Information related to two contracts awarded by the Board of Trustees’ for the San Bernardino County Employees’ Association (SBCERA) is raising red flags as to why the contracts were awarded, and what was the motivation behind the expenditures.

A well-placed reliable source within the retirement board says the contracts awarded to Orange County-based Delta Partners, LLC and the Sacramento office of lobbying firm Platinum Advisors were of questionable need and ushered through at the behest of former Treasurer-Tax Collector Richard Larsen. Larsen was a statutory member of the pension fund board during his entire tenure as the county’s elected Treasurer.

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Mike Cruz, Staff Writer
Posted: 02/09/2010 04:09:05 PM PST

SAN BERNARDINO – Prosecutors charged a Rancho Cucamonga councilman with two additional felony counts Tuesday morning at a court appearance in San Bernardino in connection with the Assessor’s Office investigation.

Councilman Rex Gutierrez appeared for arraignment in San Bernardino Superior Court on two original counts of grand theft and embezzlement. However, prosecutors have added two additional counts – grand theft and presenting a false claim – which allegedly occurred between 2007 and 2009, court documents state.

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Russ Leach

10:35 PM PST on Tuesday, February 9, 2010

By PAUL LAROCCO and ALICIA ROBINSON
The Press-Enterprise

Riverside’s police chief is being investigated after a single-vehicle hit-and-run crash in his city-issued car about 3 a.m. Monday, officials said.

The city placed Russ Leach on medical leave Tuesday. Leach, hired in 2000, did not respond to requests for comment.

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Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 02/09/2010 06:58:31 PM PST

The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved changes to the county code in an effort to streamline the permitting process for renewable energy projects and impose tougher regulations on them.

The board voted 3-1, with Supervisor Paul Biane absent and Supervisor Josie Gonzales dissenting, to approve the changes.

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