Capitol Alert
The latest on California politics and government
May 21, 2012

Four months after a California assemblyman was cited and released for carrying a gun into an airport, the Assembly passed legislation today that would require offenders to be taken into custody in such situations.

Democratic Assemblywoman Norma Torres said her Assembly Bill 2182 did not stem from the January incident involving Republican Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, which occurred at an Ontario airport on the first day of this year’s legislative session.

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Friday, May 18, 2012 – 09:45 a.m.

San Bernardino County Third District Supervisor Neil Derry has received the endorsement of the Barstow Police Officers Association in his reelection bid.

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Capitol Alert
The latest on California politics and government
May 14, 2012

The Sacramento-based Criminal Justice Legal Foundation petitioned the 3rd District Court of Appeals today to remove from the November ballot a proposal to abolish the death penalty in California, arguing it violates the state’s “single-subject rule” for initiatives.

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BY JEFF HORSEMAN
STAFF WRITER
jhorseman@pe.com

Published: 11 May 2012 12:18 PM

Riverside County and the sheriff’s deputies’ union tentatively agreed Friday on a four-year contract, nearly a year after county supervisors angered the union by imposing pay cuts and pension changes on deputies.

Agreed to early Friday morning, the proposed pact with the Riverside Sheriff’s Association would also scuttle litigation the association filed against the county over alleged unfair labor practices and a pension-related ballot measure, a county news release read.

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Wes Woods II, Staff Writer
Created: 05/09/2012 06:31:07 PM PDT

CLAREMONT – A three-year salary and benefits agreement has been approved between the city and the Claremont Police Officers Association.

The new contract ends months of contentiousness. The city declared negotiations to be at an impasse in late August, and union members on April 11 turned down by a single vote an earlier agreement, forcing additional negotiations.

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Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Created: 05/04/2012 05:20:47 PM PDT

A San Bernardino Superior Court judge on Friday rejected a motion to dismiss a case against a High Desert developer accused of lying to the Grand Jury about his role in a political action committee.

Judge J. David Mazurek denied the motion filed on behalf of John Dino DeFazio, 52, of Apple Valley, who stands charged with six felony counts of perjury. A pretrial hearing is now scheduled for June 22.

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Sandra Emerson, Staff Writer
Created: 05/03/2012 08:54:13 AM PDT

Anthony Orlando Sanchez pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court in Riverside, admitting to conspiracy to commit bribery.

Sanchez, 36, was charged with acting as a conduit between an Upland business and former Mayor John Pomierski. Pomierski pleaded guilty last week in the bribery case.

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Wednesday, May 2, 2012 – 01:45 p.m.

A May surprise has popped up in the race to decide who will represent San Bernardino County’s Third Supervisorial District.

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Neil Nisperos, Staff Writer
Created: 04/30/2012 03:31:53 PM PDT

View: Initiative

The newly proposed three-strikes initiative to scale back California’s tough sentencing law has gotten opposing reactions from two local district attorneys.

Supporters, who submitted more than enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot, bagged the endorsement of the measure by Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley.

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Pomierski

Thursday, April 26, 2012 – 11:45 a.m.

Former Upland Mayor John “J.P.” Pomierski entered into a plea agreement before Federal Judge Virginia Philips in U.S. District Court in Riverside on Thursday morning.

The plea agreement stems from charges related to influence peddling.

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April 25th, 2012, 3:25 pm
Posted by Teri Sforza, Register staff writer

We told you recently about a stunning study which found that putting a condemned prisoner to death in California cost $308 million per man.

“Executing the Will of the Voters? A Roadmap to Mend or End the California Legislature’s Death Penalty Debacle ” had unusual authority, written as it was by folks from both sides of the debate: U.S. 9th Circuit Judge Arthur L. Alarcon, who has prosecuted death penalty cases, and Loyola Law School professor Paula M. Mitchell, who argues against them.

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April 24, 2012 5:41 PM
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Brooke Edwards Staggs, City Editor

VICTORVILLE • The class action lawsuit over Victorville’s red light cameras has been moved from state to federal court, with the city motioning to dismiss the case while a local attorney gears up for a potentially precedent-setting battle.

The venue change came at the request of Redflex Traffic Systems, the private company that operates 10 cameras in Victorville and is a codefendant in the case alongside the city.

