them to check out to determine if they had a factual basis.  He also has said that he has been intimidated by them when they have played “good cop, bad cop” with him, threatened him with a long prison sentence if he didn’t cooperate, and encouraged him to lie.

To read the rest of this story, click here.

Grand Terrace City Councilwoman Bea Cortes

Friday, October 15, 2010

Bob Schrieber

The atmosphere in Judge Michael Smith’s courtroom today was 180 degrees opposite of just a week ago.  Much of that likely had to do with a notable absence, PIU boss Bob Schreiber, who was never to be seen today.  Even the bailiff seemed to have a change of heart and tried to be helpful.

The always-bigoted Bud Hollis toned down his testimony as well today as he got lesson after lesson about telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.  He had to admit that he had never read county policy regarding exempt employees.   For example, during three years of investigation and a price tag already of $4 million, he had never bothered to read the part of the Exempt  Compensation Plan that says:

HOURS OF WORK
Employees shall be required to work during such hours as necessary to carry out the duties of their position as designated by the appointing authority, and such hours may be varied so long as the work requirements and efficient operations of the County are assured.

Hey Andrew, I guess you never read that either, did you?  So what do you do as director of Human Resources.  But I digress.

For those of you that would like to compare Bud’s “truthful testimony” with the facts, there is  this little gem:

All elected County officials shall be entitled to have a Category I County vehicle assigned to them for use on County business. All other employees and officers who are eligible for an auto allowance are eligible for a Category I County vehicle under this section with the approval of the County Administrative Officer.

Such officers and employees may use such vehicles for personal use provided they reimburse the County at the current motor pool variable rate per mile for such use. Elected officials shall not be required to reimburse for such occasional personal use. All such elected officials, officers, and employees shall be taxed for such personal use in accordance with state and federal tax law and regulation. The County will provide adequate insurance coverage for both the business use and personal use that is authorized under this section.

Hallway monitor extraordinaire, Skyler Beaty, was equally notably absent.  The two Telly-wannabees likely had more important things to do than intimidate courtroom observers and keep citizens out of the courtroom.   Wonder what that might have been?

To be fair, Beaty does seem a lot more honest than his boss, but he still chooses to work for an ass—a lying, abusive one at that.  And his Telly look is far more attractive than that of Schreiber.  He’s actually kind of cute, in a Telly sort of way.  Schreiber is just obnoxious.

Day three will be October 29 and a day four is expected.  This is better than a soap opera.

Bob Schreiber

Hey Bob, I apologize that I haven’t kept my word about making you a video star.  We’ve had some logistical difficulties.  The video should be on YouTube by tomorrow night.  We will post it here for premier.

See ya tomorrow!

www.sbgrapevine.com

Are you listening US Attorney?  San Bernardino County is in crisis.  The principles our nation were founded on are being undermined by the very person sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States—the person charged with enforcing the Constitution and all state and local laws at the county level.

When one reads the California District Attorneys Association Code of Ethics reprinted in Part One of this series, it is easy to see its President and our county’s District Attorney, Mike Ramos, has broken every concept put forth in that document.  He flagrantly violates those ethical standards while claiming to be in the pursuit of “justice.”

But it is worse than simple ethical lapses.  Ramos and his staff have stopped at nothing to gain convictions, including violating the law themselves.

Nine months after the first arrest in the case was made, an arrest warrant was served on Jim Erwin, Supervisor Neil Derry’s chief of staff at the time.  The arrest was for violations of Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) reporting requirements, violations that if found to be true are usually handled with a warning letter and/or fine.

Erwin had no history of FPPC violations or any other crime.  Yet he was charged with ten felonies and bail was set at $220,000.  Those ten felonies all related to a single FPPC 700 form, which had it risen to the level of a “crime” in any other jurisdiction, would have been filed as a single misdemeanor.  It was a clear case of selective prosecution, an argument that is bolstered by all the prosecutions that have NOT taken place in this county for similar “offenses.”

We know that even here in San Bernardino County FPPC violations are handled with warning letters and/or fines normally, if any action at all is taken.  Recent allegations of FPPC violations show that to be true with other elected  and appointed officials such as Mike Ramos, Gary Penrod, Bea Cortes, Paul Biane,  Jim Penman,  Greg Devereaux, Josie Gonzales, and Kelly Chastain.  Ramos refused to file on a single one yet many of their “crimes” were far worse than that of Erwin.  Penrod and Chastain, for example, had been filing false claims for years.

To read the rest of the story, click here.

