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.

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District Attorney Mike Ramos

Pathetic.

There’s just no other word to describe it. Well maybe “disingenuous” might work as well.

Does San Bernardino County District Attorney Mike Ramos have an honest bone in his body?

Since the re-election window is approaching on the event horizon, our illustrious District Attorney has embarked on taking credit for everything around. Sources tell InlandPolitics this may soon include the invention of sliced bread.

If anything, Ramos prostituting himself around the county is at least entertaining.

This week we were all treated to how Ramos envisioned and implemented the District Attorney Truancy Program. A highly successful program that has dramatically reduced student truancy throughout the county.

As usual, local newspapers fell for the Ramos public relations sham. Gullible Inland newspapers oozed out articles and editorials praising Ramos for his great idea.

Not so fast!

The only problem. The program was instituted ten years ago under the retired District Attorney Dennis Stout. If memory serves us correctly, Ramos has been in office just seven years.

I really love math, don’t you? In politics what’s a few years here or there, right?

Keep in mind, the newspapers dislike Stout and have hooked themselves to Ramos like a ball and chain.

Ramos has even taken the credit for conjuring up the idea for the now “morally bankrupt” Public Integrity Unit. Another untrue statement.

Again, another idea of his predecessor that was not funded by county supervisors until Ramos’ first year in office.

A few weeks ago the Hispanic Chamber put on a luncheon in the High Desert. Ramos arrogant as ever, showed up and pushed his way onto a question and answer panel. However, fearing something bad might be asked, Ramos refused to take random questions from the audience

Some of the Women in attendance had nothing to say about Ramos other than “Isn’t he the one that cheated on his wife?”

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