Gandara released, consultant relationship dissolved…L Street property?

Busy week at Sweetwater school district
Gandara released, consultant relationship dissolved…L Street property?
By Susan Luzzaro
San Diego Reader
Sept. 6, 2014

On September 5, the U-T reported that former Sweetwater Union High School District superintendent Jesus Gandara was released from jail on August 26. Gandara was sentenced to seven months in the county jail on June 27 for felony conspiracy and accepting gifts of travel meals and event tickets in excess of $4000.

Additionally, the U-T reported that although Gandara was released from jail, he remains in custody in an undisclosed South Bay residence. Gandara will also “forfeit more than $65,000 in retirement benefits.”

In other Sweetwater news, on September 4, at a monthly board meeting, the district’s troubled land deals got some costly relief.

The district contracted with a consultant group, E2ManageTech, to entitle three pieces of district property for high-density development. The board voted on September 4 to dissolve the relationship and pay E2ManageTech $750,000.

The Reader queried the Sweetwater’s attorney, Randall Winet, via email, if this was a buy-out. Winet responded, “The District performed an analysis of their work performed and agreed to a payment commensurate with industry standard wages and the parties agreed to a mutual release.”

E2ManageTech was paid $82,500 for three consecutive years (2011, 2012 and 2013) to move the three district properties through design reviews, zone changes, environmental studies, and a general plan amendment.

To date, only one piece of property, located on Third Avenue, was entitled. When the property was put on the market for $7 million, there were no bids...

Rubio also indicated that the district would not solicit a new proposal for consultants until an independent analysis of the “asset property utilization plan” has been performed. The plan is the district’s proposal to dispose of district properties and purchase a new district office.

Also this week, on September 3, an announcement was sent out to all Sweetwater trustee candidates by the California Trust for Public Schools. The trust holds the title to the district’s L Street property in a complicated agreement that binds all the district’s “asset” properties together.

Because all five Sweetwater trustee seats are up for grabs in the November election, the trust will be holding an October candidate forum. Marc Litchman, the CEO of the trust, said in a September 4 interview that one of his goals in holding the forum is to acquaint the public with the trust’s soccer academy concept for the district’s L Street property...

[Maura Larkins' comment: It's sad that Mr. Lichtman is only interested in promoting democracy when he's involved in a real estate deal.]

To that end, he announced: “In conjunction with local, state, and national soccer organizations, the nonprofit California Trust for Public Schools is developing a proposal to build a state-of-the-art soccer training and development academy with conference facilities and a charter school on surplus property owned by the Sweetwater Union High School District in Chula Vista.”

The current asset utilization plan put forward by Sweetwater for the L Street property is the development of 869 residential mid-rise units.

Here's a look back at another story about Gandara from June 2014. I share the concern of some commenters that while a few scapegoats were prosecuted in the South Bay Indictments scandal, the underlying problems in San Diego County school districts continue to be ignored by the media and the justice system. Ed Brand's problems, for example, were not limited to South Bay. He had some unknown problems in San Marcos School Unified from which he resigned after only a year as superintendent.

Paula Meyer · University of California, San Diego
Well, these are the ones who got caught. We're not seeing the every-day mis-appropriation of funds and general incompetence within the administrative workings of the district. And, granted that Gándara was criminally corrupt and ineffective as at his job, a big question remains, and that is, Why, considering his past performance, was Ed Brand brought back to further degrade the district?

Gloria Smestad · Top Commenter · Creative Arts, San Francisco State University
Excellent question that many find themselves asking. It has been said that he already knew the playbook.

Jaime Mercado · San Diego State University
Gloria, Brand WROTE the playbook. When I was summoned to testify, I told the Court, the DA, and the Grand Jury that I ran for the SUHSD Board in 2004 to try to stop the corruption that was well underway. I had limited success when as Brand told the Grand Jury that I ran him out of the district. Unfortunately, the dark side proved to be too strong and they banded together and defeated me in the 2008 election. I tried to warn John McCann, Board President, about bringing back Brand. I prepared folders for him and the board regarding Brand's past actions, but he gave instructions not to distribute the folders. It appears that he and Cartmill had been planning to bring back Brand all along.

Matias Garcia
The new Sweetwater High cost $56 million and should have cost half of that. The bonds were in the range of $700 Million. The amount lost to this corruption, just at this one construction project, was in the tens of millions.

Ex-San Ysidro district superintendent Manuel Paul admits squeezing contractor for donations

If we look at the extremely high percentage of women and people of color among the officials indicted by the District Attorney's Public Integrity Unit over the years, we are forced to conclude one of two things:

1) either women and people of color are more corrupt than white males; or

2) the people who are targeted for prosecution do not enjoy the same protections and immunities that white male public officials in San Diego tend to enjoy.

I'm not saying that the DA is racist.  I don't think that's it.  I think the explanation for the gender and color imbalance is simply that the public officials with the most power tend NOT to be women or people of color.  The truly powerful public officials are mostly white males, and the DA wouldn't dare go after them.

And the big money isn't in parking lots in San Ysidro.  It isn't even in $20 million solar panel deals.

A few years ago the FBI was investigating kickbacks to public entities in San Diego from insurance companies. Nothing ever came of that. My guess is that they couldn't find an ideal defendant to indict: someone without connections in the high ranks of the San Diego political establishment.

Here is a link to my page about the County of Santa Clara vs. Driver Alliant Insurance Services, Inc., et al lawsuit.  These are the types of transactions that involve significant amounts of money.  The really big deals are not as much fun for the political establishment to talk about as a small cash envelope in a parking lot--so you don't read about them much in the paper. The big players almost always avoid criminal court. Note the lack of prosecutions in the 2009 Financial Crisis that was caused by the greed of the wealthy and powerful.

The big guys generally don't see the inside of a criminal court, and their civil cases get settled, not tried, where the public might get wind of what actually happened. (Of course, the Manuel Paul case wasn't tried in court, either. Why no trials? Who knows what information might come out in a trial that might expose a big fish?)

Here's a sample of a school district deal worth $1 billion: Superintendent John Deasy of Los Angeles Unified school district (LAUSD) probably isn't worried. I suspect that you need a lot better political connections to become superintendent of LAUSD than you do to get the top spot in San Ysidro School District.

Given that we live in a system in which huge corporation and billionaires believe they can buy elections, it's sort of embarrassing that the FBI is chasing down such small-time players.

Clearly, Bonnie Dumanis and the FBI aren't going to be able to stop campaign finance corruption.

But wouldn't it be nice if the public--and Bonnie Dumanis--started looking a little closer at some of the well-heeled districts on the north side of town?

In CVESD we also had a superintendent using his power to affect the school board election.



See all posts on white chalk crime.

Ex-San Ysidro district superintendent Manuel Paul admits squeezing contractor for donations
Channel 10 News
Aug 20, 2014

SAN DIEGO - A former San Ysidro School District superintendent pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday to extracting political contributions from a prospective contractor by threatening to withhold work on future building contracts.

Manuel Paul, 63, faces up to a year in federal prison and a $100,000 fine when he is sentenced Nov. 18.

According to his plea agreement, Paul admitted he asked a contractor to contribute $3,600 to three political candidates for the 2010 School Board election...

Read more.

Why Two Convicted Sweetwater Union High School District Officials Can Run for Re-Election

See updates on South Bay Indictments.

Judge Ana Espana said that 24-year Sweetwater Union High School District trustee Jim Cartmill was among the "least culpable offenders" convicted in the South Bay school official scandal.

He and Bertha Lopez have decided to run for re-election.

It's fine with me. I don't think Jim or Bertha were more harmful to students than the average school official--which is not to say that Jim and Bertha aren't responsible for their support of business-as-usual behavior that keeps schools in failure mode.

Even if the bad behavior that got them in trouble were completely eliminated from every district, I don't think it would make much difference for students.  The most serious problems in school governance were never addressed in the scandal.  In fact, I think the reason there were no trials was that the District Attorney didn't want these small time crooks spilling the beans about how San Diego County Office of Education runs schools for the benefit of those in power.

