InlandPolitics has received information that the Santa Monica-based law firm who was paid $140,000 to investigate misconduct allegations against San Bernardino County District Attorney Mike Ramos and his staff has refused to turnover backup material to county supervisors.
The decision could lead to litigation with the firm. Any action against the firm ultimately rests with county supervisors.
Sources say the law firm of Curiale Hirschfeld Kraemer has informed the county they will not turnover backup material related to the costly investigation into allegation made by Ramos’ former mistress Cheryl Ristow.
Ristow, who had a seventeen-month long affair with District Attorney says she was retaliated against and harassed at Ramos direction when news of their affair and numerous other relationships involving Ramos appeared in a local newspaper.
The investigation concluded that Ristow’s allegations were mostly unsubstantiated.
The backup material contains interview notes, memos and other documents that are a matter of public record.
It is believed that materials being withheld differ from the investigative report made public last month.
I knew it. $140,000 for a report that basically reviews an internal affairs investigation of a low-level employee who took a two hour lunch is absurd. I’ll bet the back up materials include interviews with Ramos where it is clear that he lied about his affair with Ristow. As far as the public is concerned, his lie is far more important than whether she violated some rule. He is the DA and is supposed to be truthful. You can’t have a DA who lies. In law enforcement if you lie you die.
I bet they interviewed other women too. They have been caught in a cover-up and they can’t give up the back-up because it clearly exposes it. That material was paid for and belongs to the county. They have no right to withhold it from their client. It looks like state bar investigation time. FBI are you listening?
Sounds like the attorney is refusing to give his client things out of their file. State Bar violation? Sounds like it.
I can guarantee that my 14 plus hours of interrogation regarding MY complaint of Sexual Harrassment was much more than me taking a longer than normal lunchhour. This “law firm” was given a TON if proof and information and lots of others witnesses to interview. The second interview I had with them, they treated me as if I were the one being investigated. Hmmm… after Mike Ramos interviews no doubt. Mike knows the truth and he is lying. It will catch up to you Michael.LYING always catches up to you.
Cheryl, did the law firm ever tell you that they believed that the affair took place? Did they say they believed that he lied about it? After the affair was over, did he ask for permission before he grabbed your breasts?
Good idea re State Bar violation. They should turn over everything. Cheryl, please keep posting and fighting. You will make a great witness at trial because you are informed and smart. Keep reading the blog.
They dont want to release the notes because it will show the opposite of the report they were told to write.
Why does the name Ruth Stringer keep throbbing in my head…seems like this twist… has her policies/fixes all over it,and the law firm bumps the bill …for the er…favor! another puzzle piece fills the picture
DA Insider, the law firm must have beleived me, they interviewed me for 8.5 hrs about dates, times, places of when Mike and I met. We talked about his handwritten phone numbers from his desk top and on the blank yellow post it, they took copies of that as well as copying my personal journal, detailing my relationship with Mike. THey have names, phone numbers of the other people that could verifiy my stories. We talked briefly about the harrassment at work.THey thanked me for being so open and honest in sharing my story. They told me that they would be in contact with me. That interview was in August. They reinterviewed me in late October for another 4.5 hours. At that interview they interogated me about me taking a 3.5 hour lunch and where I went, who I was with and what all I did on my extended lunch time. They grilled me about my tattoos, at one point Kraemer got a little tense about my answers and went “off the record” to say a few choice words to me. Keep in mind they did not have audio going at either interview, just hand typed by Kraemer on his laptop. I absolutely told them that the breast grabbing was uninvited and unappreciated, I actually told them that it made me phyisically ill. I guess a short answer to your question would be, yes I absolutely felt that they believed me, even felt bad for me during the first meeting. Something changed after that meeting and the next one I had with them. Do I think they know that he lied through the Investigation? ABSOLUTELY. CLOSED DOOR SESSIONS ARENT ALWAYS CLOSED.
What was the timing…for the increase in the contract price with the law firm?…I guess the timing doesn’t matter…the law firm got paid for the ‘report’ that the DA and the BOS wanted…with a nice little bow on it!