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Capitol Alert
The latest on California politics and government
April 23, 2012

Californians voters going to the polls in November will again decide the fate of the death penalty.

A measure to abolish the death penalty and replace it with a maximum sentence of life behind bars without parole has qualified for the Nov. 6 ballot, the Secretary of State confirmed today. The measure, backed by a coalition that includes the American Civil Liberties Union and some law enforcement and victims rights groups, would apply to inmates currently on death row.

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Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 04/20/2012 12:11:17 PM PDT

A San Bernardino Superior Court judge on Friday lifted bail for four defendants in the Colonies Partners corruption scandal, freeing them from having to pay an annual bond premium as the one-year anniversary of their arrest nears.

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BY IMRAN GHORI
STAFF WRITER
ighori@pe.com

Published: 20 April 2012 11:42 AM

A San Bernardino County Superior Court judge agreed Friday to lift bail for three former county officials and a developer facing corruption charges.

Judge Michael Smith agreed to allow the four men to remain free on their own recognizance as the case continues to remain in the pre-trial stage almost a year after the defendants were indicted.

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PolitiCal
On politics in the Golden State
April 17, 2012 | 1:26 pm

A proposal by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco) that could make it easier to open medical marijuana shops in California was approved by the Assembly’s Public Safety Committee A proposal that could make it easier to open medical marijuana shops in California was approved Tuesday by the Assembly’s Public Safety Committee despite objections from cities and law enforcement agencies that it unreasonably ties their hands.

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Pomierski

Tuesday, April 17, 2012 – 10:55 a.m.

Is there a plea deal in the long-running Upland corruption case against former Upland Mayor John “J.P.” Pomierski?

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BY RICHARD K. De ATLEY
STAFF WRITER
rdeatley@pe.com

Published: 15 April 2012 02:18 PM

Advocates and opponents of California’s medical marijuana clinics are in a legal no-man’s land after a flurry of appellate court decisions that contradict each other on whether local governments can ban the dispensaries.

The decisions also conflict on how the clinics can supply themselves with marijuana.

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San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner Rod Hoops

April 15, 2012 3:02 PM
KATIE LUCIA, Staff Writer

BARSTOW • As local governments explore ways to cut costs, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department is offering a solution Barstow leaders say they won’t buy: contract police work to the sheriff.

At a county-city conference last month, San Bernardino County Sheriff Rod Hoops gave a presentation on the department’s goals, one of which was to replace city police departments with sheriff contracts, according to Barstow Mayor Joe Gomez, who attended the conference. There, Hoops discussed the cost savings of contracting with the county.

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Wes Woods II
Created: 04/11/2012 06:08:51 PM PDT

CLAREMONT – The police union has rejected a three-year contract offer that had been agreed upon by its leadership and the city.

Detective Rick Varney, the Claremont Police Officers Association president, said he was sorry about the failed agreement.

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In a March 2 hearing in the case against Richard Alarcon, Deputy Dist. Atty. Jennifer Lentz Snyder was scolded for being ‘very dismissive’ of defense evidence submitted to a grand jury in 2010. A lawyer says Alarcon and his wife are ‘heartened’ by the turn of events. Councilman Richard Alarcon (Irfan Khan, Los Angeles Times / August 4, 2010)

By Catherine Saillant, Los Angeles Times
April 8, 2012, 8:51 p.m.

A high-profile perjury and voter fraud case against Los Angeles City Councilman Richard Alarcon and his wife could be in trouble based on a judge’s warning at a court hearing last month, transcripts show.

In the March 2 hearing, L.A. County Superior Court Judge Kathleen Kennedy sharply criticized the prosecution’s case and scolded Deputy Dist. Atty. Jennifer Lentz Snyder for being “very dismissive” of defense evidence submitted to a grand jury in 2010. Those jurors returned a 24-count felony indictment against the Alarcons, who have pleaded not guilty.

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The lawyer for Apple Valley businessman John Dino DeFazio, a figure in a county corruption case, is seeking dismissal of the case, alleging lack of evidence. (Joe Nelson/Staff)

Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 04/06/2012 01:20:31 PM PDT

SAN BERNARDINO – The attorney for an Apple Valley businessman linked to a sweeping San Bernardino County corruption case filed a motion Friday in Superior Court seeking dismissal of the case.

John Dino DeFazio, 52, is charged with six felony counts of perjury for allegedly lying to the county’s civil Grand Jury in 2009 about his involvement with a political action committee prosecutors allege was used to conceal a $100,000 bribe to former county Assessor Bill Postmus.

