Board of Supervisors

iePolitics: Brad in a haze while hospital lays off 26

I can’t take credit for this.  Someone else saw the humor in Thursday’s front page of the Daily Press.  Click on the link to check it out.

Brad in a Haze while Hospital Lays off 26

iePolitics: A pit bull isn’t born vicious

If one investigates a pit bull that attacks, it is usually easy to pinpoint a reason.  Something precipitated it. And the same is true with people.

I’ve got a few people on the Fifth Floor upset with me these days.  I’ve been told that I should not expect help when I keep taking jabs.

County administrators have brought the pit bull out in a few people of late.  I would say the two most prominent are Jim Erwin and me.  Let’s put my situation aside for a moment and look at Jim’s.

We are told regularly  that the Fifth Floor doesn’t like our blogs.  But which came first—the blogs or the torment?  The answer is the torment.

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iePolitics: Too much Vicodin for Brad?

We can only hope that is our First District Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt is high on painkillers from his injured arm, because if he isn’t, then his comments in today’s Daily Press are all the more disturbing.  The title of the story is “Mitzelfelt sees bright future beyond hazy economy.”

“Hazy”?  You are kidding right?

Brad, between your county salary with benefits and your wife’s county salary with benefits, your are earning about $375,000 a year. Your chief of staff has a package worth about $225,000 a year. Your lowest paid regular, full-time employee, your secretary, has a package worth over $100,000 a year.  You do not live in the real world.

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iePolitics: The enemy of my enemy is my friend

San Bernardino County never ceases to amaze me.  As I wrote about a couple of days ago, I received notice from my attorney that Uffer’s attorney wants to depo me.  The county REALLY wants my cooperation in this matter whether they know it or not.  So, what do they do?

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iePolitics: Josie strikes again!

So Josie’s new secretary is already gone.  This one lasted two weeks or is it three?  Since we started counting earlier this year I think this the fourth or fifth?  Josie, maybe the problem isn’t them.

iePolitics: Employees run amuck at Workforce Development

Well we see that nothing has changed under County Administrative Officer Greg Devereaux or his new Economic Development Agency chief.  We have written extensively over the years about the problems with lax accounting and falsified statistics with job developers and job placement specialists.

Not long ago the positions were all reclassified, with some employees being given large raises.  That has done little to promote productivity or integrity.  Very high-placed sources tell us that, if anything, things have gotten worse.

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iePolitics: A depo notice from Uffer

My morning started out just great!  I received an email from my attorney that former County Administrative Officer Mark Uffer wants to depo me in his lawsuit against the county.  I have to say that made my day. It’s been a long time since I laughed that hard.

Now, the real kicker in all of this is that the county has hired the exact same attorney to fight Uffer’s lawsuit as they have hired to fight one of my suits against the county.  Yet, the county has to provide me with legal representation in the Uffer suit.  This attorney actually had the gall to tell my attorney that he didn’t see a conflict if on one hand he is trying to pound me into the ground and on the other hand he is trying to get my cooperation in protecting the county from Uffer.

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iePolitics: Observer – A response

Observer,

Once again, rather than trying to respond in a comment, I thought I would address all the issues you raised at once in a separate post.  Or at least I will try.

You take issue with me over my attacks against Third District Supervisor Neil Derry.  I realize I did not make myself clear in my last response.

Many things happen behind the scenes that never make it to the blog.  Although to the readers, the attack may have seemed sudden, it was not.  It was the culmination of months of emails and discussions, mostly with Neil’s chief of staff with some emails directly to Neil.

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iePolitics: Did Matt Brown receive a bribe today to keep quiet before the election?

I know that I am not the only one that thinks the county of San Bernardino sunk to a new low today.  The decision to pay off former Second District Chief of Staff Matt Brown is a slap in the face to all county employees who must face a real hostile work environment each and every day because they do not have the money for an attorney and the county refuses to conduct a legitimate investigation.  County Administrative Officer Greg Devereaux and our Board of Supervisors should be ashamed of themselves.