Who keeps leaking info from the fifth floor? Is it Mr. Derry? Is it the soon to be named co-conspirators? Is altruism really so prevalent on the 5th floor that Mikey’s escapades must be proven? I am so tired of the pot calling the kettle black on this one. They are all a bunch of crooks. Vote them all out. A viable candidate needs to enter the race against Ovitt and Biane. Derry and his 50K PAC from the attorney units, brokered by, oops sorry Jim, someone who made promises they couldn’t keep (except to Clyde B) needs to be looked into soon. There isn’t an honest one in the bunch. Hell, Gomer Gonzalez probably called the meeting ’cause she didn’t get her 100K. Let’s throw the babies out with the bath water and try again. It can’t get any worse than it is now.
Unwilling…. you seem to miss all of the important ones…MIKE LIED ABOUT EVERYTHING DURING A FORMAL INVESTIGATION, and MIKE SEXUALLY HARRASSED ME AFTER I ENDED THE RELATIONSHIP. Go back to your office and play DDA.
Truthseeker that bow is nothing but a bunch of shit, painted to make it pretty. Any one who touches it realizes it after they read it.
DEAR CHERYL RISTOW,
I have some valuable info. for you. You were interviewed by members of the Law Firm Curiale, Hirschfeld & Kraemer LLP. Their web site is http://www.chklawyers.com As you navigate through the site, you will see their primary practice is (Defending) city and county governments from claims of labor law violations. This is why the county chose to use them. They were never going to be in your favor no matter how strong your case was. The feeling you got that they believed you was just them patronizing you.
Attorney’s are NOT investigators, and are not qualified to conduct investigations. The county should have hired an independent private investigative firm that consisted of former law enforcement detectives whom actually know how to interview, and conduct investigations. The county got exactly what they paid for.
You need to do the following right away.
1) File a claim for damages with the County of San Bernardino. They’ll reject the claim, but you need to file it anyway as a matter of protocol.
2) You need to file a complaint with the EEOC. You don’t want them investigating it, you simply want them to give you a “Right to sue” letter which accompanies their response. They should also simultaneously file a copy complaint with FEHA, but confirm they are going to do so. Don’t assume they will.
3) You need to get a Labor Law attorney. You can check any attorney’s credentials by going to http://www.calbar.ca.gov Make certain that the attorney deals with victims of sexual harassment, and not defendants like the attorney’s the county hired. Look online for attorney’s that have successfully sued the county before. Interview with several before settling on one.
4) You need to file a complaint with the California State Bar against the law firm that conducted the investigation. You can download a complaint form at the aforementioned Calbar Web Site. The law firm should be investigated for the following:
1) Failure to act competently.
2) Fraudulently overcharging for legal services.
3) Failure to disclose evidence.
4) Unlawful concealing of evidence.
5) Conflict of interest.
You also need to file a complaint with the California State Bar against San Bernardino County District Attorney Mike Ramos for Sexual Battery. You should also insist the S.B.C.O. Sheriff’s Department take a Sexual Battery Crime report, which is Penal Code Section 243.4. Since Mike Ramos is a Public Officer, with legal powers, he is also guilty of Penal Code Section 149, which is assault under color of authority. It can be filed as a misdemeanor or felony.
Do these things right away. DO NOT delay. These county officials are thugs and bullies. No different than any bully on a school playground. Don’t talk to anyone else, or post other statements until you’ve retained an attorney. Best wishes to you. Call upon me whenever you wish.
Who has the standing to make a complaint to the state bar? Only the Board of Suprvisors? Any San Bernardino County citizen? Any directly interested party in the investigation?
Who is this wonderwoman?…ms carol dean thats a big can of whoop-ass..you suggest. I like it!…..you married?:)
Very nice Carol Dean!!! She is right Cheryl about what you need to do.
I am with Steve on the State Bar complaint though. Steve I do believe the BOS is the client, so they have the standing for a Bar complaint only.
I love the part about attorneys are not investigators, they do like to think of themselves as a jack of all trades. NOT!!
