Trutanich, Baca under investigation by FBI over fundraising

The Los Angeles Dragnet reports:

The LA Times has confirmed rumors that were received by the Dragnet that Carmen 'Nuch' Trutanich and 'longtime supporter' Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca are being investigated by the FBI over potentially illegal fundraising activities during which deputy sheriffs were 'ordered' to collect campaign contributions for Trutanich's Hindenburg-like campaign for District Attorney.

In our recent review of 'winners and losers' in the 2013 City Elections, we listed Sheriff Baca as a 'loser' for his support for the failed incumbent City Attorney Trutanich, noting that "to this day nobody fully understands why Baca is so entrenched in his support for Trutanich. He spearheaded the pathetically false 'Draft Trutanich for DA' movement, got himself in trouble for breaking the law by endorsing Trutanich in his uniform, and raised a ton of cash for Trutanich - which might also get him in trouble if rumors are correct..."

The rumors were correct, and the Dragnet can now reveal that the FBI investigation into Trutanich and Baca was ongoing long before the May 21, 2013 election where Trutanich was rejected by voters in an historic defeat.

The FBI had received information from Deputy Tamayo, assigned the Lost Hills Sheriff's Station (Malibu area), that he had been ordered to obtain donations for Trutanich from local businessmen and wealthy residents. It is understood that Tamayo was not the only deputy sheriff involved in the fundraising scandal. The Malibu Times reported that as many as twelve other deputies were 'ordered' to shake down the wealthy for donations in the form of 'tickets' to a fundraiser attended by Trutanich. Each deputy was expected to sell 10 tickets, Tamayo told the Times, stating that the order "came down through the chain of command from Sheriff Lee Baca — an allegation his spokesman denied." The Times reported.
  
One thing the Times makes clear is that Trutanich was "targeted" by the FBI in their investigation.

Tamayo stated that in the course of the FBI investigation he wore a wiretap and was monitored by FBI Agents who communicated with him by text messages. Tamayo provided the Times with the text messages where his handlers 'coached' him to "mention Trutanich and to bring up the difference between the truth and staying loyal." Seemingly, Tamayo followed his prompts from the FBI handler and obtained the necessary information. "You're doing fine," one message from the FBI handler says, another says "OK when you have a chance turn everything off, we'll meet you at iHop," indicating that Tamayo had recorded the conversations necessary for the investigation. 

Intriguingly, it seems the FBI had realized that an issue central to Trutanich's candidacy for District Attorney was the apparent conflict between "the truth" and "staying loyal." The implication being that "the truth" about Trutanich (presumably his being utterly unfit for District Attorney) was irrelevant, and that "loyalty" was more important. Presumably the reference to loyalty refers to Sheriff Baca's support for Trutanich.

As mentioned in both the LA Times and Malibu Times articles, Sheriff Baca previously broke state law in connection with Trutanich when he appeared "in uniform" offering his endorsement of Trutanich during the 2012 campaign for District Attorney.



Trutanich quickly edited out the endorsement from his much hailed 'viral' YouTube campaign video which was subsequently removed from YouTube for violating their deceptive content policy. Trutanich also removed the endorsement from his DA campaign website, which was also promptly shut down following his humiliating defeat.  

While Trutanich has pretty much sealed his own fate in terms of his political future, Sheriff Baca is understood to be campaigning for reelection as Los Angeles County Sheriff in 2014. Those who have announced an interest in opposing Baca will likely exploit the scandal over the fundraising issue, and should the FBI investigation yield criminal charges, Baca may well find himself in the same situation as Trutanich.

The latest scandal concerning Trutanich may cause his successor, City Attorney elect Mike Feuer to reconsider Trutanich's offer to help with the transition of administration. The LA Times had reportedthat after conceding defeat, 'Trutanich telephoned Feuer after conceding and offered to help with the transition to a new administration. Feuer said Wednesday he was "very grateful" for the offer. "He'll play an integral role in the transition," Feuer said.' Trutanich, of course, may have his own reasons for wanting to 'help' with the transition and given the shocking revelations in the Times, Feuer might do better without 'help' from Trutanich. As Sheriff Baca now must realize, association with Trutanich comes at a very heavy price.

Quoted content ends.

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Trutanich blames campaign strategist for 'lack of name recognition' in failed DA race

The Los Angeles Dragnet reports that failed DA candidate Carmen Trutanich is blaming his former campaign strategist, John Shallman, for his 'Hindenburg-like' defeat. The tough talking city prosecutor believes that more people would have known his name and voted for him if Shallman had purchased slate mailers instead of tv ads. The claim is laughable as Trutanich had more name recognition, money and endorsements than any other candidate. He lost the election because more voters knew who and what he was; a liar.

This from the Dragnet:

Rumors suggest that embattled Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen 'Nuch' Trutanich is desperately trying to pin the blame for his 'Hindenburg-like' defeat in the DA primary election on his campaign strategist John Shallman. Trutanich believes that Shallman's failure to advise the DA wannabe to purchase slate mailers caused him to suffer from a 'lack of name recognition' in LA County.

Trutanich came in stone last of the three frontrunners in the DA primary despite having a campaign warchest three times larger than his closest rival, Chief Deputy District Attorney Jackie Lacey. Trutanich blew his wad on a glitzy tv ad campaign, a strategy that saw him swamp LA tv with so many advertisements that he ended up deeply in debt as he increased his television exposure in the final weeks of his ill-fated campaign. 

Lacey, who beat Trutanich by 12 points, eschewed tv advertising altogether, instead concentrating her campaign on securing key slate mailers. That, it seems, is what Trutanich is now saying caused his humiliating political castration, and he is laying the blame squarely at the feet of his former 'Ambassador of Quan' for failing to advise him to purchase slate mailers. 

It's a convenient argument, particularly as Trutanich owes Shallman an estimated $112,000 for the final tv ad media buys, and Trutanich apparently does not have any money in his campaign committee account to pay Shallman. Trutanich also faces a further hurdle finding supporters willing to help to retire his debt; most of his supporters have already given the maximum allowable contribution and, as Doug McIntyre recently commented, now that Trutanich has been 'Tagged with the big 'L' for 'LOSER,' the Scarlet ''L,' it's real hard to find anyone to write fresh checks.'