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Debra J. Saunders

Debra J. Saunders
Friday, April 6, 2012

Why is the federal government under President Obama arguably tougher on medical marijuana operations than it was under George W. Bush? That’s the question that antidrug-war groups have been asking themselves for months.

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Torres

Wes Woods II, Staff Writer
Created: 04/05/2012 06:20:21 PM PDT

To view Assembly Bill 2552 introduced by Assemblywoman Norma Torres, D-Chino, visit http://tinyurl.com/potbill.

To read a letter from the Law Enforcement Against Prohibition group asking Torres to withdraw the bill visit http://tinyurl.com/potletter.

A group of former California police officers, prosecutors and judges have asked Assemblywoman Norma Torres to withdraw her bill that would criminalize motorists who operate a vehicle with any level of marijuana in their blood or urine.

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition members said standards created by Assembly Bill 2552 have nothing to do with actual impairment behind the wheel and would criminalize California’s legal medical marijuana patients.

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Wes Woods II, Staff Writer
Created: 03/30/2012 06:07:44 PM PDT

CLAREMONT – After months of rancor, lawsuits and even some threats, the City Council and the Claremont Police Officers Association have reached a tentative agreement on a 3-year labor contract.

The council is due to vote on the contract at its April 10 meeting, city officials said. The CPOA will present the agreement to its members on Monday.

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BY JEFF HORSEMAN
STAFF WRITER
jhorseman@pe.com

Published: 29 March 2012 07:18 PM

Riverside County Sheriff Stan Sniff asked county supervisors Thursday for more money in next fiscal year’s budget so he can hire deputies to patrol unincorporated areas, where he said crime is rising.

The ratio of deputies assigned to areas outside of cities has dropped from 1.2 deputies per 1,000 residents in 2009 and 2010 to 0.90 per 1,000 today.

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March 28, 2012 4:06 PM
Tomoya Shimura, Staff Writer

VICTORVILLE • A former Victorville deputy accused of failing to report illegal sexual acts between a fellow deputy and a teen Explorer was acquitted in his misdemeanor trial Wednesday.

After a few hours of deliberations, a Victorville jury found Erik Alexandro Orduno, 32, not guilty of failing to report suspected child abuse as a mandated reporter.

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Andrew Edwards, Staff Writer
Posted: 03/27/2012 10:44:33 AM PDT

San Bernardino International Airport’s governing board may take action Wednesday to help the San Bernardino County Sheriff move its aviation division from Rialto Municipal Airport to the former Norton Air Force base.

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Capitol Alert
The latest on California politics and government
March 27, 2012

Democratic campaign treasurer Kinde Durkee is expected to plead guilty to stealing millions from the accounts she controlled for her California political clients, according to two sources close to the case.

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Former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens is shown arriving at federal court in Washington on April 7, 2009. (Gerald Herbert / AP Photo / March 19, 2012)

Op-Ed
Ted Stevens and the department of injustice

An inquiry tells the story of government lawyers who failed to live up to their professional responsibilities and thus failed to give the former Alaska senator a fair trial.

By Michael Carey
March 19, 2012

As his trial on corruption charges approached in the fall of 2008, Ted Stevens railed to me in an email: “What did I do, Michael? What did I do?” The wounded rage smoldering in that rhetorical question to a reporter reflected his belief that he had done nothing wrong. He continued to insist on his innocence after a Washington, D.C., jury found him guilty of lying on financial disclosure forms.

Stevens’ conviction was dismissed in 2009 after the Justice Department’s admission that government lawyers failed to turn over evidence the Stevens defense should have received. U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan, who presided over Stevens’ trial, soon authorized an investigation of the prosecutors’ conduct, a move as rare as the trial of a U.S. senator.

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Agency investigates relationship between broker, Inland Energy VP
March 18, 2012 10:17 AM
Brooke Edwards Staggs

Editor’s Note:

This is part one in a two-part series looking at the SEC’s investigation into the city of Victorville. See Monday’s Daily Press for part two, looking at whether bond funds were used to make campaign contributions.

VICTORVILLE • As part of its two-year probe into Victorville, the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating whether there were hidden financial ties between the man who led the charge on the city’s largest energy venture and the man who’s brokered more than $400 million in taxpayer-supported debt on behalf of the city.

