Politics, Government and Business in Southern California's Inland Empire
PolitiCal
On politics in the Golden State
January 17, 2012 | 6:18 pm
The citizens commission that drew California’s new political maps won an important nod Tuesday from the Department of Justice, which signed off on the new congressional, legislative and Board of Equalization districts for four Northern California counties.
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.
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.
Health & Welfare | Daily Report | Decoding Prime
January 9, 2012 | Lance Williams
FBI agents interviewed a former Shasta County hospital patient Friday amid indications of a widening federal inquiry into Medicare billing practices at the Prime Healthcare Services hospital chain.
Sandra Emerson, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Created: 12/30/2011 12:17:57 PM PST
UPLAND – The city experienced a number of controversies in 2011 and will continue to deal with some of the legal ramifications in 2012.
Former Mayor John Pomierski’s federal trial is set for April, which may occur during the city election when the mayor’s seat and a council seat is up for re-election.
BY JIM MILLER
SACRAMENTO BUREAU
jmiller@pe.com
Published: 20 December 2011 08:48 PM
SACRAMENTO – Last summer, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.
The unlikely pair – Reid, a Democrat, is allied with gaming interests in his home state, and Kyl is a gambling critic and powerful Republican – asked that Holder “reiterate the (Department of Justice’s) longstanding position that federal law prohibits gambling over the Internet, including intra-state gambling” or else explain what the department thinks.
Monday, December 19, 2011 – 10:15 a.m.
Nice try. But it’s too late!
Too late, for those involved, to runaway from the mess at the San Bernardino International Airport Authority (SBIAA) and Inland Valley Development Agency (IVDA) that is.
Friday, December 16, 2011 – 10:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, December 17, 2011 – 10:39 a.m.
A $10 million Federal Highway Administration grant to the city of Highland is no more.
By Andrew Edwards, Staff Writer
Created: 12/13/2011 06:15:13 PM PST
ONTARIO – A spokesman for Prime Healthcare Services said the company is unaware of any federal investigation or review of its operations following a published report that the FBI has contacted former employees.
December 13, 2011 | Christina Jewett
The FBI is interviewing witnesses about billing practices at Prime Healthcare Services, the hospital chain that has charged Medicare for treating elderly patients with rare medical conditions at far higher rates than other California hospitals.
By Jim Morhard
Saturday, December 3, 2011
After federal district court Judge Emmet Sullivan dismissed the conviction of former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens on charges of failing to properly report gifts, he ordered an investigation of the prosecutors. Quoting from the report (which is sealed until January), the judge recently explained that the investigators found ample evidence that the prosecution of Stevens (who was killed in a plane crash last year) was “permeated by the systematic concealment of significant exculpatory evidence which would have independently corroborated his defense and his testimony, and seriously damaged the testimony and credibility of the government’s key witness.”
PolitiCal
On politics in the Golden State
December 6, 2011 | 2:59 pm
Kinde Durkee Three months after the arrest of campaign treasurer Kinde Durkee on suspicion of mishandling political funds from a state lawmaker’s account, federal prosecutors said Tuesday they need more time to complete their investigation to determine whether other politicians lost money.
Sandra Emerson, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Created: 12/06/2011 12:05:33 PM PST
UPLAND – An Upland contractor who was named in an 11-count indictment along with former Mayor John Pomierski has pleaded guilty to two of the four counts against him.
Josh Dulaney, The (San Bernardino County) Sun
Posted: 12/05/2011 07:59:34 PM PST
SAN BERNARDINO – An effort to get Mayor Pat Morris to speak from the dais about the ongoing federal investigation at San Bernardino International Airport was thwarted Monday night at the City Council meeting.
By Mark Gutglueck
Friday, December 2, 2011
Federal prosecutors have horned in on an unprecedented number of high profile political corruption cases that would otherwise be handled by the district attorney’s office in San Bernardino County. In some matters, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has wrested from district attorney Mike Ramos prosecutorial authority or has opened with the FBI parallel investigations into issues Ramos or the San Bernardino County Grand Jury have delved into without reaching a successful conclusion. In at least three matters, federal prosecutors and investigators have taken on probes or investigations of elected officials or political donors with whom Ramos was politically aligned.