Some speculate that Trutanich's slate mailer blame shifting is most likely a ploy either to stall the issue of his indebtedness, or to try to renegotiate terms with Shallman who makes a handsome commission on media buys. Either way it's a ploy that fails to pass the straight face test. The notion that Trutanich lacked 'name recognition' is as hilariously ridiculous as most of his other campaign missteps and completely ignores the fact that while first-placed finisher Lacey did have slate mailers, the second-placed finisher, Alan Jackson, beat Trutanich by two points and did not have any slate mailers either.

The inconvenient truth about Trutanich is that with or without slate mailers, and despite a million dollar tv campaign, he could never, ever, overcome the negative name recognition which started the moment Trutanich reneged on his 'Pledge to Serve,' and continued throughout his campaign of facile,  deceptive and deceitful shenanigans. The voters of Los Angeles made it very clear that having let Trutanich make fools out of them once, they were not going to allow that to happen again.

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Carmen Trutanich Jose Huizar called 'Dickheads' over Dispensary ban

The Los Angeles Dragnet reports that Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen Trutanich and Councilmember Jose Huizar have been called 'dickheads' by Death & Taxes, the entertainment industry news blog. 

(Credit: Los Angeles Dragnet)

Trutanich and Huizar are taken to task for their support and leadership of an ordinance to ban all medical marijuana dispensaries in the City of Los Angeles.

The ordinance, which received approval from the Los Angeles City Council, comes in the wake of a series of embarrassing failures by Trutanich to write an ordinance that limits the number of dispensaries to an acceptable level. Trutanich, enjoyed the support of the legitimate medical marijuana community when he ran for City Attorney because he promised to provide a workable ordinance to regulate the growing number of shops selling marijuana. But as soon as Trutanich took office he reneged on his promise and tried to 'regulate medical marijuana out of existence,' as one former supporter commented.

Trutanich likely saw the anti-medical marijuana lobby as key to his political ambition to become District Attorney. He tried to disguise his opposition to medical marijuana on public safety grounds, arguing that medical marijuana was unsafe because it might contain pesticide.


City Attorney Clashes with Speaker at 2009 Congress of Neighborhoods -Accused of Bullying, Questioned on Red Ant Theory from Michael N. Cohen on Vimeo.

However, when Kathryn Schorr, a cancer survivor questioned Trutanich's 'voodoo science' conclusions regarding the health risks arising from pesticide in medical marijuana, he became enraged and started screaming at the patient. His response to questions about the number of reports of persons injured by the use of pesticide treated medical marijuana was to shout 'Wrong! You're wrong!' at Schorr and scream at her to feed lead to her children, before telling her to 'Sit down and shut up.'

Video reporter Michael Cohen spoke to Schorr after her encounter with Trutanich. 'She appeared to be distraught and was crying and being comforted by a security guard and others. The security guard cautioned her not to drive home in her condition.' he said. 

'Schorr felt that Trutanich was overbearing and bullying her and he should have let her make her point without interference. That being, one needs 10 pounds to do a proper lab analysis of contaminants in marijuana. She had the floor and his insisting that she should give lead to her children was wrong. She said she couldn’t understand how an elected official could talk to her that way.' Cohen related.

Trutanich's attitude towards Ms Schorr shocked and surprised many who had supported his candidacy for City Attorney and did much to boost the reputation Trutanich was fast acquiring as a liar, bully and a thug. 'Anyone who could be so rude and violent towards a woman who was a cancer survivor has no place in public service; he looks like your typical woman-hater' and observer opined.

Trutanich suffered a humiliating defeat at the polls during the recent District Attorney primary election. The onetime front runner with a campaign warchest three times larger than his closest rival, lost so badly that he will likely never hold public office again - his own campaign adviser has apparently told him to to seek reelection. When Trutanich eventually spoke to reporters about the reasons for his downfall, he identified opposition from the medical marijuana community as one of the reasons why 78% of Los Angelenos did not vote for him.

That Trutanich is generally accepted as politcally 'toxic' and 'unelectable' makes it all the more surprising that Councilmember Huizar is willing to associate himself with the hugely unpopular politician. Huizar, who is also a licensed attorney, has been rumored to be considering running for City Attorney. Trutanich is unlikely to be able to raise enough money to mount a campaign and faces so many serious negatives that his only chance at reelection would be if he were to run unopposed.

Thus far Police Rights attorney Greg Smith, termed-out Assemblyman Mike Feuer and Deputy City Attorney Ed Angeles have formally announced their candidacies for the March 2013 election for City Attorney. Trutanich told the LA Times that he would announce his reelection committee this week, however, as we close, no announcement has been made.

Trutanich was last week reported to have over $154,000 of debts from his ill-fated District Attorney campaign. A volunteer spokesman later told times that Trutanich has reduced his debts to $112,000 leaving only the costs of tv ads unpaid. Should Truanich be unable to pay off his campaign debts, many believe this would represent a further barrier to Trutanich's reelection hopes.

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City Attorney Carmen Trutanich responds to critics; blames 'poor paperwork' by LAPD

Carmen Trutanich, the Los Angeles City Attorney, responded to criticism arising from the dismissal of 'many cases' against the Occupy LA protesters by pointing the finger of blame fairly and squarely at the Los Angeles Police Department.

In an interview with the Daily News, the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office made it clear that their  inability to move forward aggressively with the prosecution of the Occupy LA protesters was due to "paperwork errors made by police officers during the Nov. 30 raid." the Daily News reported.

According to Trutanich, "Los Angeles Police Department officers listed the wrong arresting officer on the arrest sheet" and that City Attorney's Office was "frustrated with the LAPD's handling of the Occupy L.A. arrests." 