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BY RICHARD K. De ATLEY
STAFF WRITER
rdeatley@pe.com

Published: 16 March 2012 08:03 PM

Attorneys for Colonies case figure Jeffrey Burum have filed a motion that seeks to force prosecutors to hand over all material that could include evidence helpful to Burum in his defense.

The motion is necessary, defense attorney Stephen G. Larson said in the document, because he believes there is evidence that the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s office has not been handing over all such material in a timely way to the defense, despite several requests to do so.

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By Joe Nelson
Created: 03/16/2012 10:56:10 AM PDT

Defense attorneys in a far-reaching San Bernardino County corruption case are seeking a court order to compel prosecutors to provide information on communications they have had with two key defendants in the case.

Attorney Stephen Larson, attorney for Rancho Cucamonga developer Jeff Burum, filed a motion Thursday in San Bernardino Superior Court alleging prosecutors have been nonresponsive and holding out.

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By Peter Hecht
phecht@sacbee.com
Published: Tuesday, Mar. 13, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 1A

When it comes to rulings on medical marijuana, California courts have a case of multiple personality disorder.

A flurry of recent, conflicting decisions by state appellate courts on whether cities can ban marijuana stores or be forced to allow them is setting up a landmark review by the California Supreme Court.

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Monday, March 12, 102 – 12:50 p.m.

The San Bernardino Police Officers Association today announced its endorsement of 3rd District County Supervisor Neil Derry.

“Police Officers commend Supervisor Neil Derry for his dedicated and effective leadership in the fight against crime. Supervisor Derry’s support for tougher measures to combat gangs and parolees has helped local Law Enforcement to significantly reduce violent crime,” said Association President Steve Turner.

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Postmus

By Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 03/10/2012 03:03:31 PM PST

An admission by former San Bernardino County Assessor Bill Postmus to federal authorities that he used methamphetamine dozens of times in 2011 has a defense attorney in a far-reaching county corruption case questioning the tactics of prosecutors.

The admission came during an Oct. 14 interview with assistant U.S. attorneys Jerry Behnke and Joseph Widman and FBI agent Jonathan Zeitlin, when Postmus told the trio what he knew about an alleged corruption scandal state and local prosecutors are calling the biggest in county history.

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Riverside County’s glaring inmate overpopulation will get state relief for construction, possibly for the Indio facility

BY JEFF HORSEMAN AND JIM MILLER
STAFF WRITERS
jhorseman@pe.com | jmiller@pe.com

Published: 08 March 2012 06:06 PM

The state will award Riverside County $100 million to expand the jail system and ease prisoner crowding, Sheriff Stan Sniff announced Thursday.

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Andrew Edwards, Staff Writer
Posted: 03/05/2012 02:28:28 PM PST

The latest development in the fight over medical marijuana could sharply limit cities’ power to prohibit marijuana dispensaries.

A recent opinion, from the division of the state’s Fourth District Court of Appeals that meets in Santa Ana, holds that since California law provides for dispensaries, cities cannot ban them by declaring them to be a public nuisance.

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Bob Egelko
Friday, March 2, 2012

For the third time in 40 years, Californians will likely vote in November on the death penalty, a practice that has had at least as much impact on the state’s politics as on its institutions of crime and punishment.

Opponents of capital punishment said Thursday they were submitting 800,000 signatures on petitions for an initiative to close the nation’s largest Death Row, which has 725 condemned prisoners. The measure needs 504,760 valid signatures to make the ballot.

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Norma Torres, D-Chino, left introduces bill pushing for arrest for anyone caught illegally bringing a concealed gun to an airport. Republican Assemblyman Tim Donnelly right.

Neil Nisperos, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Created: 02/28/2012 06:27:09 PM PST

Assemblywoman Norma Torres has introduced a bill that takes aim at those caught illegally bringing a concealed gun to an airport — the type of offense fellow Inland Empire Assemblyman Tim Donnelly has been charged with.

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If Grand Terrace eliminates a service specialist and cuts detective hours, it’ll save but maintain service

BY DARRELL R. SANTSCHI
STAFF WRITER
dsantschi@pe.com

Published: 26 February 2012 06:59 PM

Grand Terrace could cut back two law enforcement positions without increasing the risk of crime, a San Bernardino County sheriff’s lieutenant says.