BY IMRAN GHORI
STAFF WRITER
ighori@pe.com
Published: 29 November 2011 09:29 AM
A San Bernardino County judge on Tuesday ordered the grand jury testimony of a former county official unsealed as part of a government corruption case.
Friday, November 25, 2011 – 10:30 a.m.
Victorville can’t pay its debt service payments, while some of the city’s leaders want area voters to place them into higher office.
Laugh out loud!
By ERIK ECKHOLM
Published: November 23, 2011
UKIAH, Calif. — An intensifying federal crackdown on growers and sellers of state-authorized medical marijuana has badly shaken the billion-dollar industry, which has sprung up in California since voters approved medical use of the drug in 1996, and has highlighted the stark contradiction between federal and state policies.
Joe Nelson, The (San Bernardino County) Sun
Created: 11/18/2011 02:43:50 PM PST
A federal judge on Friday denied a request by Rancho Cucamonga developer Jeff Burum’s attorney to essentially void an FBI search of Burum’s home and office by ordering the return of all materials seized during the search.
Andrew S. Ross, Chronicle Columnist
Sunday, November 13, 2011
With all due respect to the Occupy Wall Street movement and its local offshoots, there are some real battles being waged on behalf of members of the 99 percent that have little do with tent encampments, general strikes and shutting down the Port of Oakland.
Joe Nelson and Mike Cruz, Staff Writers
Created: 11/10/2011 04:48:37 PM PST
RIVERSIDE – A federal judge seemed poised to rule that federal agents did not violate the civil rights of Rancho Cucamonga developer Jeff Burum when they served search warrants at his home and office in September.
Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 11/09/2011 05:33:36 PM PST
An attorney for Rancho Cucamonga developer Jeff Burum said federal officials on Wednesday returned all materials seized from Burum’s home and office during an FBI raid on Sept. 15.
By John Hoeffel, Los Angeles Times
November 7, 2011, 7:45 p.m.
Medical marijuana advocates have filed lawsuits in California’s four federal judicial districts aimed at quickly winning court orders to halt the U.S. attorneys from closing dispensaries.
Marijuana clinics owner ‘in a pickle’
By Wes Woods II, Staff Writer
Created: 11/04/2011 06:49:25 PM PDT
Aaron Sandusky has had a rough week.
Sandusky, 41, has been trying to keep his medical marijuana dispensaries open in Upland, Moreno Valley and Colton.
On Tuesday, raids were conducted on the three dispensaries as well as his Rancho Cucamonga home and the Rialto home of his partner John Nuckolls.
By Wes Woods II, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Created: 11/02/2011 02:55:01 PM PDT
RIVERSIDE – The 4th District Court of Appeal has 90 days to render a decision in a case involving the city of Upland’s ban of a medical marijuana dispensary operated by G3 Holistics.
Joe Nelson and Josh Dulaney, Staff Writers
Posted: 11/01/2011 05:59:53 PM PDT
Embattled San Bernardino International Airport developer Scot Spencer has racked up roughly $545,876 in delinquent property taxes since 2005, of which $31,618 has been seized by the county tax collector.
Mike Cruz, Staff Writer
Created: 11/01/2011 06:25:06 PM PDT
In a rare move, federal prosecutors have agreed to return materials to a Rancho Cucamonga developer that were seized in September as part of an investigation into alleged corruption surrounding the $102 million lawsuit settlement between Colonies Partners LP and San Bernardino County.
BY IMRAN GHORI
STAFF WRITER
ighori@pe.com
Published: 01 November 2011 09:35 PM
The U.S. Attorney’s office will return materials seized in mid-September from Rancho Cucamonga developer Jeff Burum during an FBI search at his home and business, according to an order approved by a federal judge Monday.
Wes Woods II, Staff Writer
Created: 10/31/2011 03:13:41 PM PDT
When Barack Obama won the presidency in 2008, many local medical marijuana proponents felt they finally had a friend in the White House.
How times have changed.
Monday, October 31, 2011 – 03:30 p.m.
As predicted the U.S. Department of Justice has a task force examining the financial situation of Victorville, California.
Sunday, October 30, 2011 – 12:01 p.m.