Cheryl regarding the law firms change in attitude direction towards you, that was because Stringer and Lamberto were driving the bus.
Abernathie drives the bus for the SEBA attorneys, so it is a practice around here.
My point is don’t feel like you the lone stranger on that one. Plenty of one sided investigations out there to show the pattern.
Thank you Carol Dean for the best advice I have had so far. I will absolutely do everything you suggested. Could you give me a email address or phone number where I can reach you? Thank you to everyone who is standing beside me.
Anyone can file a state bar complaint.
It must be filed with the Los Angeles office.
http://www.calbar.org
Cheryl, contact the webmaster@inlandpolitics.com. Refer to the post for this blog, and request if he would ask permission for the Carol Dean poster to release her contact information.
Be careful, as you don’t know who the trolls are that read these posts daily. I would say more information here …… but why feed the trolls.
Sit tight, and remember this old saying “loose lips sink ships”. In the military its called OPSEC, or Operational Security. A determined enemy could learn alot from some postings here.
On the otherhand, it can be useful, as you can feed false information (to the trolls), and keep the “Dog chasing his tail”. By the time they figure it out, they have been busy going down the wrong path, and have to regroup.
It can be entertaining playing with the trolls.
My sources tell me the dog is shaking and hiding under the dog house not knowing what scandal will appear on the blogs next.
Ristow, I didn’t miss a thing. Unfortunately, you can’t seem to get beyond your issues to see the bigger picture. This website constantly harps on Mikey, while leaving others alone. Your behavior in the office is legendary, but not your sexual exploits (is your hair still magenta?). You will do nothing to help curb the immoral behaviors of a serial sex addict, nor will your case garner any repudiation of elected officials in this county. The most valuable part of this blog is the information loosed to the public about all the self serving sons of guns on floor five. Not the squeaky wheel of a non-sequitor like you.
seriously unwilling…what on earth did I ever do to you to make you hate me so much? Gee, if I had your real name perhaps I could make sense of it. The hair color is Red. Average, typical red. And all of your scathing BIG words, they mean nothing to me. You must be such a small, small, pitiful man, who hates women. Wow…legendary!! I’m honored!!
Cheryl,
I am so sorry to hear about the awful things you had to endure at the hands of *big shock here* Ramos. It seems his corruption and sadistic behavior knows no limits.
Stay strong in this, seek the legal counsel and follow the protocol that was suggested above, and ignore the people who doubt, criticize, or try to bring you down… remember it’s hard having the wool pulled over your eyes for so long only to have it ripped off all at once, so I’m sure these people trying to rip into you are just in denial over what their precious Mikey has done. Ignore them- they’ll learn in time, and most likely, the hard way with Ramos.
Again, I’m so sorry for what you’ve been through… no one should have to deal with anything like that. Fight it to the core- this guy needs to be brought down on every level possible. I wish you the best of luck.
I have been reading about this for some time. I think the law firm that did the report is unethical. They should not withhold their interview notes especially from the Board of Supervisors. Their work product belongs to the county and they paid $140,000 for it. How do the taxpayers know that they got value for their money? If the Board does not pursue this you know that they are complicit in the cover up. These interviews are public records and the only reason for this is that they do not match the summary that has been released.
They also have proffered the conclusion that once the head of a county department has had consensual sex with an employee, they can do anything they want to them including sexual battery. If the facts show that the affair had ended and Ramos grabbed her breasts in a nonconsensual touching, he is guilty of a crime. It looks like the law firm and the county have been caught red handed in a lie.
Esquire the last line of you statement is incomplete. Should have added the word “again” at the very end.
“again”
Report public corruption anonymously to the FBI’s Public Corruption Unit. 877-662-7423. The FBI’s San Diego Offices investigates elected official corruption in California. Don’t assume that since the public corruption you are commenting on is in the press that the FBI is aware of it. You must report it. This entity is the only one elected officials such as D.A. Mike Ramos answer to. You can also leave an anonymous tip on the FBI’s web site at http://www.fbi.gov
The law firm could also be in breach of contract. The county needs to get the report and documents.