Of course, this payoff begs the question of Why?  Well, the answer is easy. A mistake by the District Attorney’s office has alerted corruption defendants to the fact that Brown was involved in attempting to get his boss, Second District Supervisor Paul Biane, on tape in an undercover operation.  It would be highly detrimental to Supervisor Paul Biane’s re-election chances to have his former Chief of Staff tell what he knows before November 2.

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InlandPolitics: The Insider: Was Jerry Brown lied to?

www.inlandpolitics.com

Sunday, August 29, 2010 – 2:40 pm

It’s finally crunch time in the multi-year corruption probe launched by San Bernardino County District Attorney Mike Ramos.

And one has to wonder what Ramos told Attorney General Jerry Brown in regards to his evidence?

There’s a bigger question starting to be asked by some close to the investigation.

Was Brown lied to?

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iePolitics: A comment about Supervisor Derry

The comment below was written on the blog today.  I decided to address the comment as a separate entry.

I am sure that you are funnelling these issues to Supv Derry since he has frequented this blog in the past. However, the way you have treated him during these past few months is not condusive to him wanting to return. I would be surprised if he bothers to take the time.

As to the specifics of this issue, why do you believe Supv. Derry is the responsible party when the BOS has placed that duty squarely on the CAO? It would seem prudent to direct these departmental issues to the CAO, and if one or more Supv. still follows this blog and is interested in the case, then they or the new unit in the CAO’s office can follow-up.

Let me respond.  I do not expect Neil to return to the blog ever nor do I care.  As far as I am concerned, Neil has become one of the problems, just like the other four; not the solution.  However, I know anything addressed to anyone on the Fifth Floor will be read by staff up there, so I will continue to address him this way.  He doesn’t respond to emails so there is no point in trying that means.

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iePolitics: So Brad, we thought we would help advertise your appearance

That’s right Supervisor Mitzelfelt.  Since you are going to be on the radio tomorrow, iePolitics thought we would make sure more than Barb’s regular 25 listeners tuned in.  Barb says a lot of things about you, especially on her internet show.  It will be interesting to see if she is brave enough to say those things directly to you.  I thought I would share some of the things she has claimed on her shows with you so that you would have a heads up.  But first, let me share the video she made of you, Bill and Tad with all of our readers.  It hasn’t had a lot of views yet and I want to help y’all change that.  Here it is:

Here is a list of claims she has made about you.  You should have plenty of time to practice your answers.

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iePolitics: Speaking of stupid supervisors

Supervisor Derry,

No, that title is not in reference to you. I was asked to pass this along in reference to your question a few weeks ago regarding SBPEA and the County of San Bernardino.

It seems Andrew Lamberto/Linda Haugan/Bob Blough are at it again. Remember that email I sent  to you and George that you both ignored regarding PID Chief Virginia Lugo, et al., using C-IV to run all employees to see if they have ever been on a welfare case of any kind?  Well sometimes illegal activities backfire.

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iePolitics: Another Fifth Floor arrest . . . or two?

That is the rumor.  To be more exact, the rumor is that Mark Kirk will be arrested for time card fraud before the Rex Gutierrez case gets underway in a few weeks.  We are also hearing Paul Biane’s arrest is imminent.

These rumors can almost always be traced back to our favorite yellow singing Canary, Confidential Informant No. 1, Mr. Max Factor himself, Adam Aleman.  It seems that every time Mikey has to face bad news he deflects with disinformation through Adam.

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iePolitics: Sheriff Hoops steps in

Senor Blogger: Hypocracy in the Sheriff’s Department too

Recently we have all been reading about problems within the Sheriff’s Department. Although the majority of these issues are not major problems some of them are.

When a person becomes a Peace Officer they take an oath which is known as the “Law Enforcement Code of Ethics”. In that code is a line that states “Honest in thought and deed in both my personnel and official life, I will be exemplary in obeying the laws of the land and the regulations of my Department”.

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iePolitics: Marijuana and Cocaine use by those on the Fifth Floor

Pure Peruvian Cocaine

Hypocrite is defined by Webster as:

1 : a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion
2 : a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings

In case anyone hasn’t noticed, we have a hypocrite or two or three on the fifth floor of the County Government Center.  We have been reminded of that several times during the past couple of years.