Did Stater Bros. Markets land a sweetheart deal at San Bernardino International Airport?
By Jack Leonard and Robert Faturechi, Los Angeles Times
October 29, 2011, 9:25 p.m.
Nearly two years before Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca acknowledged that jailer brutality was a problem, his command staff raised alarms about excessive force used on inmates in the nation’s largest jail system, according to confidential memos reviewed by The Times.
By John Hoeffel Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
October 27, 2011, 2:52 p.m.
A medical marijuana advocacy group has sued the U.S. attorney general and the top federal prosecutor in Northern California, asking a federal court to halt recent raids and threats of prosecution that have significantly stepped up the Obama administration’s assault on the state’s 15-year-old program.
By Peter Hecht
phecht@sacbee.com
Published: Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2011 – 12:00 am | Page 3A
Medical marijuana advocates, decrying a federal government crackdown on dispensaries and a failure of state lawmakers to act, said Tuesday that they are drafting a 2012 ballot initiative to impose statewide oversight of California’s burgeoning medicinal cannabis trade.
Associated Press
October 21, 2011 – 08:55 a.m.
SAN FRANCISCO– Federal prosecutors should be careful not to overreach in their crackdown on California’s pot dispensaries, even though there are ambiguities in the state’s medical marijuana laws, the state attorney general said Thursday.
Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Created: 10/24/2011 06:56:37 PM PDT
San Bernardino County ranks third in the nation in its gang population, according to the FBI.
Saturday, October 22, 2011 – 05:00 p.m.
Last modified: Saturday, October 22, 2011 – 10:40 p.m.
It’s too late!
The clock struck midnight at San Bernardino International Airport (SBIA) last month when federal agents walked through the doors with search warrants.
Now San Bernardino County Supervisor Josie Gonzales, who is also vice-chair of the San Bernardino International Airport Authority, is trying her best to re-write history and un-ring the bell as to her role in the lackadaisical oversight that went on.
Thursday, October 20, 2011 – 09:30 a.m.
Former San Bernardino County Supervisor Dennis Hansberger dodging newspaper reporters?
Yes indeed.
By Malcolm Maclachlan | 10/20/11 12:00 AM PST
“Did anyone bring the beer?” quipped U.S. Attorney’s spokesman Tom Mrozek just before an L.A. press conference announcing a major crackdown on medical marijuana dispensaries.
Inside the high-security room several stories up in a downtown Sacramento courthouse, the line garnered a few genuine chuckles. But among the two-dozen or so pro-medical marijuana protestors down on the street below, few people were in a joking mood.
Joe Nelson, The (San Bernardino County) Sun
Created: 10/17/2011 02:10:43 PM PDT
Jim Erwin
The attorney defending former San Bernardino County Assistant Assessor Jim Erwin in a sweeping corruption probe is alleging that an FBI search of Erwin’s home was flawed and that Erwin’s civil rights were violated.
Breton
By Marcos Breton
mbreton@sacbee.com
Published: Sunday, Oct. 16, 2011 – 12:00 am | Page 1B
Last Modified: Sunday, Oct. 16, 2011 – 9:51 am
Chaos can flourish in the space between ambivalence and intransigence.
Such is life in California, where muddled medical marijuana laws and rigid federal laws outlawing all marijuana use have created an atmosphere stranger than fiction.
The Los Angeles County sheriff said he failed to implement important reforms that could have minimized brutality. He also said his command staff has at times left him in the dark about jail conditions.
By Jack Leonard and Robert Faturechi, Los Angeles Times
October 16, 2011, 5:55 p.m.
In a searing self-critique, Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca acknowledged that he was out of touch about problems in his jails and had failed to implement important reforms that could have minimized deputy brutality against inmates.
Hansberger
Friday, October 14, 2011 – 09:15 a.m.
Where’s former San Bernardino County Supervisor Dennis Hansberger these days.
A big question on the minds of many people.
Josh Dulaney, Staff Writer
Posted: 10/13/2011 11:56:05 AM PDT
Airport panelists on Wednesday talked about how to communicate with San Bernardino International Airport staff, but before setting policy, they decided it would be best to talk about it again later.