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By Jim Sanders
jsanders@sacbee.com
Published: Saturday, Feb. 25, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 3A

Assemblyman Tim Donnelly has been charged with two misdemeanors for bringing a briefcase containing a loaded .45-caliber firearm into Ontario International Airport last month.

The 45-year-old Twin Peaks Republican was charged Friday with illegal possession of a loaded firearm and possession of a prohibited item in a sterile area.

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Dan Walters

By Dan Walters
Published: Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 3A

The battle over the cameras that many California cities and counties use to nab motorists who blow through red lights or – more commonly – make rolling stops for right turns has raged in the Capitol for several years without resolution.

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Former San Bernardino County Assessor Bill Postmus

Published: 14 February 2012 06:04 PM

A look at crime in the Inland region, from a Rialto shooting to a cockfighting raid to the theft of the Storm mascot’s quad.

To view video, click here.

Norma Torres, D-Chino, wants emergency calls protected from online, media dissemination

By Neil Nisperos, Staff Writer
Created: 02/14/2012 10:31:06 AM PST

Legislation that would keep emergency 911 dispatch calls from being spread through traditional or online media has been introduced by Assemblywoman Norma Torres, D-Chino.

The policy proposal comes in the wake of widely disseminated audio from 911 dispatch calls related to a medical emergency involving actress Demi Moore.

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February 14, 2012 11:31 AM
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Natasha Lindstrom

SAN BERNARDINO • A judge ruled Tuesday that Apple Valley developer John Dino DeFazio will stand trial for allegedly lying to the grand jury, marking the latest legal development in the far-reaching Colonies corruption investigation.

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Bill Postmus

BY IMRAN GHORI
STAFF WRITER
ighori@pe.com

Published: 13 February 2012 09:50 PM

In an FBI interview former San Bernardino County Assessor Bill Postmus said he did not view a $100,000 campaign contribution from Colonies Partners as a bribe even though he expected to receive funds following a lawsuit settlement.

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BY ALICIA ROBINSON
STAFF WRITER
arobinson@pe.com

Published: 13 February 2012 07:01 AM

Riverside officials have hammered out a new contract with the city’s police union, the last major employee group to agree to money-saving pension changes.

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Sunday, February 12, 2012 – 01:00 p.m.

It’s said that money makes a difference in how you are treated in our criminal justice system.

A saying that’s absolutely true. Especially if your a member of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians.

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Prosecutors say A.V. developer lied about PAC; defense rejects charge
February 10, 2012 8:36 AM
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Natasha Lindstrom, Staff Writer

SAN BERNARDINO • Prosecutors attempted to show Thursday that Apple Valley developer John Dino DeFazio lied about a political action committee that former county Assessor Bill Postmus secretly used to funnel bribes.

At the preliminary hearing in San Bernardino court, DeFazio’s defense worked to demonstrate DeFazio — not Postmus — controlled the PAC in question, and attacked the credibility of the district attorney’s key witnesses.

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Third District Supervisor Neil Derry

Supervisor Neil Derry
Posted: 02/09/2012 02:15:59 PM PST

As a U.S. Marine, I proudly defended our country in the Persian Gulf War. As San Bernardino County supervisor, I am a strong supporter of law enforcement and an independent taxpayer watchdog for the citizens of the 3rd District.

I am writing in response to The Sun newspaper’s predictable defense of political candidate and San Manuel Tribal Chairman James Ramos (“Neil Derry’s ugly campaign,” Feb. 5 editorial).

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Administrator’s note: This article will be updated with a more detailed version on Sunday morning.

Thursday, February 9, 2012 – 10:45 a.m.

It’s said that money makes a difference in how you are treated in our criminal justice system.

A saying that’s absolutely true. Especially if your a member of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians.

Read the rest of this entry »

Postmus

Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 02/08/2012 06:05:39 PM PST

In an October interview with federal authorities, former San Bernardino County Assessor Bill Postmus said he did not consider a $100,000 campaign contribution from Colonies Partners LP a bribe.

Postmus’ statement, from an interview transcript obtained by The Sun, appears to contradict his guilty plea to charges of conspiracy and bribery in state court, where prosecutors contend campaign contributions to political action committees were part of a conspiracy by Colonies to secure a huge settlement to a land-rights dispute with the county.

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Wednesday, February 8, 2012 – 10:00 a.m.

So much for equal treatment under the law.