Why Two Convicted Sweetwater Officials Can Run for Re-Election
Bianca Bruno
Voice of San Diego
July 22, 2014

Former [Sweetwater Union High School District] board president Jim Cartmill filed earlier this month for a spot on the November ballot. Cartmill is running for a seat representing District 3, which includes schools on the east side of Chula Vista. Former trustee Bertha Lopez, one of 18 officials convicted in connection with the scandal, said at a hearing last week that she plans to run for re-election but has not yet filed the official paperwork, according to the Registrar of Voters...
San Diego Superior Court Judge Ana Espana initially ruled that Cartmill and Lopez could continue to serve in their elected positions until the end of their respective terms  but later reversed that based on a California code that suspends public officials from office after they’ve entered a guilty plea.
At Cartmill’s sentencing, the judge ruled he could run for re-election.
Cartmill was sentenced in June to three years’ probation, 40 hours community service and just under $5,000 in fines.


See all posts re South Bay Indictments.

Former Sweetwater Superintendent Gandara to spend two months in jail

 See all posts on South Bay Indictments.

I was interested in this passage from Susan Luzzaro's story below:

In retrospect, some people still wonder how Gandara was selected back in 2006. The district initially paid a headhunter group $30,000 to select him.

Susan acts as though Gandara is significantly different from most other superintendents.  I would say that Gandara's mistake was getting involved in small-time corruption.  He should have stuck with the corruption that is sanctioned by San Diego County Office of Education.  I myself consider the crimes Gandara was charged with to be less harmful to the public good than the wrongdoing that is considered normal policy by SDCOE.

The fact is, it's both extremely difficult and extremely easy to know what you're getting when you hire a new superintendent.

First, the easy part.  You know you're almost certainly getting someone who goes along to get along because that's how a person becomes a candidate for most big jobs.  Sometimes you get a surprise, like the cardinals got recently when they chose Pope Francis, but usually you get someone who won't rock the boat.

Then there's the difficult part.  Your husband could have told you about this, Susan.  I remember in the eighties at Montgomery Elementary in Chula Vista when I taught with Frank Luzzzaro.  He was on the interview committee that chose a new principal.  The female candidate interviewed well, charming everyone.  But Frank soon regretted his choice, and said that he would never again sit on an interview committee.  He voluntarily transferred to another school.

As Frank learned, it's just not possible to truly know most of the people you meet in this world.  In fact, most of us don't even know how we ourselves will behave until we are tested.    

By the way, kudos to whomever it was who came up with the great headline for this Reader story:

Gandara to go on 60-day lobster fast

Former Sweetwater superintendent “earned the right to go to prison.”

By Susan Luzzaro 

San Diego Reader

June 27, 2014

The Sweetwater Union High School District corruption case crescendoed in the South Bay courthouse on June 27. Former Sweetwater superintendent Jesus Gandara was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs. He was sentenced to 220 days in custody; 60 of those days will be served in jail and the rest under house arrest. In addition, judge Ana España ordered Gandara to pay a $7994 fine and perform 120 hours of community service.

Gandara pleaded guilty to one charge of felony conspiracy and has admitted to accepting gifts of travel, meals, and event tickets in excess of $4000.

Prior to the sentencing, community members advocated for jail time.

Jaime Mercado, who served as a trustee during Gandara’s tenure, accused Gandara of “corruption, intimidation, and reprisal.” He said Gandara had “earned the right to go to prison.”

Frances Brinkman, one of the people who originally took corruption complaints to the district attorney, applauded all of the unsung heroes who dared to speak out while Gandara was superintendent. Brinkman recited names such as Katy Wright, Tony Alfaro, Diana Carberry, Nancy Stubbs, and more…all people, she asserted, were unjustly fired by Gandara.

Kathleen Cheers, another community member who took corruption complaints to the district attorney, said that the majority of Sweetwater students received subsidized meals.

Cheers said she doubted if many of them “had ever tasted lobster.” She reminded the court of the lobster dinners that Gandara and his family enjoyed, paid for by vendors who worked for Sweetwater.

Jesus Gandara and his lawyer, Paul Pfingst

Attorney Paul Pfingst, who represented Gandara, pointed to Gandara’s remarkable career in education and his “commitment to children.” Pfingst lauded Gandara for getting the voters to pass Proposition O and referred to design awards that Proposition O projects received.

On the other side, deputy district attorney Leon Schorr said Gandara’s story was about “greed and ambition” and that Gandara was “hired into a situation that was ripe for corruption.”

Schorr argued that by punishing Gandara, the judge was warning “every other public official in the county.”

España said she had reviewed the material Pfingst submitted about Gandara’s accomplishments. She referred to his earlier career in Texas, then asked, “What happened along the way?”

España said Gandara “used his power to personally insert himself into negotiations with the contractors who were giving gifts to get jobs.”

Perhaps the tipping point for Gandara’s career came in 2011 when the U-T reported that Gandara hosted a wedding shower for his daughter at Murrietta’s restaurant in Bonita. Former Sweetwater trustees Arlie Ricasa and Jim Cartmill and still-current trustee John McCann attended the party. Vendors doing business with the district were also invited. The shower invitation announced there would be a money tree available for those inclined to pin on some greenery.

In retrospect, some people still wonder how Gandara was selected back in 2006. The district initially paid a headhunter group $30,000 to select him. Then the district paid Ricasa and Cartmill, who have both pleaded guilty to misdemeanors in this corruption case, to travel to Texas to vet Gandara.

The curious things is, Gandara hailed from the same little part of Texas where former Sweetwater superintendent Anthony Trujillo had retreated to after Sweetwater gave him his walking papers — and pension. Trujillo left Sweetwater to become superintendent of a small school district in Ysleta Texas and Gandara served as assistant superintendent there for a while. Gandara even acknowledged Trujillo in his doctoral thesis.

Sweetwater’s current superintendent, Ed Brand, is stepping down in October. Turning toward the future, many are already wondering — how will the new superintendent be vetted?..

Sweetwater probe nets first jail sentence; Former Sweetwater board member gets 45 days

See all posts re South Bay Indictments.

Sweetwater probe nets first jail sentence
Former Sweetwater board member gets 45 days
By Greg Moran
San Diego Union-Tribune
June 20, 2014

Gregory Sandoval, a former Sweetwater schools trustee, on Friday became the first defendant in the South County schools corruption probe to be sentenced to jail for accepting fancy meals and other gifts from contractors seeking business with the district.

Sandoval, who is also a former administrator at Southwestern College, pleaded guilty in April to a felony conspiracy charge and a misdemeanor charge of failing to report gifts he received from school construction executives on required disclosure forms in 2008.

Superior Court Judge Ana Espana sentenced Sandoval to six months in custody. She ordered him to serve 45 days of that in jail, and serve the remaining 135 days on home detention.

He was also fined $7,995, ordered to perform 120 hours of community service and put on probation for three years.

Espana denied a request from Sandoval’s lawyer to reduce the felony to a lesser misdemeanor. She also ordered him into jail custody immediately, to begin his sentence.

Sandoval, 60, is one of 18 trustees, school officials and contractors who were charged in an expansive probe into the cozy relationships between school officials and the contractors angling for work funded by voter-approved bond programs.

The investigation focused on Sweetwater Union High School District but also included officials from Southwestern College and the San Ysidro School District.

Most have pleaded guilty and received sentences of probation or home detention, as well as fines and community service work.

But prosecutors with the San Diego County District Attorney’s office said that Sandoval was one of more corrupt of the defendants, receiving lots of gifts and meals.

For example Jaime Ortiz, a construction management executive with the firm SGI that was involved in the construction work, testified in front of a grand jury empaneled for the case that Sandoval demands for dinners and being treated to other social events was “constant.”

One time Ortiz said Sandoval called him when Ortiz was in SGI offices in Los Angeles and said he wanted to meet. He said he wanted to go to a luau at a Pacific Beach hotel that evening. Ortiz boarded a plane for the short flight then paid for the dinners for himself, his wife and Sandoval and his wife.

