Mike Cruz and Will Bigham, Staff Writers
Posted: 02/10/2010 06:59:02 PM PST
During a news conference to discuss the prosecutions of Bill Postmus and Jim Erwin in an alleged corruption scandal, District Attorney Michael A. Ramos said that getting the money back is a priority.
Ramos cited the tough economic times and said the millions in public funds are particularly critical at a time when county employees are facing furloughs.
“The goal of this district attorney … is to get back that $102 million of taxpayers’ money that we believe was extorted and stolen from the County of San Bernardino,” Ramos told reporters.
But before Ramos can get the money back, he must first secure a conviction against Postmus to invalidate the board’s vote on the settlement.
“Once we are successful (in) finding him guilty of those charges, then his vote on the settlement with the Colonies would become null and void, meaning it would void the settlement agreement,” Ramos said. “In that situation, we would request the county counsel file the appropriate legal proceedings to return the money to the citizens of San Bernardino County, the taxpayers.”
The settlement with Colonies Partners, which was approved in November 2006 by a 3-2 vote of the Board of Supervisors, was the result of nearly four years of legal battles with the developer.
The lawsuit was born from a dispute over costs for flood control improvements at the Colonies Crossroads residential and commercial development, adjacent to the 210 Freeway in Upland.
Within six months of the settlement, Colonies contributed $400,000 to political action committees tied to the three supervisors who voted in favor of the settlement, and one operated by Erwin, who served as an intermediary on behalf of Colonies during the negotiations.
But whether the Board of Supervisors will direct county counsel to act is unknown. County spokesman David Wert said discussions about getting the money back were premature.
“Until a conviction, the settlement with the Colonies is in place,” Wert said. “What we can say at this point is the county has a proven track record of going after and recovering funds that have been lost through corruption.”
County counsel has recovered millions of dollars from the corruption scandals of former County Administrative Officer James Hlawek and his predecessor Harry Mays.
However, when asked if the board would go after the money if Postmus is convicted, Wert was unsure.
“I don’t want to get ahead of the board at this point,” Wert said.
After settling the Colonies lawsuit, the county filed a lawsuit against Upland, Caltrans and San Bernardino Associated Governments (SANBAG), seeking to hold them liable for a portion of the settlement.
That lawsuit is now in the “discovery phase,” and a trial date is scheduled for Jan. 16, 2011, in San Diego County Superior Court, said Upland City Attorney Bill Curley.
The ongoing investigation into alleged bribery and other criminal activity associated with the Colonies settlement could have a significant impact on the case, particularly if the $102 million settlement is invalidated, attorneys said.
“If the original settlement proves to be invalid, there is not a basis for (the county) proceeding against anyone,” said Kendall MacVey, attorney for SANBAG.
To read entire story, click here.
Why is all this so important now? Back in 2006 the public (let’s say some of the public) new what was going on. We were following the money, the votes, the trials. We notified the proper parties and guess what? They did not care! You can’t tell me this isn’t about control and re-election and somebody has to be the scape goats and you can bet it won’t be Colonies or the Judges. All I can say now is, “GOD” Judge!!!!
The answer to your question is obvious. So long as the good ole boys were all one big happy family good ole boy Ramos igonored this. Erwin and Ramos were close personal friends. That all ended two years ago when Erwin/Burum knocked off Ramos’ political mentor, Hansberger and suddenly the fight was on. This of course is about the time Ramos first took an interest in all of this inspite of numerous previous complaints and newspaper articles. Remember Hansberger voted against the settlement. He also leaked the confidential legal memo that tubed an earlier settlement. Buram wanted revenge for his no vote and his “disloyalty so he took him out.
At the press conference Jerry Brown came across as if he suffers from borderline dementia. He has unwittingly inserted himself into a hornets nest looking for some political points. Instead he looked like he hadn’t got the number of the bus. So don’t mistake his participation as legitimizing this cluster. The end game for Ramos is to get his pal Hansberger back into office and to neutralize Hansberger’s opponents. He believes that he can get Burum off the playing floor, Erwin in jail or at least proccupied until Hansberger’s triumphant return.
This is nothing more than another dirty knife fight in what they call politics in our lovely county.