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iePolitics: Neil, you thought you were off the hook

You have asked me for examples where I feel you are being unethical and here is yet another.  This is a situation you have known about since last November and NOTHING has been done.

The reason you know about the situation is because of me and my incident on Thanksgiving Day. The issue is, of course, Hartford Insurance.

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iePolitics: Let them eat cake

Linda Haugan

An edict has been issued.  The peasants are no longer allowed to have fans or radios at their desks.  It costs too much in electricity.

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iePolitics: The master manipulator

Today someone shared some history with me regarding former Assessor Bill Postmus’ drug addiction that provided one more piece of the puzzle.  It has been confirmed with several of the participants.

Postmus’ attempts at rehabilitation have been written about extensively.  I do not know the statistic for permanently successful rehabilitation, but I know it is very low.  Few people go into rehab once and never have an issue again.

Bill’s first or second attempt occurred after a huge fight with Jim Erwin where the two got into a screaming match over Bill’s addiction.  At that point Bob Smith basically forced Bill to pack and transported him to the Pine Ridge Treatment Center in Lucerne Valley.

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iePolitics: Yucca Mesa: Neil it looks like I’m not the only one upset with you

Editor’s Note:  First Neil, they emailed me tonight and asked me to put this on the blog.  I’m not going out and purposely soliciting anti-Derry material.  Second, for all the readers, the information below is in response to the letter sent to Yucca Mesa by Supervisor Derry:  NoXXX On a side note, the last time I received a press release from the Third District I swore the next time I received such a mess I was going to print it out, circle all the errors in red, and send it back to them.  I’m very tempted to do that with this letter.  Do you not have a clue what the proper format for a letter is?

Coalition Response to Neil Derry Letter Denying Yucca Mesa MAC
August 8, 2010

Supervisor Derry has obviously received misinformation about Yucca Mesa’s issues.

The Coalition NEVER said a Municipal Advisory Council would prevent encroachment!  While a Municipal Advisory Council is not full protection from the Town of Yucca Valley to include the Community of Yucca Mesa in their Sphere of Influence with eventual annexation, the Joshua Tree Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) has been in existence for over 15 years and their MAC was  influential in deterring Yucca Valley from attempting to annex them.  It is working for them, why not give it a try in Yucca Mesa?

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iePolitics: So Supervisor Derry, you’re a chicken – I thought you were a Marine!

You chickened out huh?  You know what I mean!  That’s okay.  Public airing of county issues is probably best anyway.

So, you did not provide me with an answer regarding the four bargaining units in SEBA. Of course, we all know the answer already.  And that answer shows my original premise was correct.  The county did in fact tell the unions how the vote would be conducted and what the outcome would be.   This wasn’t simply Bob Blough mouthing off, but an agreement between the county and the unions.

You can’t blame that on the unions.  Greg Devereaux and the Board of Supervisors are clearly at fault here.  You have an obligation when you know that the unions are not conducting elections lawfully to step in.  I’ve told you that; Jim has told you that. But because you liked the outcome and you know a legal election would not have the same outcome, you chose to look the other way.   And that makes you as crooked as the rest.

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iePolitics: Update on the Guasti Command Post Incident

I have now received multiple confirmations that the incident did in fact take place.  I am still trying to verify some of the other participants, but a number of sources have stated that besides for then-Captain Hoops, San Bernardino County Supervisor Paul Biane was also present and among those drinking and having sex with the women.  I am still trying to nail down an exact date so we can do a California Public Records Act request on the call logs, etc.  I am told that Sheriff’s deputies were complaining about the incident but Hoops silenced them.

iePolitics: Kudos to Supervisor Neil Derry

See Neil, we can be nice even when we are mad at you.  Read the post below to see why we are giving raspberries to the other board members and kudos to you.  This is what we have come to expect of you and why we are so disappointed in what we have seen lately.