Sandoval was initially indicted on 29 charges including bribery and perjury. He ended up admitting in his plea deal to accepting $2,770 in gifts from another contractor, Henry Amigable, and not reporting those gifts on his state-mandated economic disclosure forms.

Jeremy Warren, one of his lawyers, said in court papers that Sandoval accepted responsibility for his acts. He said at the time of the wining and dining Sandoval recently had lost his job at the college in the wake of sexual harassment accusation that he was later cleared of, but he remained a Sweetwater trustee. Warren said he was at a low point in his life when he began being courted by Amigable and others.

In 2010 Sandoval got a new job as an administrator at Moreno Valley College, but resigned from that $151,811 job after his guilty plea in April.

Greg Sandoval resigns as VP for Moreno Valley College after conviction regarding Southwestern Community college

Greg Sandoval
See all posts re South Bay Indictments.


“MORENO VALLEY: College VP resigns after corruption conviction
Press Enterprise
May 23, 2014

Greg Sandoval, the Moreno Valley College vice president of student services, has resigned after his conviction in San Diego County for his role in a massive public corruption scandal.

The Riverside Community College District did not publicly announce Sandoval’s resignation from his $151,811 a year job when it happened April 22…

Sandoval, 60, pleaded guilty April 4 to one felony count of conspiracy to commit a crime and one misdemeanor count of failing to report gifts received as required by state law. He faces up to three years’ imprisonment when he is sentenced June 20.

The district attorney filed 29 felony charges against Sandoval in a case stemming from his time as a member of the board of trustees in the Sweetwater Union High School District in Chula Vista from 1994 to 2010. He was one of 15 defendants in a case involving gifts from contractors and votes that awarded those contractors multimillion-dollar projects.

He was charged with conspiracy, receiving bribes, conflict of interest, using a public position for financial gain, filing a false instrument, perjury on the forms public officials use to report gifts, and receiving gifts with a total value in excess of allowed limits…”

http://blog.pe.com/education/2014/05/23/moreno-valley-college-vp-resigns-after-corruption-conviction/#

Who's replacing the four corrupt Sweetwater trustees who were forced to resign? Four people who have controlled the legal shenanigans of Sweetwater for years

UPDATE: Add Gregg Robinson to the list of SDCOE trustees who are taking over the Sweetwater board. Even though he wasn't charged or convicted of a crime, Sweetwater trustee John McCannn is also pushed out. SDCOE administrators also took the place of Sweetwater administrators at the most recent board meeting.


SDCOE board members Mark Anderson, Susan Hartley, Lyn Neylong,
Gregg Robinson and Sharon Jones

All of the above except Robinson will take over the Sweetwater
Union High School District board. (See all posts on South Bay Indictments.)
These individuals have maintained secrecy about gifts to Diane Crosier,
the director of Risk Management. Also, they have kept Crosier's pal Dan Puplava
in his position despite revelations of enormous amounts of money
he received from financial institutions connected to SDCOE.

Troubled Sweetwater school district served with temporary trustees
KUSI News
May 19, 2014

SAN DIEGO (CNS) - Four members of the San Diego County Board of Education will serve as temporary trustees for the troubled Sweetwater Union High School District, the county Office of Education announced Monday.

The appointees will fill the seats of Sweetwater board members who were suspended or ousted after pleading guilty to various corruption charges.

The selections were made today by county school board President Susan Hartley, three days after Superior Court Judge Judith Hayes granted a request by the district to allow Hartley to fill the leadership posts.

"This decision allows the San Diego County Board of Education and the San Diego County Office of Education to provide whatever services to the district that may be necessary to ensure the smooth operation of its programs," Hartley said. "We have always been focused on supporting the district in educating students."

The appointees are Mark Anderson, who represents inland North County and rural East County; Sharon Jones, who represents most of the southeastern portion of the county; Lyn Neylon, who represents the southwestern part of the county; and Hartley herself, who represents the North County coast.

Last month, board President Jim Cartmill and Trustee Bertha Lopez pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor accepting gifts charge, and then-Trustee Pearl Quinones was sentenced to three months of house arrest after her admission to a felony conspiracy count and a misdemeanor of accepting gifts above the state limit.

Former trustees Arlie Ricasa and Greg Sandoval, ex-Superintendent Jesus Gandara and a construction company executive, Henry Amigable, previously pleaded guilty in the case.

San Ysidro Schools trustee steps down after all; judge may not have known about section 1770 when ruling that Yolanda Hernandez could stay in office after conviction

Government Code Section 1770 states, “An office becomes vacant” when an elected official is convicted of “any offense involving a violation of his or her official duties.”

Hernandez pleaded guilty to omitting information about gifts from contractors on state disclosure forms, signed under penalty of perjury.

Dan Shinoff, attorney for the San Ysidro and Sweetwater schools, said, "...but you can’t just ignore the judge’s ruling."

San Ysidro trustee steps down after all
By Allison Sampite-Montecalvo
and Ashly McGlone
SDUT
April 30, 2014

San Ysidro schools trustee Yolanda Hernandez stepped down Wednesday evening, a day after her sentencing in the ongoing corruption probe at three South County school districts.

At her sentencing on Tuesday in Chula Vista, Hernandez received community service and probation, but Judge Ana Espana allowed her to stay in office.

On Wednesday, U-T Watchdog raised questions with district officials, attorneys and legal experts across the state — many of whom did not see how Hernandez could remain in office. Confusion ensued, along with meetings among school officials and lawyers.

State law mandates that an elective office be vacated when the official is convicted of any violation involving his or her duties.

The U-T posted a story online about the law, and more than 90 percent of readers in an unscientific online poll said Hernandez should not be in office. Board president Jason Wells then informed the Watchdog that Hernandez, 65, would resign.

“She decided to do what was best for the district and herself, which was to resign,” Wells said. “We are very grateful for her 20 years of service and this was the right move at this time. This is the latest step in a long process that this board has gone through to positively change the climate in the San Ysidro School District.”

Hernandez was one of 15 elected officials and contractors indicted in 2012 in a probe by District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis of pay-to-play allegations at three school districts. She is the 10th defendant sentenced, but the first who seemed poised to remain in office after her case concluded.

Her departure could have implications for two Sweetwater Union High School District board members who pleaded guilty last week and are to be sentenced in June. Neither expected to leave office, and Espana issued a finding that they were authorized to keep their board seats.

“The court came to that conclusion after reviewing the statute pertaining to this particular offense,” Espana said in court, without citing a statute.

Government Code Section 1770 states, “An office becomes vacant” when an elected official is convicted of “any offense involving a violation of his or her official duties.”

Hernandez pleaded guilty to omitting information about gifts from contractors on state disclosure forms, signed under penalty of perjury.

U-T Watchdog discussed the code section with several legal experts on Wednesday — including the San Ysidro district’s lawyer — and they all thought the law was clear:

Michael Colantuono, a municipal attorney who was named Public Lawyer of the Year in 2010 by the California Bar Association: “I do not read that statute to give the court any discretion. It provides that they lose their office upon conviction of a felony or upon a misdemeanor of their official duties.”

Dan Shinoff, attorney for the San Ysidro and Sweetwater schools: “My reading of 1770 is that if you are convicted of a felony or found guilty of wrongdoing relative to your duties in office, that your seat becomes vacant. I don’t think that’s complicated, but you can’t just ignore the judge’s ruling.”

[Maura Larkins' comment: Dan Shinoff, who has represented the San Ysidro School District for many years, has a history of insisting that judges who rule in his favor be obeyed even when he knows perfectly well that a ruling is a violation of law.

For example, Judge Judith Hayes ruled in December 2009 that I could never in my life mention Dan Shinoff's name (even to talk to a lawyer to defend me from the defamation lawsuit filed against me by Dan Shinoff's firm, Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz). This is clearly an egregious and brazen violation of the First Amendment, but Shinoff's law firm argued that Judge Hayes was within her rights to ignore the Constitution.

