Cassie MacDuff
10:00 PM PST on Monday, February 22, 2010
Why does one public official’s failure to disclose a gift, income or property warrant criminal charges, while others get off with mere fines?
I’ve wondered about that since the arrest last year of former San Bernardino County Assistant Assessor Jim Erwin on 10 felonies.
Erwin is headed for trial on charges related to not disclosing a trip back East on developer Jeff Burum’s private jet and a Rolex watch Burum gave him.
Erwin lost his job as chief of staff to Supervisor Neil Derry after the January 2009 arrest. He has been alleging selective prosecution ever since, pointing to others who’ve gotten off with fines from the Fair Political Practices Commission .
It recently came out that Supervisor Paul Biane omitted a similar trip at Burum’s expense from his Statement of Economic Interest in 2008. The DA merely referred the matter to the FPPC.
I asked the DA’s office why Biane’s case was handled differently and learned that Biane isn’t off the hook.
The supervisor still could face criminal charges, whether or not the FPPC fines him for not reporting the trip to West Virginia on Burum’s jet, Assistant DA Jim Hackleman told me.
FPPC spokesman Roman Porter said the matter remains under investigation.
Still, Erwin believes he was singled out for tougher treatment.
His lawyer, Rajan Maline, said DA Mike Ramos failed to report $10,000 in income from his wife’s work on his campaign. But the DA was fined just $200 and not charged with a crime.
DA spokeswoman Susan Mickey said Ramos’ omission differs from Erwin’s: Ramos reported the income on his taxes and campaign committee’s expenditures. He didn’t conceal it.
Other public officials also have escaped criminal charges for such omissions:
San Bernardino City Attorney Jim Penman was fined $5,000 by the FPPC last year for failing to accurately report country club memberships he accepted in 2005 and 2006. The DA deemed the fine punishment enough.
In 2009, then-Sheriff Gary Penrod received an FPPC warning letter for failing to disclose several pieces of real estate and his wife’s business on his Statement of Economic Interest.
He wasn’t fined, and the DA didn’t charge him with a crime because the FPPC found that it didn’t warrant more than a warning, Hackleman said.
Still, Erwin isn’t the only San Bernardino County official who has been charged with a crime for failing to disclose gifts and trips.
To read entire story, click here.
Cassie misses the point. Jerry Eaves was allowed to surrender to the court. No bail and no arrest. I think the problem here is just as much the heavy handed treatment. Not one arrest but two. The bail is now $600,000 for Erwin. Likewise with Postmus. Were they bigger flight risks than Eaves. They are both out of office. Eaves continued for several years after his first case. They are not in a position to contiune the harm, Eaves was. He never served a day in jail.
Old Timer I think Eaves was a Dennis Stout case?
Stout did handle the Eaves case initially. He was undermined by Ed Scott and a SO that had endorsed Eaves and held fundraisers for him. They tried to make it look like there was an investigation into the DA’s Office but the DA staff were cleared and no one wants to admit there ever was an investigation now. Stout voluntarily turned the case over to the AG to avoid any apearance of a conflict. The AG plea bargained the case. Stout was a lot harder on violent crime than Ramos. Stout was even featured on Datleline NBC for his tough stance on Three Strikes. He was tough but he was extremely fair. He didn’t have to engage in publicity stunts.
Esquire, you are right about Stout but Ramos is not just weak an Three Strikes, he is weak on domestic violence and other cases too. Stout helped Ramos get into politics. He talked him into re-registering as a Republican. Ramos had been a lifelong Democrat. Stout helped get Ramos elected to his first public office on the Redlands School Board. Stout introduced Ramos to Jim Brulte because Ramos wanted to be a Judge. Later, Ramos claimed to support Stout while he was working behind his back to run against him. Stout was a career prosecutor; Ramos is a career politician. There is a huge difference between the two. Ramos would throw his own mother under a bus to win an election.
Actually, the Eaves matter would fall under a Government Code section 1090 violation, which is more serious than a failure to report.
But didn’t Erwin get a no violation letter from the FPPC??
What about the omission of leaving the ex-senator and double-dipping developer/ SBCo. consultant Jimbo Brulte out of the Colonies complaint? Guess Moonbeam and Mikey must feel like he is the one unmentioned unnamed John Doe co-conspirator that’s a little too hot to touch. Then again, when they finally do get around to naming the unnamed John Does and even the unmentioned ones (after the Nov. election), it’s going to be hard to leave Jimbo and Chairman O. out of the mix.
It would appear Mayor Joseph Gomez of Barstow is being prosecuted for the same crime San Bernardino District Attorney Mike Ramos is accused of perpetrating against Cheryl Ristow. Perhaps they can room together next semester?