I'm shocked! Did attorney Mark Bresee give bad legal advice to the Rio School District board? The District Attorney seems to suspect so

DA says Rio board may have broken open-meetings law
By Cheri Carlson
June 10, 2011

The Rio School District board appears to have broken state law that prohibits trustees from discussing or taking action on issues outside of a meeting, the District Attorney's Office said this week.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

Special Assistant District Attorney Michael Schwartz said his office received a complaint that the board held a serial meeting to hire its legal counsel. Such an action would violate the state's open-meetings law — called the Brown Act.

But in another letter this week, the DA's Office dismissed a list of other allegations against the Rio board. The allegations, which included charges of bribery and conflict of interest, were brought by two board members against the three-member board majority.

The violation appears to have taken place before the Rio board's Feb. 10 closed-session meeting, according to a letter Schwartz sent to trustees this week.

Attorney Mark Bresee appeared to have acted as an intermediary by getting a consensus from three trustees that he advise them about Superintendent Sherianne Cotterell's termination, the letter states. Bresee has since been hired as the board's general counsel.

"The District Attorney has the authority to bring a civil lawsuit to stop or prevent threatened violations of the Brown Act," Schwartz wrote. He asked the district to respond to the concerns, so the DA's Office can determine if it needs to bring such an action.

Board President Eleanor Torres said Friday that Bresee is expected to provide additional information to the DA's Office soon. She expects that information will clear up any concerns.

However, if it is determined that a violation occurred, the board will make sure the issue is properly addressed and remedied, Torres said.

Bresee declined to comment while the matter is still under review.

Under the Brown Act, a majority of a board members cannot discuss or take action on board business outside of a meeting. That's the case if trustees speak directly to each other or through an intermediary, the DA's Office said.

In this case, Torres had contacted Bresee to discuss issues regarding Cotterell and asked him to come to the Feb. 10 meeting, which he did. Bresee was not the board's attorney at the time, but another lawyer at his firm worked for the district on other issues and referred Torres to him.

Bresee appears to have then confirmed with Trustees Henrietta Macias and Ramon Rodriguez that they also wanted him at the Feb. 10 meeting to discuss the superintendent's contract, officials said.

The Rio board did not take action at a public meeting to hire Bresee as its general counsel until the end of March.

At a March 2 special meeting, Macias, Torres and Rodriguez voted to terminate Cotterell's contract without cause.

Trustee Tim Blaylock voted against the move. And Trustee Mike Barber, who also supported Cotterell, was unable to attend the meeting because of a prior commitment.

Blaylock and Barber brought their concerns to the DA's Office.

In the separate letter to trustees this week, Schwartz addressed eight other allegations the two trustees had brought forward, saying that "no violations have been established that would warrant action by the District Attorney's Office."

On Friday, Torres said that none of the allegations were warranted. "They (Blaylock and Barber) are wasting so much time and effort on a whole lot of different agencies' parts," she said.

Blaylock, who said he wants to make sure the board governs properly, said he appreciated that the DA's Office looked into the concerns. "I think he (Schwartz) took his time. He investigated, and he did a thorough job," Blaylock said.

Blaylock, however, said he continues to have concerns. Other cases could be reopened should more information become available, he said.

Torres said she hopes the board will be able to move forward and work together. "It just comes to a point when it has to stop," she said. "Let's go forward."

"It's quite clear that there are differing opinions of members of the board," Schwartz said Friday.

The DA's Office isn't taking any position on issues such as what trustees should vote for or vote against, who they should hire or fire, he said. "Our concern is that the process be done correctly, and the right for the public to participate be honored."

- vcstar.com

Here is a case in which Mark Bresee gave advice to Chula Vista Elementary School District.

Jury finds Steve Castaneda not guilty; Patrick O'Toole apparently will now go after Cheryl Cox, Bertha Lopez, Larry Cunningham...

See all posts re Steve Castaneda.

After the jury came back with a "not guilty" verdicts yesterday in the case of Chula Vista city councilman Steve Castaneda, who was accused of hiding his "intent" to buy a condo while testifying during a grand jury investigation that found no wrongdoing, prosecutor Patrick O'Toole said, "It was a case from our end that we thought had to be brought -- that the obligation to tell the truth under oath is one that we're going to fight for."

Wonderful news! O'Toole says that the obligation to tell the truth under oath is "one that we're going to fight for."

I've been waiting for a long time to hear someone in Bonnie Dumanis' office say this.

I assume this means that O'Toole is finally going to do something about Chula Vista Elementary School District trustees and administrators who obstructed justice and committed or suborned perjury. The District Attorney received my complaint in 2005.

Here is the story from Fox News:


Councilman Found Not Guilty of Perjury in Condo Charges
Last Update: 4/23/2008

A Chula Vista city councilman accused of lying to the county grand jury regarding his personal interest in an apartment complex that was being converted into condominiums was acquitted Wednesday of six of 10 perjury counts.

Prosecutors will decide later whether to retry Steve Castaneda on the remaining four counts on which jurors deadlocked.

"I'm very happy that I'm vindicated. I'm very happy about the fact that I can now go on with my life," Castaneda told reporters outside the courtroom.

Defense attorney Marc Carlos said jurors gave it their best shot -- deliberating for five days after a two-week trial -- before coming to a decision.

"They've had hundreds of exhibits and thousands of pages of grand jury testimony, and that's as good as they can do and there's nothing there," Carlos told reporters. "I think (District Attorney) Bonnie Dumanis should do the right thing and step up and dismiss the remaining counts. They've spent a lot of money on this case and it's gone nowhere."