The Court of Appeal ruled against Judge Hayes and Shinoff.
If Mr. Shinoff truly didn't know that the injunction was unconstitutional, I'm wondering how good his legal advice is. The First Amendment is a pretty simple concept, after all. If Mr. Shinoff did know, yet continued to try to enforce the illegal injunction, then I'm wondering if he has the ethics we expect from a lawyer who is paid to represent public entities.]

Robert Fellmeth, founder and director of the University of San Diego’s Center for Public Interest Law: “It’s not a discretionary statute at all. You are ‘vacant.’ You’re gone.”

One issue may be that no attorneys involved in the case brought the right code section to the judge’s attention.

Fellmeth said if he was still a deputy District Attorney in the courtroom, “I would be sure to raise the issue before the court and insist upon the vacancy... The court did not seem to know anything about 1770 at all.”

For most of the day, Hernandez was not planning to leave office. Her defense attorney, Michael Crowley, said she planned to serve out her term, which would have ended in November.

“Ms. Hernandez pleaded guilty to the lowest misdemeanor available and the DA stated that at the sentencing hearing,” Crowley said. “She will not be running again, but there is no law precluding her from finishing out her term, which will be the culmination of two decades of service.”

District officials were scrambling most of the day to find a course of action.

“We haven’t received any information from the DA’s office with regard to (Hernandez) having to resign or received anything from them in writing regarding any plea,” said George Cameron, interim superintendent. “What we want to do is get access to the court’s decision and we’ll have it reviewed by our legal counsel.”

With Hernandez out of office, attention will now turn to Sweetwater.

Two members of the Sweetwater school board, Arlie Ricasa and Pearl Quiñones, already left office as a result of their convictions. Both pleaded guilty to accepting gifts above state limits, and Quiñones admitted to a conspiracy as well.

Two more school board members, Cartmill and Lopez, pleaded guilty last week to accepting gifts above state limits. Neither expected to leave office, and the judge found they could stay. Cartmill’s term is up in November, and Lopez is in office until 2016.

As with Hernandez, there was no discussion at their hearing of Government Code Section 1770 and its requirement that they leave office. Now that the code section is better known, it may come up at their sentencing. “The court has the discretion to make sentencing decisions, and we will provide our input at the hearing,” District Attorney’s spokeswoman Tanya Sierra said. Jill Galvez, parent of a Sweetwater student, said Lopez and Cartmill should simply resign. “In my opinion, the county board should ask for the resignation of these two board members and they should appoint four interim board members until we have our elections here in Chula Vista,” she said. “Both these board members violated public trust and they should step down from office. I’m shocked the judge didn’t ask them to.” Sharon Floyd, a former 35-year teacher in Chula Vista, agreed. “I think those two folks should resign immediately,” she said. “If my vote counts, they need to go. Now.” Not everyone feels that way. Chula Vista resident and parent Maty Adato said Lopez should remain in office. “I believe that Ms. Lopez is the only one that asks for accountability,” she said. “I don’t think Ms. Lopez should have to resign. She is the only one doing her job.” By the way, it was Talkwalker that alerted me to this story. I have become disappointed with Google alerts. Talkwalker gives me quick alerts on the words I ask them to look for, while Google alerts is often silent on important stories.

Bertha Lopez pleads guilty to an underwhelming charge while Jason Moore asks for justice: perhaps getting rid of Bonnie Dumanis would be the best way to improve public integrity in San Diego

Current Sweetwater Union High School
District trustee Bertha Lopez pled guilty
on April 24, 2014 to an extremely small-potatoes
transgression: accepting a gift over the limit.

It seems clear that District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis never intended to go after serious corruption in schools.

I'm not saying Bertha Lopez is an angel. Far from it. For years I've been complaining about her illegal actions on behalf of Chula Vista Elementary School District.

My problem is that I think Dumanis went after Bertha for the wrong reasons. The reasons were pathetic. But at least there was some actual misbehavior underlying the charges against Bertha Lopez. Dumanis went after other targets for purely political reasons.

San Diego seems to be as bad as Alabama.

Serious corruption is tolerated among public employees in both
places. In San Diego the district attorney seeks paltry convictions
of small-time miscreants, but releases the full fury of the
justice system on public employees like Jason Moore and
Edward Lane who sought to tell the truth about public officials.

Compare Bonnie Dumanis' inconsistent prosecutions to the Alabama
case of Lane v. Franks, a scandal in a 2-year college that is now
a Supreme Court case: Edward Lane was fired because he testified truthfully
that an Alabama state legislator was a no-show employee, being paid
by the taxpayers for no work.

Dumanis pursued preposterous perjury charges against Jason Moore and Steve Castaneda apparently because they dared to interfere with the political ascent of Chula Vista Mayor Cheryl Cox. Meanwhile, Dumanis ignored a boatload of perjury committed to cover-up wrongdoing by Cheryl Cox herself, as well as Cheryl's fellow Chula Vista Elementary School District trustees Bertha Lopez, Pamela Smith, Larry Cunningham and Patrick Judd in the Maura Larkins v. CVESD case.

Even the Sheriff of Santa Barbara admitted that his office signed a false declaration in that case. Some examples of others who committed perjury can be found HERE and HERE.

Dumanis has been careful not to go after any of the truly powerful players in the San Diego education establishment.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reports:

"Two more Sweetwater school board members pleaded guilty Thursday to minor charges in the South County political corruption investigation, effectively ending a case once described as the worst corruption scandal in a decade on a muted note. Board President Jim Cartmill and trustee Bertha Lopez each pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of accepting gifts over the state limit. They will be sentenced in June."

The SDUT is correct that this effectively ends the case since these are the last two school officials to plead out. But according to the Daily Transcript, there is still one contractor left whose charges have not been resolved. I doubt that there will ever be a single trial in this case.

"Their plea deals leave just one trial-bound defendant, Jeffrey Flores, remaining in the probe that rounded up more than a dozen South Bay-area school officials, a construction contractor and a bond underwriter for allegedly being implicit in either giving or receiving gifts that could influence votes by school districts when construction contracts were awarded.

"Flores, president of Seville Construction Services, was also scheduled to begin trial on Monday. But due to medical issues, is likely to have his proceedings continued to a later date, Deputy District Attorney Leon Schorr said Friday. All named defendants outside of Flores have pleaded to lesser charges than what they initially faced."

THE JASON MOORE CASE

It's about time that the abusive political prosecution of Jason Moore should be rectified. Steve Castaneda also seeks information about the political prosecution he endured.

See recent revelation: Phone Call Raises Questions About DA Dumanis’ Chula Vista Investigations

News Of Dumanis Call Prompts Request To Strike Plea Deal
By Amita Sharma
KPBS
April 24, 2014

An aide to former Chula Vista Mayor Steve Padilla wants to undo his 2008 misdemeanor guilty plea.

Jason Moore's defense attorney says his client should have been told about District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis' call when he was charged.

The request follows news of a call San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis made before she investigated Chula Vista city officials.

In 2007, former Padilla aide Jason Moore faced five felony charges for perjury. Moore was caught spying on the political enemy of his boss at an event during work hours. Prosecutors said Moore lied about when he submitted a request to take time off from work. Moore ultimately pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in a deal with the DA’s office.

Moore’s attorney Knut Johnson said that deal would have never been cut today. Johnson says revelations in a KPBS story this week changed everything.

The story reported that Dumanis called then-Mayor Padilla in 2006 just weeks before she started investigating Chula Vista city officials. Padilla said Dumanis asked him to appoint her own aide to a vacant Chula Vista City Council seat. Padilla refused and soon afterward, she launched her probes.

"If the district attorney called up Mr. Moore’s boss and tried to get that boss to make a city council seat available for one of her employees and then when refused a week later started an investigation that included subpoenaing Mr. Moore to the grand jury, that was undisclosed and we should have known about that," John said. "It's such an obvious conflict of interest."