The problem appears to be due to the City Attorney's Office not being given enough time to prepare the cases for trial. State law requires arrested persons charged with minor misdemeanors such as trespassing to be brought to trial within 30 days, which apparently was not enough time for the City Attorney's Office. Had the Occupy LA protesters been issued tickets instead of being arrested, the City Attorney would have an extra 15 days to prepare for trial.

The problems faced by the City Attorney's Office were, perhaps, complicated by the Christmas and New Year's Day holidays, which may have robbed the prosecutors of critical time, "With more time, the City Attorney's office could have researched and corrected the arresting officers' name," Trutanich said of  the shoddy paperwork given to him by LAPD.

Additionally, Trutanich was working flat out on his campaign to become District Attorney and had to attend many fundraisers in order to meet his self-imposed $1M campaign war chest target by the December 31, 2011 deadline. Simply put, he may not have had enough time to check the paperwork supplied by LAPD because he had more pressing concerns.

Despite being so badly let down by the LAPD, the City Attorney clearly does not believe that the mistakes made by LAPD officers will pose any problems for future prosecutions as "a second batch of 24 cases will be heading to court later this month," he said. "It's a teachable moment" one prosecutor opined, "The City Attorney's Office is taking this as an opportunity to teach the Occupy LA protesters a lesson about the First Amendment, and LAPD can also learn a lesson about how to prepare their cases."

Trutanich's harsh criticism of the LAPD was not warmly received by everyone. District Attorney candidate Alan Jackson's campaign strategist, John S. Thomas, told the Los Angeles Dragnet that "The next District Attorney needs to stand with law enforcement, not throw them under the bus when it is politically convenient. Mr. Trutanich appears to be too busy collecting special interest cash and exploiting his elected position with city contractors to run the City Attorney's office. Not only did Trutanich throw the police under the bus, he backed up and ran over them again."

The Los Angeles City Council was expected to consider the City Attorney's proposal to sue the Occupy LA protesters for the costs of the clean-up operation. It is unclear whether consideration of that proposal will be taken any further given the paperwork problems identified by the collapse of these criminal cases.

LAPD officers did an outstanding job in bringing the Occupy LA protests to an effective and peaceful end. While they can be proud of their commitment to protect and serve all the people of Los Angeles, there are "a few wrinkles that the LAPD needs to work out," Trutanich said. The LAPD should be grateful for the sound advice and opportunity to educate themselves that they are being given. Contributions to the Draft Trutanich for District Attorney movement can be made at his campaign website.

Kevin James Mayoral campaign boosted by matching funds

Los Angeles Mayoral candidate Kevin James took a giant leap forward in his campaign to become the next Mayor of Los Angeles with the news that he has raised enough money to qualify for matching funds.

Qualifying for matching funds means that not only will James receive a dollar for dollar doubling of his fundraising, but even more importantly, it means that he will be a participant in the next Mayoral candidates' debate on February 2, 2101 at UCLA.

All eyes will be on James in the debates. The former Assistant US Attorney and talk show host is bound to raise the bar in the debates, challenging the policies of the Villaraigosa administration and the business as usual brigade that have brought the nation's second largest city to the brink of bankruptcy.

To learn more about Kevin James, visit his campaign website: www.KevinJamesForMayor.com

Trutanich faced with major setback in District Attorney campaign

The LA Weekly's exclusive report of City Attorney Carmen Trutanich's shock defeat in what should have been slam-dunk convictions of OccupyLA protesters, shows just how ill-suited the former plaintiff's attorney is to the serious business of law enforcement, according to the Los Angeles Dragnet.

Trutanich was unable to proceed with prosecutions against the Occupy LA protesters because his attorneys were unprepared to go forward with trials, missing witnesses, paperwork and evidence.

It's a shocking indictment of Trutanich's management ability and will harm Trutanich's credibility as a candidate for District Attorney; if he cannot manage a simple misdemeanor prosecution for failing to disperse and trespass, how can he possibly be capable of managing the serious business of prosecuting felons as District Attorney?

Ironically, on the same day that news of Trutanich's monumental failure was revealed, his former supporter Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley sat calmly in Department 30 of the Superior Court in downtown Los Angeles  while a 37 count felony complaint was presented against the Hollywood serial arsonist, Harry Burkhart.

Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley looks calmly at the face of
alleged serial arsonist Harry Burkhart while Deputy District Attorney Sean Carney
outlines the well-prepared case against the defendant

Trutanich had over a month to be prepared to prosecute the Occupy LA protesters for minor crimes that barely warrant a slap on the wrist, but Trutanich could not handle the pressure. In contrast, the District Attorney's Office had 48 hours to prepare and successfully present the 37 count complaint against the worst arsonist in Los Angeles history.

The contrast between the two former friends couldn't be greater. While Trutanich appears to prefer trying his cases in the press without being able to follow through, Cooley shuns the media and gets on with doing the job. Cooley has made it clear that he does not support Trutanich to replace him as District Attorney when he retires in 2013. Now Los Angelenos can see why; he cannot do the job.

Mayor Villaraigosa accused of 'ENRON' accounting

Shocking revelations in the Los Angeles Times regarding the way Mayor Villaraigosa has 'deferred' around $100M in labor costs to be the problem of whoever succeeds him may explain why former Deputy Mayor Austin Beutner resigned.

The LA Times reports that Beutner, an investment banker and mayoral hopeful, said Villaraigosa's $100M deferment will leave the city with fewer dollars for services in coming years. Beutner was more blunt three months ago, telling a room full of real estate executives that City Hall's budget practices resemble an infamous case of corporate financial abuse. "That's Enron," he told the audience. "That's actually fraud, right?"


Los Angeles Arsonist Arrested 
The arrest of 24 year old Harry Burkhart in the early hours of Monday morning appears to have brought an end to the spate of fires plaguing the Hollywood area.

The arrest, by sharp-eyed reserve Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriff Shervin Lalezary, was apparently based on information supplied by federal immigration authorities who identified the 24 year old suspect following an incident at a deportation hearing.

Although a number of arson fires allegedly started by Burkhart occurred the City of West Hollywood, the three-day firestorm started in the City of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Police Department was the lead agency in the investigation. 