Thank you for doing the right thing even if you were all by your lonesome in doing it.

iePolitics: Raspberries to Mitzelfelt

This was going to be a much meaner post—I mean comparing anyone to Josie is pretty mean, isn’t it?  But, then I remembered one of Brad’s field representatives, Jessie Flores, did a big favor for me week before last, and I decided I should be a little nicer.  So, here goes the “nice” version of this post.

Brad, what the heck were you thinking?  We expect these kind of stupid decisions out of Josie because she is stupid ,and out of Paul because he is usually drunk, but we expect a tempered, well-reasoned decision out of you.  Today we did not get it.

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iePolitics: The Ristow Lawsuit

I wasn’t going to blog about this because there really is no point right now in arguing the merits of the case.  Anyone who has read this blog for any length of time know where I stand on the issue.  No one is going to believe the outcome I predicted months ago until depositions start being taken and evidence that hasn’t been made available yet becomes public.  Some of you are on Cheryl’s side and some of you are on Mike’s side and I’m not going to change anyone’s opinion.

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iePolitics: Supervisor Derry and Sheriff Rod Hoops

Supervisor Derry,

The POST issue aside, which we know will never be prosecuted like it should, have you been reading any of our posts regarding the issues with deputies and much higher ups within the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department committing crimes?  The story below is a perfect example of why we have such an issue with your response that you support Sheriff Hoops.

You speak of the culture of corruption in San Bernardino County.  I have worked for the county of San Bernardino for 30 years, including a number of years in the upper echelons of county government.  The Board of Supervisors and County Administrative Office I worked for did not come close to being anywhere near as corrupt as the current BOS/CAO and two of those I worked for were charged with federal crimes, with one going to federal prison.  I can only hope that the FBI does as thorough an investigation as it did the last time.  I’ve seen enough to believe our current CAO and at least one board member belongs in federal prison as well.

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iePolitics: I would like a straight answer on this one Neil

Did or did not the BOS/CAO give all of SEBA their raises even if they voted to give up their raises.  And please don’t pile on the bullshit about layoffs and units and EMACs and all the rest.  You have a whole lot of people on this blog who have worked for HR and ACR and have been through layoffs a time or two.  We know how it works and what can and can’t be done.  There is NO legitimate excuse for giving raises to those who voted to decline them and not give them to all of us.

iePolitics: Question for SEBA and Attorneys Union members

Bob Blough, general manager of the San Bernardino Public Employees Association, has told his board of directors that although two units of SEBA voted to give up their raises, the county gave raises to all four units represented by SEBA.   Is this true?  How about the attorneys? Did you get your raises or not?

iePolitics: Supervisor Derry: Clarification and more examples

Supervisor Derry, since you have so graciously given up some of your Saturday night and Sunday morning to argue with me on the blog, I am going to give up my morning’s Frontierville play to try to explain to you the points I am trying to make.  As upset as I am about this, you are still iePolitics’ favorite supervisor.

As an elected official, elected to any office in California whatsoever, you have an obligation to uphold the Constitution of the State of California and the Constitution of the United States.  Hopefully, we both agree on that.

As an elected official, especially as a member of the governing body of the county of San Bernardino, we the public expect you to initiate an investigation when you have reason to suspect or personally witness unethical or illegal behavior by any person or entity under the purview of your jurisdiction.  That investigation may be as simple as referring the matter to Human Resources or as serious as referring it to the Grand Jury.  No one expects you to call in the Calvary for every act or suspected/alleged of malfeasance, but you are expected to at very least have someone in authority look at the situation to determine if there is any justification for further action.

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iePolitics: Well Supervisor Derry, ignoring the elephant in the room makes you as dirty as the rest of them

You know Neil, we try to defend you here at iePolitics most of the time.  But some things are beyond defensible.

For example, your comment that the POST scandal is a personnel matter.  It is NOT a personnel matter.  It is a FELONY matter that involved Sheriff Rod Hoops, former Sheriff Gary Penrod, and at least a couple dozen others ranging from clerical staff to deputy chiefs. It is misconduct of the worst kind by public officials and it is being swept under the rug with the tacit approval of the board of supervisors.