Johnson said he plans to file court papers arguing that Moore’s plea deal was obtained illegally. The DA’s office said it had no comment at this time.



Here's one of my early posts about the Jason Moore case:

Is Jason Moore the Dale Akiki of Bonnie Dumanis?
May 20, 2007

Tanya Mannes writes about Bonnie Dumanis' mysterious "Public Integrity Unit" in this morning's San Diego Union-Tribune:

"In existence about 14 months, it has filed charges against one person: Jason Moore, a former Chula Vista mayoral aide." Jason Moore worked for Steve Padilla, a Democrat who was in a run-off election against Republican Cheryl Cox.

The investigation of Moore, for taking two hours off work to take pictures of Cheryl Cox with David Malcolm at a Cox fundraiser, began in August 2005, well before the November election. Oddly, Bonnie Dumanis says, that in the future, in most cases, "we will not investigate a complaint until after an election."

Bonnie says her office is determined to be nonpolitical. When will that start, Bonnie? Specifically, when will you investigate complaints against Cheryl Cox and her associates?

Dumanis did not even announce the existence of her "Public Integrity Unit" until March 1, 2007. Jason Moore was indicted on March 27, 2007.

O'Toole and Dumanis have each claimed to be personally interested in prosecuting perjury. But Dumanis' office recently refused to investigate proven perjury regarding illegal actions committed at Chula Vista Elementary School District when Bertha Lopez and Cheryl Cox were trustees of CVESD.

UPDATE April 25, 2014:

Maura Larkins' note: I imagine that readers are more likely to believe me regarding illegal actions and perjury committed by school officials in the South Bay after the recent revelations of pay-for-play deals with contractors. See related posts. I think these revelations will hurt Bonnie Dumanis in her contest against Bob Brewer in the upcoming election for district attorney in San Diego. But I hope that Bob Brewer, if he wins, won't give all public officials a free pass. I worry about that since Bob Brewer has made most of his money defending powerful white collar players. And he even has Bonnie's henchman Patrick O'Toole, who savagely prosecuted Jason Moore and Steve Castaneda, in his camp. That's sort of scary...

In a related case, another political target of Bonnie Dumanis also asks for follow-through on the new information about the D.A.'s political motives.

Ex-Chula Vista Councilman Wants DA To Release Emails
By Amita Sharma
KPBS News
April 22, 2014

Former Chula Vista City Councilman Steve Castaneda called on District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis to release emails connected to his 2008 prosecution.

Former Chula Vista City Councilman Steve Castaneda called Thursday on District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis to release emails connected to his 2008 prosecution.

Castaneda's request followed a KPBS report that Dumanis investigated him and his colleagues after failing to get her aide appointed to a vacant Chula Vista council seat.

In 2006, Dumanis opened an inquiry into whether Castaneda received favors from a developer. That was months after then-Chula Vista Mayor Steve Padilla said he refused Dumanis' phone request to appoint an aide, Jesse Navarro, to a vacant council seat. Castaneda was later indicted on accusations of lying to a grand jury.

A jury acquitted him on most of the charges and hung on others.

Castaneda said he should have been told about Dumanis' call to Padilla. He now wants the District Attorney's Office to release all emails regarding his case because he wants to know "what happened and why it happened."

"Frankly, if she were on my side of the prosecutorial desk, she'd be at a grand jury right now," Castaneda said. "And she's hiding behind her status and her position, and I think she owes it to not only me and my family, but she owes it to the people of San Diego County."

A Dumanis spokeswoman released a statement on the matter saying, "Mr. Castaneda's criminal case is closed and we will not allow the District Attorney's Office to be used as a political pawn."

KPBS also asked for the same emails but was told the records didn't exist and would be exempt from disclosure anyway.

Bertha Lopez pleads guilty to a shamefully underwhelming charge while Jason Moore asks for justice: perhaps getting rid of Bonnie Dumanis would be the best way to improve public integrity in San Diego

Current Sweetwater Union High School
District trustee Bertha Lopez pled guilty
on April 24, 2014 to an extremely small-potatoes
transgression: accepting a gift over the limit.

It seems clear that District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis never intended to go after serious corruption in schools.

I'm not saying Bertha Lopez is an angel. Far from it. For years I've been complaining about her illegal actions on behalf of Chula Vista Elementary School District.

My problem is that I think Dumanis went after Bertha for the wrong reasons. The reasons were pathetic. But at least there was some actual misbehavior underlying the charges against Bertha Lopez. Dumanis went after other targets for purely political reasons.

San Diego seems to be as bad as Alabama.

Serious corruption is tolerated among public employees in both
places. In San Diego the district attorney seeks paltry convictions
of small-time miscreants, but releases the full fury of the
justice system on public employees like Jason Moore and
Edward Lane who sought to tell the truth about public officials.

Compare Bonnie Dumanis' inconsistent prosecutions to the Alabama
case of Lane v. Franks, a scandal in a 2-year college that is now
a Supreme Court case: Edward Lane was fired because he testified truthfully
that an Alabama state legislator was a no-show employee, being paid
by the taxpayers for no work.

Dumanis pursued preposterous perjury charges against Jason Moore and Steve Castaneda apparently because they dared to interfere with the political ascent of Chula Vista Mayor Cheryl Cox. Meanwhile, Dumanis ignored a boatload of perjury committed to cover-up wrongdoing by Cheryl Cox herself, as well as Cheryl's fellow Chula Vista Elementary School District trustees Bertha Lopez, Pamela Smith, Larry Cunningham and Patrick Judd in the Maura Larkins v. CVESD case.

Even the Sheriff of Santa Barbara admitted that his office signed a false declaration in that case. Some examples of others who committed perjury can be found HERE and HERE.

Dumanis has been careful not to go after any of the truly powerful players in the San Diego education establishment.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reports:

"Two more Sweetwater school board members pleaded guilty Thursday to minor charges in the South County political corruption investigation, effectively ending a case once described as the worst corruption scandal in a decade on a muted note. Board President Jim Cartmill and trustee Bertha Lopez each pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of accepting gifts over the state limit. They will be sentenced in June."

The SDUT is correct that this effectively ends the case since these are the last two school officials to plead out. But according to the Daily Transcript, there is still one contractor left whose charges have not been resolved. I doubt that there will ever be a single trial in this case.

"Their plea deals leave just one trial-bound defendant, Jeffrey Flores, remaining in the probe that rounded up more than a dozen South Bay-area school officials, a construction contractor and a bond underwriter for allegedly being implicit in either giving or receiving gifts that could influence votes by school districts when construction contracts were awarded.

"Flores, president of Seville Construction Services, was also scheduled to begin trial on Monday. But due to medical issues, is likely to have his proceedings continued to a later date, Deputy District Attorney Leon Schorr said Friday. All named defendants outside of Flores have pleaded to lesser charges than what they initially faced."

THE JASON MOORE CASE

It's about time that the abusive political prosecution of Jason Moore should be rectified. Steve Castaneda also seeks information about the political prosecution he endured.

See recent revelation: Phone Call Raises Questions About DA Dumanis’ Chula Vista Investigations

News Of Dumanis Call Prompts Request To Strike Plea Deal
By Amita Sharma
KPBS
April 24, 2014

An aide to former Chula Vista Mayor Steve Padilla wants to undo his 2008 misdemeanor guilty plea.

Jason Moore's defense attorney says his client should have been told about District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis' call when he was charged.

The request follows news of a call San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis made before she investigated Chula Vista city officials.

In 2007, former Padilla aide Jason Moore faced five felony charges for perjury. Moore was caught spying on the political enemy of his boss at an event during work hours. Prosecutors said Moore lied about when he submitted a request to take time off from work. Moore ultimately pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in a deal with the DA’s office.

Moore’s attorney Knut Johnson said that deal would have never been cut today. Johnson says revelations in a KPBS story this week changed everything.