Burkhart was being held in the County Jail without bail pending a hearing at the Van Nuys Superior Court on January 4, 2012. Any criminal charges filed in this case will be prosecuted by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office as Arson, a violation of Penal Code Section 451, is a felony.

Rumors on the internet suggesting that Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen Trutanich would prosecute the case "to the maximum extent of the law" were likely made to parody Trutanich's reputation for "grandstanding." Trutanich recently claimed he was "moving forward" with the prosecution of those responsible for the brutal Dodgers Stadium opening day beating of Brian Stowe, however, that too was a serious felony and Trutanich is not allowed to prosecute such serious crimes.

Trutanich is believed to make false claims to the prosecution of serious crimes in order to enhance his image as a 'tough on crime' candidate for District Attorney, and is likely keen to make himself relevant to the arson case for that reason. His options appear to be the same as with the Occupy LA protesters and AEG's handling of the Michael Jackson memorial; he could claim to be 'investigating' Burkhart with a view to filing a lawsuit to recover the costs of the arson investigation. "It's an election year, so don't be surprised by any cheap publicity stunts from the City Attorney," a political consultant commented on condition of anonymity.

City Attorney's ACE Program Promises Swift Justice At Small Price

Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen Trutanich and Councilmember Paul Koretz (CD5) have been quietly but steadily working together for the past two years on a plan to streamline the handling of minor, low-grade violations of the municipal code. The Administrative Citations Enforcement program (ACE) will allow Trutanich to impose fines (administrative citations) on violators without the traditional high costs and delays of the criminal justice system. Apart from the clear advantage of swift justice, it will also generate a revenue stream that will not only cover the costs of the program, but also yield several millions of dollars in fines and fees that will go to the General Fund.

At 1PM on Monday, September 26, 2011, the Budget and Finance Committee will vote on Trutanich's proposal, and members of the public are welcome to testify as to their thoughts on ACE.

The ACE program was an idea Trutanich came up with when he became LA's first fiscally conservative City Attorney in decades. A former Republican, Trutanich reinvented himself as an independent but kept a firm grip on his Republican values. Supporters will be pleased to find that unnecessary and often undue deference to civil liberties and minority interests, takes a distant second place to uniform enforcement of law. According to Trutanich, his idea was adopted by at least two major Californian cities after he shared his idea with them; San Diego and Santa Monica were rapid adopters and, according to Trutanich, "it's working just fine."

Although the idea was Trutanich's the impetus for ACE came from Councilmember Paul Koretz who represents Council District 5 which includes much of LA's wealthy westside community. Koretz had the bare bones of a plan to tackle common neighborhood complaints such as illegal vending, noise pollution, fence heights, unpermitted construction and untended front yards. Trutanich had to modify Koretz's two-page motion to beef it up with more effective enforcement measures that the liberal lawmaker had overlooked. Trutanich's final draft includes the following key concepts designed to ensure maximum enforcement with minimum delay and minimal or no cost.

1. Removal of the Criminal Court's Jurisdiction
Currently, neighborhood problems receive low priority in the already overcrowded criminal court system. Rogue judges often make allowances or exceptions for special interests and minorities that are not written into the letter of the law. ACE creates a parallel universe of Administrative Hearing Courts where the defendant will not be able to "game the system" with delays and typical defense attorney tricks. The goal is to ensure a uniform enforcement of the law with no exceptions.

The Trutanich Courts will be efficient and effective because:

• There will be no jury - the judge decides everything.
• There will be no public defender - if these criminals want an attorney, let them pay for one.
• The judges will be selected by the City Attorney and told how to decide cases. That way, rogue judges can be quickly removed.
• Specially selected prosecutors will staff the courts to assist the judge in matters of law.
• If defendants want to fight cases, they will have to pay the fine first before the judge even hears their case.
• If defendants fail to attend their scheduled hearing, a money judgment lien will be recorded against their home or business.

2. Fines not Jail Will Bring Rapid Results
The costs of incarceration are bankrupting the state. Sending more criminals to jail just adds to the strain on our limited resources. Using Administrative Penalties and Fees we can save money because:

• No defendant in Trutanich Courts will ever be sent to jail by one of Trutanich's judges. 
• Defendants will, instead, be made to pay their fines and fees, either by attachment of earnings or property liens.  
• Defendants who delay resolving their obligations will face a daily increase in fines because every day that a violation exists, constitutes a new offense.

3. Criminals Cannot Hide Evidence
Oftentimes, defendants escape justice because they are able to hide or conceal incriminating evidence. Because the Trutanich Courts are non-criminal, the full range of constitutional protections such as the 4th, 5th and 6th Amendments to the Constitution do not apply. All that is required is Due Process - notice and an opportunity to be heard. Accordingly, the Trutanich Courts can:

• Hear evidence that would be considered hearsay in a criminal court.
• Compel the defendant to produce documents and items using a subpoena power similar to that used in criminal courts and grand juries.
• Use evidence seized by enforcement officers without search warrants.
• Hear incriminating statements made by defendants without "Miranda" warnings.

These are just a few of the ways that Trutanich will ensure that all our laws are applied fairly, evenly and appropriately to all who violate them. Yes, it is swift justice, but justice delayed is justice denied.

Unfortunately, not all citizens see things the right way, and there have been a few alarmist and ill informed criticisms of ACE. Stephen Box, who ran for CD4 and lost, published a hit piece on CityWatchLA, read it after reading this and you decide what's makes more sense. The Los Angeles Dragnet blog also criticized Carmen Trutanich for his ACE program, but the arguments made there are frankly ludicrous and completely biased against Trutanich.

For more information the draft ACE ordinance can be found at:

http://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2010/10-0085_RPT_ATTY_06-27-11.pdf .

If you have questions, don’t hesitate to contact David Hersch or Christopher Koontz in Councilmember
Koretz’s office at 213-473-7005.

Come and testify at the Budget and Finance Committee:
September 26, 2011, 1:00 PM
Room 1010, City Hall
200 North Spring Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(Contact CD5 for Parking 213-473-7005.)