But it’s okay because you all endorse one another for election, donate to one another’s campaigns, and attend one another’s fundraisers.  We wouldn’t want justice to interfere with that, now would we?

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iePolitics: So Mikey, here is a real conspiracy and bribery case for you

Mikey, please tell me why you only prosecute some and not others.  You add yet another ridiculous charge to Rex Gutierrez, yet you let the real bad guys go.

We have told you before, and we say it again, you need to go back to law school and study Conspiracy 101 and Bribery 101 again so you can understand the elements of the crime.  Then you need to look at the way in which Scott Ryan got his promotion.

Gary Ovitt was paid off to the tune of $50,000 by SBPEA.  Interview the members of the Board of Directors.  I know some of them will tell you the truth as to how that all went down.

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iePolitics: Too bad the FBI won’t make arrests in the Fourth District and beyond

I guess I had what some might call an epiphany this week.  Many of our readers would say it is about time.

You see, for the first time since the corruption scandal started, I genuinely want to see Mark Kirk, Gary Ovitt, Greg Devereaux, and others led away in handcuffs, booked and serve some jail time.  Do I believe it will happen?  No, I don’t.  I still feel the Colonies Settlement is clean.

Everything else in the Fourth District office, however,  is not so clean.  But the problem is that neither Mikey and Moonbeam or the FBI will look at the real dirt.  Mikey and Moonbeam are too busy accepting campaign donations from SEBA and SBPEA.  The FBI isn’t interested in the kind of real corruption that goes on in this county.

In this instance, it is simply not the sort of thing the FBI will get involved with.  I’m not suggesting there will not be arrests made, just not arrests of the county’s most corrupt individuals, except possibly Mikey.

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iePolitics: BOS: You haven’t had enough yet?

To the Honorable Members of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors,

Haven’t you had enough yet?  Honestly, why wasn’t County Counsel Ruth Stringer fired today?  She does not work for County Administrative Officer Greg Devereaux.  She works for you.  And she should have been fired TODAY!

I only wish I could share with the readers of iePolitics the details of her latest fiasco—a fiasco that has already been expensive and one that almost cost you, the taxpayers, an additional very large sum of money.

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iePolitics: County’s top lawyers all on thin ice

San Bernardino County’s three top lawyers may be “former” employees by year’s end.  San Bernardino County District Attorney Mike Ramos, Public Defender Doreen Boxer, and County Counsel Ruth Stringer all are in precarious positions at best.

Although mainstream media has refused to cover the antics of District Attorney Mike Ramos, iePolitics and InlandPolitics have covered them extensively.  We have been accused of libeling poor Mikey.  But the seeds he has sown are about to come back to haunt him and prove that we are the ones with truth on our side.

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iePolitics: SBPEA update

As I mentioned in a previous post, there was a meeting on Saturday regarding the most recent stunt pulled off against San Bernardino County employees by our union, the San Bernardino Public Employees Association and our employer, the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors.  A game plan was discussed.

There will be a website up and running in the next week or so.  I will text those on my text list with the hyperlink as soon as it is ready.

The next meeting will be held in about three weeks.  It will be on a week night in the San Bernardino area.  The specifics will be on the website.

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iePolitics: So who is fornicating now?

San Bernardino County’s law firm, Boxer, Ramos & Stringer (remember Mikey likes to be in the middle), is at it again.  We learned of their speciality months ago when chief legal Beagle Ruth Stringer determined that fornication is part of the “deliberative process” and taxpayer monies spent for said fornication is not the business of the taxpayers.  We are supposed to take it in the shorts, literally.

Well our favorite ménage à trois has defied logic and sound legal reasoning yet once more.  Until recently the county reluctantly released information regarding the costs of civil litigation against former Assessor Bill Postmus, et al.  The investigation was originally capped at $250,000 but former Enron prosecutor and special investigator John Hueston went through that amount quickly.

From all appearances, the cost of the investigation/persecution has already exceeded $1 million or is quickly approaching that mark with nothing to show for it and likely no hope of ever showing anything for it except for a conviction and judgment against Adam Aleman.  Aleman is the only one to plead guilty and not file an answer.