The story reported that Dumanis called then-Mayor Padilla in 2006 just weeks before she started investigating Chula Vista city officials. Padilla said Dumanis asked him to appoint her own aide to a vacant Chula Vista City Council seat. Padilla refused and soon afterward, she launched her probes.

"If the district attorney called up Mr. Moore’s boss and tried to get that boss to make a city council seat available for one of her employees and then when refused a week later started an investigation that included subpoenaing Mr. Moore to the grand jury, that was undisclosed and we should have known about that," John said. "It's such an obvious conflict of interest."

Johnson said he plans to file court papers arguing that Moore’s plea deal was obtained illegally. The DA’s office said it had no comment at this time.



Here's one of my early posts about the Jason Moore case:

Is Jason Moore the Dale Akiki of Bonnie Dumanis?
May 20, 2007

Tanya Mannes writes about Bonnie Dumanis' mysterious "Public Integrity Unit" in this morning's San Diego Union-Tribune:

"In existence about 14 months, it has filed charges against one person: Jason Moore, a former Chula Vista mayoral aide." Jason Moore worked for Steve Padilla, a Democrat who was in a run-off election against Republican Cheryl Cox.

The investigation of Moore, for taking two hours off work to take pictures of Cheryl Cox with David Malcolm at a Cox fundraiser, began in August 2005, well before the November election. Oddly, Bonnie Dumanis says, that in the future, in most cases, "we will not investigate a complaint until after an election."

Bonnie says her office is determined to be nonpolitical. When will that start, Bonnie? Specifically, when will you investigate complaints against Cheryl Cox and her associates?

Dumanis did not even announce the existence of her "Public Integrity Unit" until March 1, 2007. Jason Moore was indicted on March 27, 2007.

O'Toole and Dumanis have each claimed to be personally interested in prosecuting perjury. But Dumanis' office recently refused to investigate proven perjury regarding illegal actions committed at Chula Vista Elementary School District when Bertha Lopez and Cheryl Cox were trustees of CVESD.

UPDATE April 25, 2014:

Maura Larkins' note: I imagine that readers are more likely to believe me regarding illegal actions and perjury committed by school officials in the South Bay after the recent revelations of pay-for-play deals with contractors. See related posts. I think these revelations will hurt Bonnie Dumanis in her contest against Bob Brewer in the upcoming election for district attorney in San Diego. But I hope that Bob Brewer, if he wins, won't give all public officials a free pass. I worry about that since Bob Brewer has made most of his money defending powerful white collar players. And he even has Bonnie's henchman Patrick O'Toole, who savagely prosecuted Jason Moore and Steve Castaneda, in his camp. That's sort of scary...

In a related case, another political target of Bonnie Dumanis also asks for follow-through on the new information about the D.A.'s political motives.

Ex-Chula Vista Councilman Wants DA To Release Emails
By Amita Sharma
KPBS News
April 22, 2014

Former Chula Vista City Councilman Steve Castaneda called on District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis to release emails connected to his 2008 prosecution.

Former Chula Vista City Councilman Steve Castaneda called Thursday on District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis to release emails connected to his 2008 prosecution.

Castaneda's request followed a KPBS report that Dumanis investigated him and his colleagues after failing to get her aide appointed to a vacant Chula Vista council seat.

In 2006, Dumanis opened an inquiry into whether Castaneda received favors from a developer. That was months after then-Chula Vista Mayor Steve Padilla said he refused Dumanis' phone request to appoint an aide, Jesse Navarro, to a vacant council seat. Castaneda was later indicted on accusations of lying to a grand jury.

A jury acquitted him on most of the charges and hung on others.

Castaneda said he should have been told about Dumanis' call to Padilla. He now wants the District Attorney's Office to release all emails regarding his case because he wants to know "what happened and why it happened."

"Frankly, if she were on my side of the prosecutorial desk, she'd be at a grand jury right now," Castaneda said. "And she's hiding behind her status and her position, and I think she owes it to not only me and my family, but she owes it to the people of San Diego County."

A Dumanis spokeswoman released a statement on the matter saying, "Mr. Castaneda's criminal case is closed and we will not allow the District Attorney's Office to be used as a political pawn."

KPBS also asked for the same emails but was told the records didn't exist and would be exempt from disclosure anyway.

Witness says Sweetwater officials wanted to bypass the entire list of underwriting firms picked by selection committee and give job to Gary Cabello

Witness: District pushed poor underwriter
The county official says she was told he 'has to be on that list'
By Aaron Burgin
June 14, 2013

Gary Cabello, 54, bond financier, is accused of offering thing of value to a school official and bribery

A former San Diego County investment officer was taken aback when Sweetwater schools officials pushed to have the least qualified bidder selected to market Proposition O construction bonds, she testified to the grand jury.

Michelle Durgy, now the chief investment officer for the city and county of San Francisco, served on a panel to help select the underwriter.

The committee did not select Gary Allen Cabello, who is now charged with bribing officials at Sweetwater and Southwestern College to obtain multimillion dollar underwriting contracts for his company, Alta Vista Financial. He has pleaded not guilty.

Durgy testified that Sweetwater officials told her Alta Vista would have to be selected.

“And I said, 'Oh no, that is not happening,’” Durgy told the grand jury.

South County Grand Jury transcripts Vol. 5 Download .PDF

Her testimony was among the 4,000 pages of grand jury transcripts a judge released last month, amid objections from defense attorneys who claimed the release would prejudice potential jurors against their clients.

Durgy was on the selection committee for the Sweetwater Union High School District’s $644 million bond because the county advises districts on certain financial matters such as bond issuances and investment management.

Following the firms’ interviews, the selection committee picked two major underwriting firms and two minority-owned firms as their recommendations to the board. The list did not include Alta Vista.

When former Sweetwater Chief Financial Officer Dianne Russo saw this, she quickly objected and said that Alta Vista must be included, Durgy testified.

“At that point, Diane spoke up again and said, “Oh, (former Sweetwater Superintendent) Jesus Gandara... is not going to like this,” Durgy said. “And I said, ‘Well, too bad. That’s who we selected.’ She said, ‘No, no, Michelle, you don’t understand. Alta Vista has to be on that list.’”

Of the 10 firms that interviewed, Durgy said that Alta Vista performed the worst. They were admittedly unprepared and she described their presentation as thin.

“They started off by saying, ‘Wow, we are not really prepared today, we kind of pieced this,’” Durgy said. “And I thought, oh, you know, this is not professional at all.

“And I ... came away thinking... I gave them an opportunity to redeem themselves and that certainly was not the case, and I am unimpressed with this. And I scored them the lowest out of all the firms because they were — it was pretty sad.”

Durgy testified that she thought Russo was kidding at first, but then Russo said that not only did Gandara expect them to be on the list — he wanted them to be the lead underwriter.

Durgy said she was eventually overruled by the rest of the selection committee, and Alta Vista was included.

Durgy said that the recommendation was that Alta Vista play a minor role in the underwriting. Ultimately, however, Cabello’s firm participated in underwriting nearly $350 million in bonds at Sweetwater and Southwestern College.

Durgy said she compiled all relevant correspondence in a memo at the request of her boss, County Treasurer Dan McAllister, after Durgy raised concerns about the integrity of the process.

Sweetwater approves campaign finance reform; all it took was a few indictments; now what about other school districts?

An image captured in January 2012, at one of the many heated meetings of the Sweetwater trustees.

Sweetwater School Board to Consider Campaign Finance Reform
Under the current rules, a board member can accept an unlimited amount of money from a contractor seeking or performing work with the district.
By Wendy Fry
NBCSanDiego
Jan 14, 2014

The Sweetwater Union High School District will vote on campaign finance reform Tuesday in the wake of a two-year criminal probe into relationships between contractors and South County politicians.

The community has been persistent in getting the item on the agenda, despite being blocked in the past by the board and superintendent.

The proposal would limit campaign contributions to $750 for a single election contest for candidates for the board of trustees.

It also seeks to ban candidates running for school board to take contributions from anyone other than individuals or political party committees.