If you cannot attend the hearing, please send e-mails and letter of support to members of the
Budget and Finance Committee below.  Please copy Councilmember Paul Koretz.

Bernard Parks             bernard.c.parks@lacity.org
Tony Cardenas           tony.cardenas@lacity.org
Mitch Englander         mitch.englander@lacity.org
Paul Koretz                 paul.koretz@lacity.org
Bill Rosendahl            bill.rosendahl@lacity.org

Remember, City Attorney Carmen Trutanich has worked on this plan for over two years and if there were any real problems, he would have said so. His enemies inside City Hall want him to fail, but with your support that will not happen.

Thanks to the folks at LANeighbors.org for much of the information used here.

Trutanich Unfairly Blamed For Delays In Arizona Boycott

Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen "Nuch" Trutanich has been harshly criticized for delaying passage of the City Council's Arizona boycott ordinance.

Politics Without Mercy seized on an LA Times article to unfairly accuse
Trutanich of purposefully and deliberately delaying the boycott
to appease his "hard-core right wing voter base" 

The unfair criticism started with an article in the Los Angeles Times questioning the one-year delay in drafting an ordinance to put into effect the wishes of the the Los Angeles City Council to boycott business with the State of Arizona. The boycott was in response to Arizona's new anti-illegal immigration law; SB1070.

The LA Times article quoted Los Angeles City Councilmember Ed Reyes, who wrote the boycott in May of 2010, said "he blamed City Atty. Carmen Trutanich's office for taking more than a year to draw up an ordinance specifying the terms of the ban," however, a spokesman for Trutanich said "an ordinance is still in the works."

The comments from CM Reyes are not surprising. Since taking office, City Attorney Trutanich has suffered a hostile relationship with CM Reyes; believed to be attributable to Trutanich's Senior Special Assistant Jane Usher, who had previously clashed with CM Reyes over planning matters and has privately accused CM Reyes of being the "Mayor's puppet."

Notwithstanding the reasonable explanation that Trutanich was still working on the ordinance, the Politics Without Mercy blog, spun the story around. According to PWM the issue is not as simple as routine obstructionism of anything CM Reyes proposes, but a more sinister desire to appeal to Trutanich's perceived "hard-core right wing voter base" who favor Arizona's aggressive stance against illegal immigrants.

PWM appears to suggest that Trutanich's supporters would likely applaud Trutanich for using every tool in his box to delay the passage of a law boycotting the State of Arizona. The perception that Trutanich can defeat the progressive policies of the Los Angeles City Council will do much to support Trutanich's bid to become Los Angeles District Attorney, a position which would give Trutanich more power to re-introduce conservative policies towards illegal immigration.

Whether Trutanich is obstructing the passage of the Arizona boycott purely to put CM Reyes in his place, or to appeal to his voter base as he ramps up his District Attorney campaign, there is little that CM Reyes or the City Council can do about it. Trutanich can point to budget cuts that have forced him to prioritize the demands on his staff and can hold off the boycott indefinitely.

It seems that the City Council will have to find another way to put their boycott into effect, and Trutanich will emerge as a champion of anti-illegal immigration laws and earn respect for showing how he can control the City Council.

Trutanich's District Attorney campaign website is www.DraftTrutanich4DA.com.

Trutanich Targeted in "Memorial Day Of Shame" Attack

City Attorney Carmen Trutanich was the target of what appears to be an orchestrated ad hominem attack against his credibility on Memorial Day. The attack is likely the work of his political opponents in the District Attorney race all of whom, however, are expected to deny any connection to what one commenter described as "a cowardly outrage reminiscent of Pearl Harbor."

Carmen 'Nuch' Truanich's 2009 City Attorney campaign promises were
dragged out and selectively edited into a YouTube video produced by
the Political Pantloads blog, and shared by two other blogs.  

The Political Pantloads Blog produced a YouTube video containing statements made by Carmen Trutanich during his 2009 campaign for City Attorney which, when taken at face value and out of context, could be construed as contradicting a campaign pledge made by Trutanich that he would not run for District Attorney until he had completed two terms as City Attorney.

The Political Pantloads story was quickly picked up by the Los Angeles Dragnet at the Politics Without Mercy blogs, with little or no attempt made to disguise the fact that they were basically parroting the original story, suggesting that this was a pre-arranged attack with the collusion and cooperation of all involved.



Credits for the YouTube video makes the claim that no candidate for District Attorney was involved in the production of the Memorial Day hit piece, however, observers may think differently.

Trutanich has known for some time that his campaign pledge would be used against him and has stated that he challenged his then opponent to sign the pledge. Because the pledge was not signed by both politicians, it is not binding and is basically a campaign stunt that should not be taken seriously.

Your thoughts.

Happy April Fools Day!

In case you needed any reminder, today was April Fools Day and the blogs had a field day:

Micheal Higby of the Mayor Sam Blog announced his run for Mayor of Los Angeles complete with a hilarious campaign website.

Political Pantloads launched a Homeland Security styled Political Bullshit Threat Alert System, that is "designed to monitor the threat level of bullshit from his [Carmen Trutanich's] campaigns."

TRU is False published an email sent by Perry Mason to Los Angeles City Council warning them of the dangers of Trutanich's ACE Program.

Michael Cohen shared the Off The Press Radio Show on LA Talk Radio piece which took a swipe at pretty much everyone in Los Angeles politics.

And the winner is.... Higby!

LA City Council - Next In Line For Investigation?

They're amongst the highest paid city government officials in the nation, the 15 Los Angeles City Council "members" who must be very nervous about what's going on in terms of investigations into the high salaries paid to elected city officials in the City of Bell and other LA County cities.

Today a new voice was added to the many who now question whether councilmen are worth the high salaries they pay themselves. Former Assistant US Attorney Adam Schiff (Rep. D-Pasadena) "called on federal prosecutors to examine political corruption in Los Angeles County" according to the Pasadena News Star.