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iePolitics: $500,000 Welfare Fraud Case in High Desert

iePolitics reported last year on multiple cases being referred to the San Bernardino County District Attorney for high dollar welfare fraud committed by county employees. One case alone totaled $400,000. And like the POST case, here we are more than seven months later and no criminal charges. There are other similarities to the POST case.

As with the Sheriff’s Department, HSS Administrators have attempted to cover the cases up but employees have leaked the information.  It seems the perpetrators could be county employees of note.  When I worked at the Victorville office, I had a number of high ranking county officials’ and political figures’ children on my caseload as well as many county employees.  We do have to wonder why Ramos hasn’t made this prosecution a priority.

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iePolitics: “Even ‘they’ can’t be that stupid”

Every time we here at iePolitics have declared that San Bernardino County officials have reached the pinnacle of stupidity and arrogance, we are proven wrong.  Although the events of the past 24 hours are not surprising, they are appalling.

For weeks now there has been behind-the-scenes chatter about what exactly was going to be done to pull off the transfer of San Bernardino County Second District Chief of Staff Matt Brown to the Auditor-Controller/Recorder/Tax Collector office.  Many of us figured there would be wrangling to send Brown to the Assessor’s Office next year when the Recorder’s function is transferred to that department.  The question was how.

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Supervisor Neil Derry: Supervisor Derry Calls for Banning of all Rave Parties at County Owned Facilities

Urges state legislature to ban dangerous events at state owned venues

SAN BERNARDINO, CA – At the behest of San Bernardino County Supervisor Neil Derry, County Administrative Officer Greg Devereaux has issued a directive that would prohibit all county owned facilities from hosting rave parties.

“Parents have a reasonable expectation to believe that their children will be safe while attending events held at county owned venues,” Supervisor Derry said.  “And it has become crystal clear that there is a reasonable expectation that our youth are at significant risk for exposure to drugs and sexual assault at these events.”

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iePolitics: Matt Brown Appointed Assistant Recorder – Updated

From San Bernardino County Auditor-Controller/Recorder/Tax Collector Larry Walker:  Matt Brown Appointment

Matt Brown previously worked as Second District Supervisor Paul Biane’s chief of staff but has been out on administrative leave for a couple of months while a hostile work environment investigation was conducted.  Brown alleged he started being harassed once it was discovered he cooperated with the corruption investigation by San Bernardino County District Attorney Mike Ramos against Biane.  Brown is said to have attempted to get Biane on tape through secret recordings.  It is not known if those recordings produced evidence against Biane.

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Sam Berdoo: Senor Blogger Way Off Base With Sam Berdoo

Let us be very clear.  Sam Berdoo attacked no one, is not angry, and holds no grudge.  All Sam did was post the articles and comments of other people.  This is a common practice on ie.politics and one I hope will continue.  No where can it be pointed out, that Sam Berdoo wrote any thing disparaging about Derry or the others.  All Sam has done is remind the populous about the relationships that exist within the all pervasive culture of corruption.

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Senor Blogger: “Sam Berdoo” Way Off Sides With Criticism Of Supervisor Neil Derry, Others

Over the past few days, commentaries authored by “Sam Berdoo”—an anonymous nom-de-blog-type pseudonym that often appears on area political blogs – have appeared on IePolitics. The anonymous writings by “Sam Berdoo” attack several prominent elected officials and staff from the city of San Bernardino.

Be it San Bernardino City Attorney Jim Penman or Councilmembers Wendy McCammack, Chas Kelley and Jason DesJardins, few seem to have escaped Mr. “Berdoo’s” wrath.

The anonymous author has even resorted to blasting professional consultants and aides, such as Jim Erwin and Chris Jones.

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iePolitics: Gosh, I Take a Few Days Away from the Blog and . . .

I have to admit I cringed when I saw the story on Joe Tuner.  I think very highly of Joe.  He’s been accused over the years of some things that haven’t necessarily been accurate, but accurate or not, he has tried very hard to clean up his reputation.  And he has done a good job.   Mostly, it is gonna just take time.