Especially when there’s money involved.

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Understaffed, overwhelmed, Riverside and San Bernardino county officials say the verdict is few options on further cuts

RICHARD K. De ATLEY/Staff

RICHARD K. De ATLEY
STAFF WRITER
rdeatley@pe.com

Published: 29 January 2012 07:33 PM

Like passengers on a plane with half the engines snuffed, Inland court officials can only wait and watch as Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed budget for next year fiscal year moves through the state’s political turbulence.

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Wendy Leung, Staff Writer
Created: 01/28/2012 06:11:04 AM PST

Hoping to restore jail funding to San Bernardino County, an Inland Empire assemblyman introduced a bill on Friday that could potentially bring $16 million to county coffers.

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Executive Editor Frank Pine
Posted: 01/28/2012 05:38:39 PM PST

San Bernardino County’s Board of Supervisors asked county lawyers last week to draft language for a ballot measure that would give voters the final say on increases to pension benefits for public employees.

Supervisors Janice Rutherford, Gary Ovitt and Josie Gonzales voted yea with supervisors Brad Mitzelfelt and Neil Derry voting nay.

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California Atty. Gen. Kamala D. Harris walked away from talks with the banks last year, saying not enough was being offered for California homeowners. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

By Alejandro Lazo

January 25, 2012, 2:57 p.m.

Calif. Atty. Gen. Kamala D. Harris’ office has called a proposed $25-billion settlement with the nation’s mortgage industry “inadequate.”

“We’ve reviewed the details of the latest settlement proposal from the banks, and we believe it is inadequate for California,” Shum Preston, a spokesman for Harris, said in a statement. “Our state has been clear about what any multistate settlement must contain: transparency, relief going to the most distressed homeowners and meaningful enforcement that ensures accountability. At this point, this deal does not suffice for California.”

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Tuesday, January 17, 2012 – 06:00 p.m.

So much for that plea deal way back when!

Anthony Orlando Sanchez, 36, plead not guilty to extortion and bribery charges this afternoon in U.S. District Court in Riverside.

Read the rest of this entry »

Sunday, January 5, 2012 – 11:30 p.m.

A federal fugitive tied to the corruption case involving former Upland Mayor John “J.P.” Pomierski was taken into custody Sunday afternoon.

Read the rest of this entry »

Marisa Lagos, Chronicle Staff Writer
Sunday, January 15, 2012

Sacramento –Gov. Jerry Brown wants to cut state prison spending next fiscal year for the first time in nearly a decade, a departure from the goals of recent administrations, which consistently increased corrections spending and pushed for prison expansion.

Read the rest of this entry »

Wes Woods II, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Created: 01/09/2012 03:03:05 PM PST

View Document: Lawsuit filed by Claremont police union vs. city and chamber

CLAREMONT – The Claremont Police Officers Association has filed a lawsuit against the Claremont Chamber of Commerce and the city alleging its right to freedom of expression, association and assembly were violated at the Village Venture event in October.

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By Mark Gutglueck
Friday, January 6, 2012

Questions continue to dog the second highest ranking member of the county auditor-controller/treasurer-tax collector’s office with regard to the role he and a political action committee he controlled played in illegally passing through and laundering money for those convicted of or charged with participation in a bribery and extortion conspiracy.

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BY RICHARD K. De ATLEY
STAFF WRITER
rdeatley@pe.com

Published: 06 January 2012 06:30 PM

Riverside County jails have reached their inmate capacity because of the state prison realignment program, and officials said that 57 inmates will have to be released between Friday evening and today.

The county has 3,906 jail beds and is under a federal court order not to add any more unless it builds additional housing for inmates.

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Staff Reports
Created: 01/05/2012 05:38:23 PM PST

Assemblyman Tim Donnelly on Thursday said he was assaulted and threatened on Dec. 26 by a man in Rancho Cucamonga due to his opposition to the Dream Act.

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Wes Woods II and Sandra Emerson, Staff writers
Created: 01/05/2012 03:34:25 PM PST

UPLAND – A week later: It’s still open.

Medical marijuana collective G3 Holistics Inc. continues to be open for business, but it may not be so for long.

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By Michael B. Marois and James Nash – Jan 5, 2012 9:01 PM P

California (STOCA1) Governor Jerry Brown proposed a budget that would lop off the equivalent of three weeks from the public school year if voters reject his proposal for $7 billion in temporary tax increases.