Schiff's call to arms is intriguing as he wants the US Attorney to conduct the investigation, not LA County District Attorney Steve Cooley, who made international headlines by busting "corruption on steroids" in the City of Bell, as well as prosecuting Los Angeles City Council "member" Richard Alarcon for living outside of his council district.

Perhaps Schiff felt it was incongruous for Cooley to pursue an investigation into the LA City Council's lack of action in the face of very damning evidence against Alarcon? Many are wondering why Alarcon should continue to receive in excess of $170,000 a year while facing charges that appear to be incontestable. Yet the City Council has steadfastly refused to consider suspending Alarcon's "CEO-like" salary while he struggles to find some excuse for not residing in his council district to such an extent that a homeless person was able to move in.

But it is not only Alarcon's pay that Schiff might be concerned about. All 15 Los Angeles council "members" receive over $170,000 a year, but many nevertheless consistently fail to show up for scheduled council meetings. Schiff may be on to something here as there certainly seems to be more than a degree of similarity between the charges in the Bell City case where councilmen received high salaries but rarely showed up for work, and the tardy attitudes of the Los Angeles City 15.

Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen Trutanich is precluded from investigating and/or prosecuting his clients for taking high salaries and not showing up for work, and perhaps Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley already has enough on his plate. Maybe it's time for the US Attorney to do something to justify his salary and clamp down on the Los Angeles City Council - somebody has to.

Deputy City Attorney Uses Misleading Ballot Designation in Judicial Race

Is Thomas Griego really a "Criminal Prosecutor?"

OPINION
One man who must be banking on how little voters actually know about them when voters pick judges must be Deputy City Attorney Thomas 'Tom" Griego, who is probably relying on the fact that most voters in the November mid-term election have never heard of him, visited his website, or know the first thing about him.

What Griego is likely gambling on is that voters will just look at his ballot designation, "Criminal Prosecutor," and decide that a person who fights crime and puts bad guys in jail, must be a good choice for Judge.

But in the case of Thomas "Tom" Griego, there's good reason to question whether Griego has ever really "put a bad guy in jail," and it certainly appears that he hasn't done anything like that recently. Sources at the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office say that Griego has spent most of his lackluster career hidden away on the civil side and only recently requested a transfer out of his obscure civil duties to the criminal side. 

Griego is believed to have requested the transfer because it would help him in his bid to become a judge, a role that many do not feel his is qualified for.

The leading Los Angeles legal newspaper, the Metropolitan News-Enterprise, had this to say about Griego's misleading ballot designation:

"TOM GRIEGO is also running for the county’s Superior Court with a vote-attracting ballot designation of “Criminal Prosecutor.” In his case, it’s misleading.

I asked Griego: “Have you prosecuted anyone in the last year?”
His answer: “No, I have not.”
 

To me, that’s a confession as to the invalidity of the designation. If he has not prosecuted criminals (or alleged criminals), he has not been a criminal prosecutor.
 

Garcia admits that as of March 8, he in no way even assisted in any prosecution, but had been reading manuals and the like.
 

His job title is “deputy city attorney.” During the one-year period preceding the filing of his papers—except for some time in recent days in the role of a trainee—he handled civil matters.
The ballot designation he has chosen—which so far has not drawn a challenge—is a falsehood."

Those are strong words indeed from Roger M. Grace at the Met News, and many might well believe that a person like Griego who seeks to mislead voters so blatantly, has no place sitting in judgment of others. Certainly, the Los Angeles County Bar Association wasted no time in declaring Griego "Not Qualified" to be a judge, but in the Primary Election Griego fooled 223,411 voters into putting him into a runoff against a real "Criminal Prosecutor," Alan Schneider.

Schneider, unlike Griego, really does the job of "putting bad guys in jail," and instead of running around campaigning, is actually engaged in a murder trial. According to Schneider's website, he has "tried over 100 jury trials, including 40 homicides, with a 94 percent conviction rate. For the last 7 years, I have specialized in prosecuting complex murder cases against gang member defendants who pose the greatest threat to the public’s safety and the quality of life in our communities."

Schneider has valuable endorsements from all sides of law enforcement, including over 100 Superior Court Judges, as well as Michael P. Judge, Los Angeles County Public Defender and Steve Cooley, Los Angeles County District Attorney.

In a marked contrast, Griego has an endorsement from Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen Trutanich. It's an endorsement that many find troubling, especially in the light of Griego's "Unqualified" rating, and the controversy over his misleading ballot designation.

It is rare for the City Hall Insider to disagree with Trutanich, but this time we have to say that even if there were internal pressures, it would have been better for Trutanich to only endorse candidates for judicial office who are rated "qualified" or above.

 On November 2, 2010 City Hall Insider urges you to vote for Alan Schneider for Judge.

Venice RV Poop Dumpers Get Slap on Wrist

LA Superior Court Commissioner Mark Zuckman is not related to Groucho Marx

KFI 640AM's Steve Gregory reports that the Venice RV dwelling doodoo dumping duo, who were arrested in August for dumping their feces, urine and shower waste on the streets of Venice, and who were arrested again this past weekend for doing the same thing, have done a sweetheart deal with a Court Commissioner  for a time-served sentence; 2 days in jail and 36 months of probation is all they will serve for their crimes.

According to Steve Gregory, defendant Lindsey Estilette and her companion reportedly appeared in front of LA Superior Court Commissioner Mark Zuckman Wednesday, October 13, 2010, and Zuckerman wasted no time in showing how little he apparently cares about the serious problem of RV operators in Venice who dump toxic waste on the streets, instead of going to a disposal site.

City Attorney Carmen Trutanich had insisted that the doodoo dumpers serve 90 days in jail if they plead guilty, although they faced a potential maximum of three years in jail if convicted after trial.

However, Commissioner Zuckman undercut Trutanich and basically said if they plead no contest to all the charges, he would let them off for the two days that 28 year-old Estilette had already spent in jail, and give them 36 months of probation to pay restitution for the cost of cleaning up their toxic waste. The doodoo dumping duo have also been ordered to stay away from Venice.