Prosecutor Patrick O'Toole said: "It was a difficult case. Everybody knew that going in. It was a case from our end that we thought had to be brought -- that the obligation to tell the truth under oath is one that we're going to fight for."


http://www.fox6.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=3866874d-c8bd-43b4-a142-5eaa4837d9c4

CVESD's mistake: equating Silverwing teachers with Castle Park Elementary teachers

A Tale of Two Lawsuits

LARKINS V. CVESD
(Castle Park Elementary 2001-2005) See photo above, with teachers Peggie Myers and Karen Snyder standing together, and the famous Robin Donlan seated

COZIAHR V. CVESD
(Silverwing Elementary 2006-2007)

After its bad experience with dishonest teachers who banded together at Castle Park Elementary, Chula Vista Elementary School District's Lowell Billings and Tom Cruz were less open than they should have been to a petition from fourteen honest teachers at Silverwing Elementary.

The teachers union, Chula Vista Educators, had worked closely with the district to make sure that teachers at Castle Park Elementary covered up illegal actions and committed perjury during depositions in the Maura Larkins case. After the union and the district committed these crimes together, there was a close bond between union leaders and CVESD administrators. That bond continues. The core agreement of the bond between CVE and CVESD seems to be "Politics trumps legality every time."

If Danielle Coziahr, whose case against CVESD is in court right now, had spent her time promoting the union instead of making lesson plans and collaborating with other teachers, the union would have fought hard for her job.

The union would have fought as hard as it did for Robin Donlan and current CVE president Peggie Myers, two of the Castle Park Elementary troublemakers. When the district decided it wanted some law and order to return to Castle Park, it transferred Donlan, Myers and three other teachers. The union wouldn't have it. CVE past presidents Gina Boyd and Jim Groth made a huge stink. They were determined that teachers who committed crimes and teachers who covered them up should not suffer the indignity of transfer to another school.

The Danielle Coziahr case was very different. Of course, the district was completely dishonest when it said that instructional techniques were Danielle Coziahr's problem. The problem was that she had one young child, and was expecting another. She had "childcare issues." That's why she was chosen for non-reelection. She was marked for serious consideration on the day that her new principal met her. And her fate was sealed when that principal found out she was pregnant.

Vence Donlan Pleads Guilty; One of Robin Donlan's attorneys says she is innocent

See all Vence Donlan posts.

UPDATE: I HAVE RECENTLY BEGUN TO ASK MYSELF SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS MATTER.

Did someone push Vence Donlan into committing stock options fraud?

How did so many people who were close to Robin Donlan become involved in criminal activities?

These individuals include Donlan's PTA friend, Kimberlee Simmons; Donlan's brother, Michael Carlson; her brother's boss, Commander Sam Gross of Santa Barbara Sheriff's department; and finally, and most distressingly, her husband, a former navy pilot and school teacher who is now serving an almost-4-year federal prison sentence.

Robin's husband Vence Donlan was never in trouble before he married Robin.

What caused him to begin to commit stock option theft a few months after he married Robin?

Could it have been pressure from his wife?

That was certainly the reason that Robin's union, California Teachers Association (CTA), teachers at her school (Castle Park Elementary), and administrators at her school district (Chula Vista Elementary) became involved in criminal activities. Robin Donlan put them in a position where they had to violate the law or push back against pressure. Sadly, they all decided to break the law.

I suspect that Robin was fearful in March 2002, when she learned that her school district and her fellow teachers had been sued, that her involvement in the wrongdoing would eventually be exposed.

Robin Doig Colls married Vence Donlan in early 2002, perhaps in part because she feared that her role in the wrongdoing would be exposed, and she wanted the support of a husband. Possibly she expressed fear to her husband that she would have to pay a lot of money in a lawsuit, and he felt the need to provide her with a lot of money.

One thing is for certain: Robin committed crimes, encouraged crimes, and covered up crimes. And a lot of people suffered the consequences.

It's time for Robin to come forward and tell the truth, and try to repair some of the damage she's done. The same is true of Chula Vista Elementary School District, California Teachers Association, and the San Diego County Office of Education-Joint Powers Authority.

How about a return to the rule of law, Robin and friends?

ORIGINAL POST:


Chula Vista Elementary School District teacher Robin Donlan and her husband filed false tax returns. But she says she's an innocent bystander.

Here's the story from the San Diego Union Tribune:
By Kathryn Balint
July 4, 2007

Vencent Donlan, 44, a teacher, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to one count of wire fraud and one count of tax evasion in connection with a scheme in which he fraudulently issued Wireless Facilities stock options and then cashed them in.

In a plea agreement, Donlan admitted to using his position as Wireless Facilities' stock options administrator to fraudulently issue 728,229 shares of the company's stock to a brokerage account he controlled and then selling them for a net gain of $6.3 million between November 2002 and November 2003.

He also admitted that he evaded paying $2.2 million in federal income taxes for 2002 and 2003 by failing to declare the income he received from the fraudulent stock sales.

“Mr. Donlan exploited his position as a stock option administrator and embezzled millions of dollars,” said Ronald Krajewski, acting special agent in charge of the Internal Revenue Service's San Diego office.

Donlan, a Del Cerro resident and former Navy pilot, most recently taught physics at the San Diego High Educational Complex School of Business. He was paid about $65,000 a year when he worked for Wireless Facilities from 2002 to 2004.

Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 17. Until then, Donlan is out on a $100,000 personal surety bond, said his attorney, Howard Frank.

Donlan's wife, Robin, has not been charged criminally. Donlan had used her Social Security number and maiden name, Robin Colls, on the brokerage account.

David Hiden, one of Robin Donlan's attorneys, previously has said that she was an “innocent bystander.”