I think the story tonight illustrates perfectly one of the points in Jason Whited’s piece last week.  Because of technology, especially the Internet, past mistakes are not nearly as easily forgotten.  Mistakes in the last five years and on into eternity could come back to haunt us for a lifetime.

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Sam Berdoo: Meet Joe Turner, Derry’s Invaluable Political Writer

Derry’s Controversy Continues – Turner

Joseph Turner mingles with a crowd of flag-waving skinheads at an anti-day laborer center rally that took place in Laguna Beach in July 2005. (photo courtesy of laindymedia.org)

S. E. Williams Staff Writer

“I consider accusations of bigotry and racism to be complimentary. And while I don’t thirst for confrontation, I dont [sic] fear it.” “Our enemies are bloodied and beaten. We cannot relent. Our boot is on their throat and we must have the willingness to crush their “throat” so that we can put our enemy down for good.” -Samples of previous postings by Joseph Turner from his Save Our State website.

Over the previous two weeks, The Alpenhorn News has reported in detail on Neil Derry’s questionable choices related to some individuals selected to fill key positions on his staff. The series began with an exclusive report on the criminal ebackground history of his Administrative Analyst Wanda Nowicki. Next, the paper examined the polarizing and controversial history of his ex Chief of Staff, Jim Erwin, that culminated with his 2009 arrest at Derry’s office on felony charges related to the $102 million Colonies Scandal.

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Sam Berdoo: Meet Chris Jones and his clients: Joe Arnett, Jason Desjardins, Neil Derry, Charles Kelly, Jim Penman, Wendy McCamack, Paul Biane, Jim Erwin, and Mike Carona, just to name a few.

Lookie what I found Wrote:
Redlands, CA

Chris Jones is the “slick” political consultant used by Joe Arnett and Jason Desjardins. He is used by Jim Penman.

This is how he works. Read the whole article at the link below. These are just some of the interesting facts:

“Voters are left wondering how to assess slick appeals written by campaigns free to bend the truth. Mailers sent by clients of Jones and Lewis illustrate that dilemma.”

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iePolitics: Updates

I’ve received a few more anonymous tips regarding TAD, etc.  Someone from Human Services System Program Integrity Division Chief Virginia Lugo wrote and ratted her out.  I’m not sure what I’m going to do with the information as was she is doing is clearly a misdemeanor at best and she needs to be fired.  I’m just not sure how to make that happen as we know nothing will get done by County Administrative Officer Greg Devereaux or the Board of Supervisors.

Does anyone have any suggestions?  My thought is to send the information to the Attorney General and file a complaint with the Grand Jury, but I’m not sure.

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iePolitics: Another One Bites the Dust?

We are hearing that San Bernardino County Auditor-Controller/Recorder terminated his assistant Betsy Starbuck today.  Betsy has been with Larry since at least 1991 when she served as Chief of Staff while he was Chairman of the Board of Supervisors.  Rumors have been surfacing for months about discord between Walker and Starbuck over deputy recorder and mistress Deanna Thompson.

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The Sentinel: Sheriff’s Department gathered photographs of DA Mike Ramos cavorting with prostitutes

District Attorney Mike Ramos

The San Bernardino County Sentinel
Friday, July 16, 2010

Former sheriff Gary Penrod accumulated compromising information and materials pertaining to district attorney Mike Ramos which was then utilized to blackmail Ramos and head off an incipient effort by the district attorney’s office to file criminal charges against Penrod pertaining to a host of criminal acts the sheriff was himself involved in.

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iePolitics: Public Defender Issues

Here is a scan of what I received today: scan0001

There are two issues with what this informant claims.

First is the issue of being a county employee with a criminal record.  I have seen the county try to fire employees for less than drunk driving.  I have also seen them hire convicted felons.  In one case the employee went to state prison not once, but twice, on felony drug charges and was hired back both times while on parole.  So if you are a favorite, it doesn’t matter what you do.  And if you are not, you better not get a jaywalking ticket.

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