Mark Zuckman was appointed as Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner in 2002. He is a former Deputy Public Defender who, some say, bears a passing resemblance to comedian Groucho Marx.

Venice Beach residents concerned about the problems that RV dwellers have caused in their community are unlikely to be pleased with Zuckman's assessment of the seriousness of the problem as it was hoped by many that this case would set an example to others, and deter this disgusting practice.

Zine Tells Mayor to Stick It Where The Sun Don't Shine

Can't do better than link to Los Angeles Dragnet who called Dennis Zine "The People's Hero" for having the guts to say "No" to Mayor Villaraigosa's shameful attempt to solve his fiscal irresponsibility by making the cash-rich DWP raise our rates.

LA Dragnet also had this great pic of Dennis Zine which we hope they don't mind us also using here.  Zine has been the only City Councilman to consistently stand by City Attorney Carmen 'Nuch' Trutanich, and as they say, perhaps a little of the City Attorney's "Do the right thing" mantra is finally making sense to some of the other elected officials in our City.

Zine's consistent stance against the Mayor marks a first for Los Angeles, and let' s hope Zine's example inspires the rest of the Council to marginalize and ignore the Mayor for the remainder of his term, and get to grips with the financial ruin Villariagosa has brought on our City.

Times Tries To Cover Up Villaraigosa's Failure

As KABC talk show host Doug McIntrye would say, "You can't make this stuff up!"

At 12:18PM today, the LA Times NOW Blog carried a nice little puff piece about the Mayor's impending TV appearance on 'All My Children,' currently scheduled for airing on Wednesday, February 17, 2010.

Less than one and a half hours later, the Times closed comments on their puff piece with the simple statement "The comments to this entry are closed." You can see the puff piece for yourself at:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/02/villaraigosas-debut-on-all-my-children-set-for-wednesday.html#comments

that is, of course, assuming that the Times hasn't removed it altogether by the time you read this.

Three comments somehow managed to be posted in the 90 minutes that free speech was allowed at the Times, all scathingly negative about the Mayor of Failure's poor choice in taking days off work to make a cameo appearance on TV.

Just in case the Times removes those comments, here they are:
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If you wondered about the Mayor's priorities and focus on crucial city issues, this choice to do this appearance will tell you a lot. Antonio is an absolute Bozo.

Posted by: robert | February 15, 2010 at 01:10 PM

Doesn't he have City of Los Angeles work to do? Is he donating his "salary" for his appearance to the general fund?

Posted by: Margie Ochoa | February 15, 2010 at 01:10 PM

It's nice to see our tax dollars hard at work.


Amazing this city is is the toilet and he is doing this.


What's next?

Posted by: ellesdad1 | February 15, 2010 at 01:46 PM

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Unconfirmed rumors have it that the Times was inundated with so many negative comments about the Mayor's TV soap opera debut, that they felt compelled to shut down comments before they become the source of more embarrassment to Villaraigosa.

More embarrassment? Oh yes. Did you see the Opinion section in yesterday's Sunday LA Times?

Antonio Villaraigosa on L.A.’s budget woes

Villaraigosa spoke to Times reporters Nick Goldberg, David Lauter, Dan Turner, 'Newton,' and someone only identified as "L.A. Times reporter."

There were a couple of interesting things about the report of the interview. First, the Times reported Villariagosa's comments verbatim - complete with poor sentence structure, rambling thoughts, and the usual bagful of catchphrases, cliches and platitudes.

It made one thing very clear; when Villaraigosa goes 'off script,' he stumbles and stammers his way through an answer. We saw all of that and more last week when Villaraigosa spoke to the Council. He was incoherently babbling most of the time.

Second, an unidentified "Aide" interrupted Villaraigosa not less than five times either to correct Villaraigosa's misstatements, or to answer facts and figures that Villaraigosa plainly did not know.

Here's the link to the Opinion Section:

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oew-villaraigosa-ps15-2010feb15,0,3847290,full.story

Clearly Goldberg, Lauter, Turner, 'Newton,' and "reporter" could have cleaned up Villaraigosa's poor performance. They chose not to, perhaps because this was supposed to be an opinion written by Villaraigosa, and as he cannot write very well (he failed the California Bar at least 4 times), and was too lazy to even try to put pen to paper, he chose to use his charm and eloquence to win over the Times. It didn't work, did it?

One other thing that the Mayor of Failure stumbled and stammered his way through was a feeble attempt to explain why he screwed up in ordering City Attorney Carmen Trutanich to fire 100 staffers.

According the Times, Villaraigosa said:

"So once it was clear to me that I had the power through my managers -- and all [City Attorney 
Carmen Trutanich] said what that I had overreached. I don't have power over the city attorney 
because he's duly elected, but as you know I wrote him a letter saying I still want you to lay these 
people off, and I said that in public at the City Council meeting."


So Villaraigosa now admits that he doesn't have the power to order lay-offs, but he can write a letter saying "pretty please" fire 100 attorneys.

If the Mayor's performance in Council and in front of the LA Times reporters is anything to go by, his soap opera debut on 'All My Children' will make viewers wonder just how many takes it took to get this one episode in the can?

CD5 to Recall Paul Koretz?

As news of Koretz's ad hominem attack on District Attorney Steve Cooley and Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen Trutanich is reaching stakeholders in Council District 5, rumor has it that there is a growing movement to launch a recall campaign to oust the Sacramento liberal from what many see as a carpet-bagged seat that he somehow managed to steal.

Few in CD5 realized exactly how responsible Koretz was for bringing hundreds of pot shops to the streets of Los Angeles while he was a Sacramento liberal democrat. in response to criticism from Melrose residents who have 14 pot shops in their neighborhood, Koretz blasted Cooley and Trutanich for upholding a law that does not allow pot shops to ply their trade on Los Angeles streets.

But Koretz failed to mention that he was the co-author of what legal experts agree was a poorly written and vague law that only allowed communist style 'collectives' to exist, not the main street marijuana shops that resulted from his law.

