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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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.

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.

Mike Feuer In The News

It's a sure sign that something's in the wind when two blogs independently report on the same career politician.

The Mayor Sam Blog today reported that "Assemblyman Mike Feuer is this year's recipient of the Stanley Mosk Defender of Justice Award for authoring legislation to create a first in the nation pilot project that establishes the right to counsel for low income people in critical civil cases. The award is sponsored by the California Judicial Council."

The report drew a snarky comment that Feuer bore "a remarkable resemblance to Groucho Marx," so we did a little research...

Some say that Assemblyman for the 42nd California Assembly District
Mike Feuer bears a strong resemblance to Groucho Marx

You decide.

Over at the Los Angeles Dragnet Blog, Feuer was mentioned as one of nine potential candidates for the 2012 District Attorney election.

According to Dragnet: "Feuer is a former City Councilmember who came very close to beating Rocky Delgadillo in the 2001 race for City Attorney. Feuer is a Westside Democrat who enjoys substantial support from the well healed West Los Angeles community … His ability to garner substantial financial support from the Westside community makes him a very viable candidate."

So a Justice Award and a rumor about running for Los Angeles District Attorney, and the fact that Feuer is termed out in 2012. Maybe it's just a coincidence?