District Attorney Mike Ramos

www.sbgrapevine.com

Are you listening United States Attorney?  San Bernardino County is in crisis.  Oh yes, we have financial problems like every other jurisdiction but we will get through them in due time.  Our crisis is a much more serious threat to our citizenry.  It is a crisis of ethics, of safety, and of fear.

Our crisis undermines the feeling of security and well being of law-abiding citizens.  It mocks those who gave their blood to protect the Constitution of the United States.  It is as evil a crisis as any American community can face.

Our crisis centers around the political aspirations of our district attorney who uses his powers, not just to prosecute criminals, but to persecute political enemies.  Justice no longer equates with truth but rather revenge.

California Government Code Section 26500 defines  the district attorney as the chief law enforcement officer in the county.  It is one of only four positions in any county that is required by the California Constitution to be elected.  The others are sheriff, assessor and members of the governing body.

The California District Attorneys Association defines the ethical duties of prosecutors as follows:

In administering justice, a prosecutor must abide by a strict code of ethics. A prosecutor must always strive to discover the truth while carrying out all official duties. Furthermore, a prosecutor must “keep abreast of the law and strive to improve the legal profession.” (Professionalism Manual, CDAA, 1999).  Additionally, the prosecutor must exercise the utmost professionalism as he or she is in the position of demonstrating ideal social behavior for others to follow.

At any level, the primary role of the prosecutor is to “investigate and prosecute impartially” criminal suspects on behalf of the People. Prosecutors should prosecute with “earnestness and vigor” while employing only “legitimate investigative techniques” to ensure that “guilt shall not escape or innocence suffer.” (Berger v. United States (1935) 295 U.S. 78, 88.)

In carrying out their duties, prosecutors are required to follow statutory regulations imposed on them by California’s Business and Professions Code § 6068 (a)-(d). These duties include upholding the federal and state constitutions and laws; respecting courts of justice and judicial officers; maintaining only such actions as appear to be legal or just; and employing only such means as are consistent with the truth and never seeking to mislead a judge or judicial officer.

Mike Ramos was elected as San Bernardino County District Attorney almost eight years ago.  His first term in office was unremarkable.  He was part of the county political machine, happy to maintain the status quo as long as his indiscretions were ignored by the county’s most influential politicos.  His Public Integrity Unit did not win a single conviction of note.

As Ramos began his second term of office things started to change.  Rumors increased that Congressman Jerry Lewis was considering retirement within a few terms and Ramos would likely be his chosen successor.  Rifts between the West end and East end factions began to widen.

To read the rest of the story, click here.

Lewis Cope is a Mormon.  I have found most Mormons to be good people.  But then there are those that try to force their church’s bigoted attitudes on everyone else.  When one is a District Attorney, they should be enforcing state law, not church law.  Cope has a different view.

Cope, being a good Mormon, believes alternative lifestyles are sinful.  Nothing could have been more clear today.  Much of what Cope tried to produce as being a crime had to do with a lifestyle he disagrees with rather than the Penal Code.  It was so bad that Judge Smith had to seize three pieces of “evidence” and order them sealed.

Bud Randle may not be a Mormon, but he is a good ol’ boy redneck who seems to have similarly equal scorn for those with lifestyles that he finds disturbing.  Randle testified that Adam Aleman (Randle pronounces it Ail-Man in his obvious dislike for Hispanics as well) claims Bill is a HO  MO  SEX  YOU  AL, pronouncing it similar to what a southern preacher might in a fire and brimstone sermon.  Randle’s prejudices were obvious today.

What is funny about all of this is these guys apparently forget about their religion when it comes to their boss.  Mikey is the king of sleaze.  To quote Bill today:

Today’s pre-trial hearing is just another example of how our sex-craved District Attorney Mike Ramos will stop at nothing to draw attention away from his continuous professional lapses and sexual misconduct with his own subordinates.

And it’s true.  These guys have no problem with someone who uses his office and his authority to lure subordinates into sexual relationships but then complain about two people having a consensual relationship because they don’t like who they are.  Cheating on your wife is not a sin as long as you do it with another woman.  Now there’s a concept we should all live our lives by.

The District Attorney’s office sunk to a new low today.  What a surprise!

I had just as much of a right to be in that courtroom as everyone else who was there.  I was not on the witness list nor is there any intent to call me as a witness in the case.  There is no law that says I cannot be there just because the District Attorney’s office doesn’t like.

Your deputy acted under the color of authority to deprive me of my Constitutional rights.  Specifically, the Sixth Amendment states:

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district where in the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

There is nothing in the Sixth Amendment that states the district attorney can exclude the public because they don’t like them due to what they write about them on a blog.  As a matter of fact, the First Amendment reads:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Case law is clear about lawful association and public access.  Your deputy overstepped her authority today.