Instead of "fessing-up" and admitting that he wrote a bad law that has harmed the community, the self-proclaimed 'King of Pot' likened Trutanich and Cooley to George W. Bush rather than admit his close association with Americans for Safe Access, a pot shop funded lobbying group that not only funded Koretz's campaign, but co-opted Council Member Ed Reyes into proposing a law to regulate pot shops written by pot shop owners.

Koretz's remarks are reproduced here:



Koretz is going to have a hard time explaining why he not only caused the explosion of pot shops in Los Angeles, but why he thought that invoking the name of George W. Bush would somehow win him support in a council district that is largely supportive of their City Attorney, Carmen Trutanich, and District Attorney, Steve Cooley.

Mayor Sam Resigns - Will Spend More Time With Family

Political activists in Los Angeles will be lamenting the sudden (although not entirely unexpected) announcement from Michael Higby a.k.a. Mayor Sam, to shut down his Blog. Mayor Sam's Sister City has been, for many, their life-blood daily fix of angst, anger, frustration and retaliation at the elected officials who either don't do the job they promised to do, or become beholden to special interests.

The Mayor Sam Blog was vital to Los Angelenos for the way it regularly shone a 100,000W spotlight on the shenanigans that Los Angeles politicians would otherwise get away with, as, with the exception of LA Weekly and The Times' David Zahniser, local media is too scared or lazy to hold politicians' feet to the fire.

While the news of Mayor Sam's demise will be mourned by many, a select few will rejoice in again having the freedom to play business as usual at our expense. 

Councilwoman Jan Perry is probably top of the list of those popping champagne bottles at the demise of the blog that awarded her Political Ass Clown of the Year 2009 for an Acting Roll, based on her performance on behalf of AEG during the Michael Jackson Memorial in which she personally authorized $3.4M of taxpayer funds to be squandered on bolstering AEG's promotion of the value of their video footage of Jackson's rehearsals at Staples Center. 

Mayor Sam blogger Phil Jennerjahn also made Perry the target of a blistering attack in an interview with former City Attorney candidate David Berger focusing on Perry's special motion to give 18 billboards to, yes you guessed it, AEG. Rumor has it that Perry was furious at having her shenanigans exposed so blatantly.

Others who will be rejoicing at the wake for the Mayor Sam Blog include;

• Ed 'El Stupido' Reyes (winner, 2009 Mayor Sam Political Ass Clown Award for Density)
• Richard Alarcon 
• Carmen Trutanich 
• Eric Garcetti
• Wendy Greuel
• Janice Hahn

And a host of others who will breathe a little easier now that the Mayor Sam 4D Maglite has been removed from so far up their asses it lit up their tonsils.

Mayor Sam announced his departure from the world of Los Angeles politics with the simple word 'Adios' and no real reason for his withdrawal. Bloggers had noticed that Mayor Sam had recently been slow to post comments and sometimes, weekends especially, Friday's topic remained until Monday.

Nevertheless, the loss of Mayor Sam is a serious blow to Los Angelenos and it can only be hoped that other blogs will fill the void.

As for the reason for Mayor Sam's departure, speculation is guaranteed to follow...

Alarcon Says "It's All A Mistake"

Responding to reports that investigators from the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office had searched his house in Panorama City and his wife's house in Sun Valley, Los Angeles City Councilman, Richard Alarcon, made the classic mistake of those accused with criminal conduct; he gave a statement that makes the case against him stronger.

Alarcon is under investigation for voter fraud; being registered to vote at a house in Panorama City, which is in his council district (7), but actually living a house in Sun Valley which is in council district 2.

According to a report in the LA Times, Alarcon admitted living in his wife's house in Sun Valley, but explained his residence there was due to a break in at the Panorama City house.

Alarcon reportedly told the LA Times that 'in late October a mentally ill man broke into his house, changed the locks on at least three doors and destroyed his possessions, including many of his clothes. “We haven’t been there since then, that’s for sure,” he said.' In other words, the mental guy that broke in was a squatter.

The question that the jury will doubtless be faced with, is that if Alarcon was actually living in the Panaorama City house, how could a mentally ill man break in and establish a residence there? Where was Alarcon when that happened?

The LA Times had also reported that;
'Three neighbors, an employee at the school next door and a man who has been living in a motor home next to Alarcon's house said they had not seen anyone living in the home recently.

Steve Folden, who lives across the street and said he is the neighborhood watch block captain, said he had noticed no one living in the house for at least three years. Occasionally, he said, he sees workers mowing the lawn. He said he had seen Alarcon at the home "once in a blue moon" until this week.

"It's been vacant for a long time," Folden said.'

No doubt the DA will have searched both houses to get additional evidence to prove that Alarcon's true domicile, the place he actually lives, is not in his council district. That evidence will be bolstered by Alarcon's statement which proves that he wasn't living there when the mentally ill squatter moved in.

Further evidence that the Sun Valley house was Alarcon's domicile comes from a strange request Alarcon made. According to the LA Times, in 2007, Alarcon tried to get the boundary lines of his council district changed so that the Sun Valley house could be included in his council district.

Another fact that the LA Times uncovered is that Alarcon's wife, who apparently owns both houses, wanted to re-develop and sun-divide the Panorama City house into 'town homes.' Some might say that the Panorama City house was purely an investment property, conveniently within CD7, and never a true residence occupied by anyone.

One thing is for sure, Alarcon's got a lot of trouble on his hands, and his statements might satisfy his partisan voters, but may not impress a jury.

It is unfortunate for Alarcon that Los Angeles District Attorney, Steve Cooley, whose Public Integrity Division is investigating Alarcon, is not the kind of guy to make deals where political corruption is concerned. Equally troubling for Alarcon, is that his friend City Attorney Carmen Trutanich cannot defend him as ethical rules prevent the City Attorney from becoming involved in the case.

Alarcon's woes continue as famed criminal defense attorney Johnnie Cochran has been dead for 5 years, and it looks like Alarcon will have to hire a defense attorney with a comparable record and reputation. That costs a lot of money. Perhaps he'll have to sell the Panorama City house to pay his legal bills. It's not like he needs to live there, so it seems.