...This comes after three Sweetwater Union High School District board members were accused of accepting thousands of dollars on gifts and meals, allegedly for awarding construction contracts to contributing companies.

No limits are currently in place. Under the current rules, a board member can accept an unlimited amount of money from a contractor seeking or performing work with the district. For example, during his 2010 reelection campaign, Board President Jim Cartmill accepted a $20,000 contribution from SGI Construction Management, which working at the time for the district under the voter-approved $644 million bond measure.

The proposed campaign finance rules would do nothing to curb the often big amounts of money spent on behalf of candidates through independent committees. A political party could, for example, spend as much as it wants independently to promote a candidate, as long as the campaign was not coordinated with the candidate.

Sweetwater board approves campaign reform
By Allison Sampite-Montecalvo
SDUT
Jan. 14, 2014

CHULA VISTA — The Sweetwater Union High School District school board, with three members facing criminal charges in a pay-to-play case brought by the District Attorney’s Office, voted unanimously Tuesday in favor of campaign finance reform.

The reform was supported by trustees Jim Cartmill, John McCann and Bertha Lopez. Trustee Pearl Quiñones was absent. Cartmill, Lopez and Quiñones have been indicted in the corruption investigation.

Many residents consider the reform decision a huge step forward in transparency and restoring trust. Community member Maty Adato said the vote was a move in the right direction.

“This is the fifth time this issue have been on the agenda in two years,” she said. “They’ve never wanted to adopt it.”

The decision limited campaign contributions that can be made to board candidates to a maximum of $750. Only individual donors would be allowed to make contributions. Previously there was no limit on the amount or type of campaign contributions that a school board candidate could accept.

The resolution makes it “unlawful for an individual to make, or for a candidate or a controlled committee to solicit or accept” a contribution more than $750 for a single election contest.

“The limit would apply to both campaign committees and also to legal defense funds, which are additional separate fundraising mechanisms that elected officials may use when they’re facing particular illegal matters related to their office,” said Christine Cameron, an attorney who works for the district. Cameron also said the knowing solicitation of district employees for contributions is prohibited.

“The resolution also provides that at a later time the board would develop procedures for investigating violations of the rules but in the meantime a complaint submitted to the superintendent and signed by the complainant would have to be investigated using an independent investigator,” she said.

A controversial item on how to fill a board seat vacated by a member who pleaded guilty in the corruption case didn’t make it to a vote Tuesday. Although the members present formed a quorum, a decision on the vacant seat issue requires the support of three or more board members, and that appeared unlikely, so the matter was delayed. Board members also felt it was important to include Quiñones in the decision.

The vacancy was created when Arlie Ricasa resigned after pleading guilty Dec. 19 to a misdemeanor charge of accepting gifts above state limits. The Sweetwater indictments were among others at the San Ysidro School District and Southwestern College.

The board decided it would try and get in touch with Quiñones as soon as possible and set another meeting to either decide on a process for a provisional appointment or go forward with a special election.

But the trustees are up against a ticking clock.

The school district’s attorney, Dan Shinoff, said that according to board bylaws, members must fill the vacant seat within 60 days, or Feb. 17. The more time that passes the more likely it is a special election would be held, which Shinoff said could cost up to $1.5 million for a nine-month appointment (when Ricasa’s term would have expired). Shinoff said the special election would cause “a significant fiscal impact on the district.”

San Ysidro School District wants no mention of cash handoff, burning records or criminal charges in EcoBusiness case

San Ysidro Schools doesn't think opposing attorneys should be allowed to see public records showing how much San Diego County Office of Education has paid to San Ysidro's lawyers for work in the EcoBusniess case. See also story at bottom of this post of punishment of a teacher who called in law enforcement when he saw documents burning in a San Ysidro school dumpster.

See all posts re Manuel Paul.
See all posts re Dan Shinoff.
See all posts labeled San Ysidro School District; also, a few stories are listed under "San Ysidro SD".
See all posts re Ecobusiness or Manzana/Ecobusiness.

MORE EFFORTS TO CONCEAL EVENTS IN SAN YSIDRO SCHOOLS AS CIVIL AND CRIMINAL CASES PROCEED

Our school tax dollars are hard at work in San Ysidro School District where the public is paying lawyers to tell the Superior Court that the burning of district records had nothing to do with a pending $18 million lawsuit about San Ysidro School District's decision to drop a contractor.

Photo: Aaron Burgin, SDUT

San Ysidro's lawyers also told the court that a cash handout from a contractor to Superintendent Manuel Paul sheds no light on how San Ysidro officials make decisions about contractors.

Stutz law firm was chosen by San Diego County Office of Education's Joint Powers Authority, which provides legal liability insurance to schools.

The California Bar Association says that public entity lawyers have no obligation to the public and are only beholden to the public officials they represent. If they are right, as they may well be, perhaps the law needs to be changed.

I think a school district belongs to the people who pay for it and the people for whose benefit it was created, not to the officials and others who have obtained power in its hierarchy.

P.S. I am wondering why the San Diego Union-Tribune laid off Watchdog reporter Aaron Bergin. It probably didn't help when Bergin wrote about another school attorney firm, Fagen Friedman Fulfrost, and its shenanigans at Carlsbad School District. SDUT owner Doug Manchester perhaps decided he had one Watchdog too many.

CNN reports that education attorneys at Lowndes County Schools insist the video they released recently of the day student Kendrick Johnson died is "a raw feed with no edits."

However, forensic video analyst Grant Fredericks says, "(The surveillance video has) been altered in a number of ways, primarily in image quality and likely in dropped information, information loss," he said. "There are also a number of files that are corrupted because they've not been processed correctly and they're not playable. I can't say why they were done that way, but they were not done correctly, and they were not done thoroughly. So we're missing information."

--Maura Larkins



San Ysidro tries to limit testimony
District wants cash handoff, criminal charges excluded from civil matter
By Jeff McDonald
SDUT
Nov. 17, 2013

Manuel Paul, 61, San Ysidro schools superintendent, is accused of filing false documents, perjury, and accepting gifts above state limits Manuel Paul, 61, San Ysidro schools superintendent, is accused of filing false documents, perjury, and accepting gifts above state limits.

Lawyers for the San Ysidro School District filed several motions last week in an $18 million lawsuit over solar installations, attempting to exclude any mention of cash handoffs, burning of district records or criminal charges against officials.

Daniel Shinoff, the attorney defending the South County district in a dispute with EcoBusiness Alliance, asked a judge to bar from the upcoming trial references to former Superintendent Manuel Paul’s admission that he accepted $2,500 in cash from a contractor looking to secure business.

Paul has said the money was for political signs, and the motions also ask the judge to omit references to amended campaign disclosure forms filed by trustees after Paul testified that’s what the money was for.

The district argues that its former superintendent is not involved in the lawsuit.

“First, this is a breach of contract action between the San Ysidro School District and EcoBusiness Alliance,” one motion states. “Manuel Paul is not a party.”

The documents also ask the judge to exclude witnesses and references to an FBI investigation into district business practices and an FBI probe into the burning and shredding of documents on district property in July.

The motions have yet to be ruled on by the judge hearing the suit, in which EcoBusiness Alliance is objecting to the 2012 cancellation of its $18 million contract to install solar power systems at district campuses.

The company is attempting to prove that the contract was canceled in part because officials maintain a “pay to play” culture that awards contracts to vendors who contribute gifts or cash to top district officials. The district rejected that claim, saying the deal fizzled because the company did not act on the agreement.

The attorney representing EcoBusiness Alliance called the motions a ploy and a waste of public funds.

The lawsuit is unrelated to criminal charges filed against Paul and Trustee Yolanda Hernandez, who were among 15 South County educators indicted by the grand jury a year ago on corruption charges. The DA is attempting to prove a pay-to-play atmosphere regarding school construction contracts in South County, at San Ysidro and two other districts.

Hernandez has pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor charge of filing a false form. Paul has pleaded not guilty to six remaining corruption charges.