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Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, R-Twin Peaks, was cited and released today after being found with a .45 caliber handgun in his luggage at Ontario airport.

BY JIM MILLER
jmiller@pe.com
Published: 04 January 2012 10:38 AM

Assemblyman Tim Donnelly was stopped at Ontario airport this morning after security line officers discovered a handgun in his luggage, his office said this morning.

Donnelly, R-Twin Peaks, was cited and released, a spokeswoman said. He faces a misdemeanor charge.

Read the rest of this entry »

Former San Bernardino County Sheriff’s deputy Nathan Gastineau sits during his preliminary hearing in a San Bernardino Superior Courtroom December 15, 2011. Gastineau, 30, of Redlands, is charged with sexual acts with a teenaged female Explorer. (Gabriel Luis Acosta, Staff Photographer)

Mike Cruz, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/03/2012 04:17:20 PM PST

SAN BERNARDINO – A Redlands girl who says she was sexually abused by a former sheriff’s deputy while in the sheriff’s Explorer program also alleges in a civil lawsuit that administrators at the Sheriff’s Department and the Public Safety Academy, a charter school in San Bernardino, were negligent or failed to act.

Read the rest of this entry »

Wes Woods II and Sandra Emerson, Staff writers
Created: 01/04/2012 09:44:49 AM PST

UPLAND – Medical marijuana collective G3 Holistics Inc. remains open for business.

The collective at Suite F4 at 1710 W. Foothill Blvd. reopened at Friday afternoon, said Aaron Sandusky, president of G3 Holistics, and is keeping regular hours of 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

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January 03, 2012 1:50 PM
Brooke Edwards Staggs, City Editor

VICTORVILLE • An attorney is seeking to recover more than $9 million in damages on behalf of 4,300 people who’ve received tickets from Victorville’s red light cameras, claiming the system is “unfair, unlawful, fraudulent and deceptive.”

Robert Conaway, a criminal defense attorney from Barstow, sent notice in early December to the city of Victorville and Redflex Traffic Systems that he intends to file a class action lawsuit unless changes are made with the way red light cameras are handled here. He updated that notice in late December, tacking on the calculated damages.

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From left, Mark Kirk, former chief of staff to Supervisor Gary Ovitt, developer Jeff Burum, former assistant assessor Jim Erwin, and former supervisor Paul Biane, at an August court appearance.(STAN LIM/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)

BY IMRAN GHORI
STAFF WRITER
ighori@pe.com

Published: 31 December 2011 05:39 PM

A panel of California appellate judges could soon be deciding how, and possibly if, the Colonies corruption case will proceed to trial.

The Fourth District Court of Appeal in Riverside is considering an appeal filed by the San Bernardino County district attorney and state attorney general offices seeking to restore charges that were dismissed in August against Rancho Cucamonga developer Jeff Burum, former Supervisor Paul Biane, former Assistant Assessor Jim Erwin and Mark Kirk, former chief of staff for Supervisor Gary Ovitt.

The court completed briefings from prosecutors and defense attorneys on the appeal last month and also agreed to consider writs of mandate filed by the defense seeking to have more charges dismissed against the four. A decision is expected in the next few months.

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From left to right: Colonies scandal defendants Jeff Burum, Mark Kirk, Jim Erwin, and Paul Biane stand during a motion to delay their arraignment hearing in a San Bernardino Superior Courtroom

Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Created: 12/30/2011 11:37:49 AM PST

Investigations into corruption in San Bernardino County advanced in fits and starts over the past year.

Prosecutors gained ground when former Supvervisor-turned-Assessor Bill Postmus agreed in March to plead guilty to bribery, conflict of interest and misappropriation of public funds and to cooperate with the ongoing investigation.

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By Jim Sanders
jsanders@sacbee.com
The Sacramento Bee
Published: Friday, Dec. 30, 2011 – 12:00 am | Page 3A

Attorney General Kamala Harris’ first year in office saw her dive into a massive financial crisis by ordering an investigation into mortgage meltdowns, attracting a national spotlight for California’s top cop.

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Adams

Sandra Emerson, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Created: 12/27/2011 10:24:01 AM PST

UPLAND – Former Police Chief Steve Adams is no longer being accused of extortion by operators of a closed restaurant.

Adams was dismissed from Chronic Cantina’s civil case against the city earlier this month.

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