The criminal case is scheduled for trial in 2014. The civil suit is expected to go to trial early next year.


MORE EFFORTS TO SILENCE REPORTS OF EVENTS IN SCHOOLS



Did Manuel Paul illegally burn San Ysidro School District papers?
Whistleblower placed on administrative leave
By Susan Luzzaro
San Diego Reader
Aug. 4, 2013

Curious reports continue regarding burned papers retrieved from a burn barrel in the maintenance yard of the San Ysidro School District...

A new twist to the story, however, is that the district has placed the whistleblower on administrative leave.

The sequence of events on July 3 began when a San Ysidro school teacher got a call from his union president who informed him of the possible burning of documents. He called his acquaintance, Art Castanares, one of the owners of EcoAlliance, a solar-power company. EcoAlliance has filed a breach-of-contract suit against the district.

The teacher and Castanares showed up at district headquarters at about the same time and found the burn barrel. They called the FBI and the San Diego police.

“I can’t even have an open burn in my backyard," said the teacher in a recent interview. "It doesn’t look right for someone in the district to be doing this.” The teacher said what appeared to be legal documents were visible among the ashes.

Though the teacher declined to release his name until he meets with his attorney, he worries he is already suffering the consequences of being a whistleblower. The district placed him on administrative leave on Tuesday, July 30...

South Bay judge upholds majority of indictments in pay-to-play

See all posts on South Bay indictments.

South Bay judge upholds majority of indictments in pay-to-play
New charges were dismissed in three South Bay school districts' alleged pay-to-play charges--the bulk still hold
By Susan Luzzaro
San Diego Reader
October 10, 2013

Twenty-two charges were dropped for defendants in a South Bay corruption case during hearings held on October 8 and 9. Twenty charges were dropped by the people, as represented by Deputy District Attorney Leon Schorr, in a pre-trial paring of 232 indictments handed down by the Grand Jury in January 2013.

The case initially became public when high-ranking school officials, trustees, contractors, and a bond salesman linked to South Bay school districts, had their homes or offices raided by the DA's office in 2011. By December 2012, as a result of a broadening investigation, the Grand Jury charged 15 defendants with charges which included perjury, bribery and filing a false statement.

Most charges relate to alleged pay-to-play activity which involved Sweetwater Union High School District's Proposition O for $644 million and Southwestern College's Proposition R for $389 million.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, Judge Ana Espana listened to the defendants' attorneys' arguments for additional dismissals; however, in the majority of cases she remained unconvinced.

After the October 9 hearing Schorr commented, "We are very pleased with the outcome of the hearings. Judge Espana's rulings confirm the hard work of the grand jurors and their desire to hold these defendants accountable for their actions."

Two additional charges were dropped for Sweetwater trustee Pearl Quinones following arguments presented by her attorney Marco Carlos, one perjury count and one count for filing a false instrument.

In an October 9 interview Carlos said the charges were dropped because of insufficient evidence. Carlos feels confident that when his defendant comes before a jury, the jury will understand "that my client was doing what every other elected officials does."

Carlos also believes that the former program manager for both Sweetwater's and Southwestern's bond construction, Henry Amigable, who has provided a lot of the testimony on which the charges are based, will prove to be "a weak witness."

Carlos said, "Amigable's memory is horrible, and on direct testimony before 8 or 9 experienced lawyers he will not be able to stand up."

That all politicians do this kind of wining and dining seemed to be a common argument presented by several attorneys.

Paul Pfingst, attorney for former Sweetwater superintendent Jesus Gandara, took issue with the much-publicized lobster dinner that Gandara received--paid for by Amigable. (The lobster was flown in for the occasion and described as "still kicking.")

Pfingst argued that there were no business discussions at the meal and that it was a social occasion and should not be considered bribery.

Schorr countered that the $1,383 dinner at Bacis, which was also attended by Sweetwater's former trustee Greg Sandoval and current trustee Arlie Ricasa, was intentionally lavish to demonstrate "this is how we will take care of you if we are selected."

Schorr also noted that this meal and many others were not disclosed on Gandara's 700 conflict-of-interest form.

Espana did not dismiss the bribery charge. She said that the meal appeared in the context of other meals or events that happened prior to Sweetwater trustees selecting Amigable and his company.

The lobster dinner in question took place in March 2007. The company which Amigable worked for at that time, Gilbane, along with Seville Group Inc. were selected to manage Sweetwater's Proposition O in April 2007. R

Lots on the line for Dumanis in South Bay

See Robert Brewer story below the Dumanis story.

Embezzlers of school booster club funds and PTA funds have been prosecuted all around the county, but  two separate embezzlements at Castle Park Elementary (where I taught) were not prosecuted. They occurred within a period of eight years.  The second incident involved $20,000 held by the PTA.  The PTA president was arrested, then let go almost immediately and never prosecuted.  Was this crime kept quiet so as not embarrass Cheryl Cox and her fellow board members?

Lots on the line for Dumanis in South Bay
By Aaron Burgin and Katherine Poythress
SDUT
JAN. 11, 2013

...Since 2007, only one case lodged by the unit against an elected official has resulted in criminal punishment. Former Encinitas Councilman Dan Dalager was fined $1,000 in 2011 after he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor conflict of interest charge stemming from accepting deeply discounted appliances from a store owner, then voting in the owner’s favor in a dispute with the city. His case was prosecuted after the transaction was exposed by The Watchdog...[Dalager is conservative]

Allegations of corruption at Sweetwater schools stretch back as far as the 1980s, when officials were accused of misappropriating lottery funds, attempted bribery and the unauthorized sale of computers to schools in Mexico. These allegations ultimately led to the fall of then-Superintendent Anthony Trujillo and started the political career of Jim Cartmill — one of the officials accused of corruption today...

Slater-Price accepted free tickets while dispensing grants to the opera and the Old Globe Theatre. After The Watchdog revealed she failed to report the gifts on state forms, she was given a $2,000 administrative fine in 2010.

Slater-Price’s beneficiaries were charities, not for-profit companies. And prosecutors in South County are gathering evidence of quid pro quo arrangements. But Carlos said the parallel of taking entertainment while giving government largesse is there.

“It’s the same conduct,” Carlos said. “It’s crazy. If it is illegal for someone, it should be illegal for everyone. Apparently, however, that is not the case.”...

[The same could be said for the entire $200,000 yearly slush funds that supervisors used to award themselves to be used to give to the non-profits of their choice. They got plenty in return, including lots of free publicity.]

Salas said while she doesn’t believe the case is a conspiracy, she hopes Dumanis’ public integrity unit will probe other school districts.

“We are a very diverse community, and we are way beyond that type of thinking in California and San Diego,” she said, “but it seems to me that the kind of problems that we are facing here are something that his happening countywide, and there does seem to be an extraordinary focus on South Bay.”



Robert Brewer

Leslie Devaney's and Dan Shinoff's endorsements of Robert Brewer can be found HERE.

“I have had the great privilege of knowing Mr. Brewer for over 30 years. He is an outstanding individual who is the consummate professional who treats everyone he deals with with great respect and always is a person of tremendous integrity. The County would be most fortunate to have Robert Brewer as District Attorney.”

--Daniel R. Shinoff
STUTZ ARTIANO SHINOFF & HOLTZ

I imagine Mr. Shinoff is quite incensed at Bonnie Dumanis for indicting his clients Manuel Paul, Bertha Lopez, and others at Southwestern College, Sweetwater Union High School District, and San Ysidro School District.

Of course, it's sort of strange that Dan Shinoff feels he has to muzzle a retired teacher in order to protect his own reputation as person of integrity. (See my San Diego Education Report blog posts re Stutz v. Larkins.) Does Mr. Shinoff really think that people who have worked with him for years will think his ethics are questionable just because of something I say? Haven't these people already formed an opinion?  They probably know him better than I do.  Most of the facts that I discuss have been published in newspapers, or at least in court documents, and few people read my websites, anyway. Why does Mr. Shinoff see me as a threat to his reputation?