By Peter Hecht
phecht@sacbee.com
Published: Friday, Oct. 14, 2011 – 12:00 am | Page 1A
Venture capitalist Steve Berg figured he had an unassailable business model.
Berg’s San Francisco firm, the ArcView Group, was pledging to find “angel investors” for startups offering products and services for California’s $1.5 billion medical marijuana industry.
Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 10/12/2011 06:04:50 PM PDT
FBI agents acted “professionally” and “responsibly” when serving a search warrant at the offices of Rancho Cucamonga developer Jeff Burum, despite allegations that Burum’s civil rights were violated, according to a motion filed in federal court on Tuesday.
Josh Dulaney, Staff Writer
Posted: 10/09/2011 07:50:17 PM PDT
Amid an FBI probe into San Bernardino International Airport, one elected official has called for more transparency with the public and a wholesale change to internal communications at the airport.
The Colonies figure says agents crippled his firms and took attorney documents. Feds say no privileged papers were
BY IMRAN GHORI
STAFF WRITER
ighori@pe.com
Published: 07 October 2011 10:19 PM
An attorney for Rancho Cucamonga developer Jeff Burum urged federal officials to return material seized during a raid last month and accused them of taking documents that are protected by attorney-client privilege.
BY DUANE W. GANG, JEFF HORSEMAN
AND JOHN F. HILLSTAFF WRITERS
Published: 07 October 2011 12:34 PM
Calling it a “big-money business,” California’s four U.S. attorneys announced a major crackdown Friday targeting the sale, cultivation and distribution of medical marijuana — including operations in Wildomar.
Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Saturday, October 8, 2011
California’s federal prosecutors announced a campaign Friday to shut down scores of marijuana dispensaries, which they described as profit-making criminal enterprises masquerading as suppliers of medicine.
Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 10/05/2011 05:54:49 PM PDT
A committee of the San Bernardino International Airport Authority (SBIAA) board will meet Thursday afternoon to discuss the selection process for a new interim director at the airport.
By Sandra Emerson, Staff Writer
Created: 10/05/2011 10:52:44 AM PDT
UPLAND — A new defendant has been added to the indictment of former Mayor John Pomierski and Upland contractor John Hennes.
Joe Nelson, The (San Bernardino County) Sun
Posted: 10/04/2011 01:59:35 PM PDT
FBI agents violated Rancho Cucamonga developer Jeff Burum’s civil rights and lied when they said they did not search his attorney’s office, according to a motion filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Riverside.
Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 10/04/2011 07:32:28 PM PDT
A federal investigation into allegations of conspiracy, bribery and money laundering at San Bernardino International Airport has spread to Baca Raton, Fla, an FBI official has confirmed.
Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 10/03/2011 06:10:17 PM PDT
For years, civic and business leaders have doggedly worked to convert San Bernardino International Airport into a promising commercial venture and a major passenger airport.
And many steadfastly believe it’s getting there.
Spencer
Josh Dulaney, Staff Writer
Posted: 09/30/2011 06:16:21 PM PDT
The airport developer at the center of a federal investigation said Friday he has no intention of stepping down.
Cassie MacDuff
10:00 PM PDT on Friday, September 30, 2011
Cassie MacDuff
The retirement, resignation or whatever you want to call it of Don Rogers as executive director of the San Bernardino International Airport Authority is an opportunity for the oversight board to get a grip.
Josh Dulaney, Staff Writer
Posted: 09/29/2011 06:08:54 PM PDT
It is too early to speculate on what steps the San Bernardino International Airport will take to find a new top executive, officials said Thursday.
By Josh Dulaney, The (San Bernardino County) Sun
Posted: 09/28/2011 03:34:06 PM PDT
Donald L. Rogers, the executive director of San Bernardino International Airport Authority, announced his retirement Wednesday at a meeting of the authority’s board in Loma Linda.
11:04 PM PDT on Wednesday, September 28, 2011
BY KIMBERLY PIERCEALL
STAFF WRITER
kpierceall@pe.com
A week after an FBI raid, Donald L. Rogers, executive director of the embattled public agencies that oversee San Bernardino International Airport, resigned Wednesday.
10:50 PM PDT on Wednesday, September 28, 2011
BY KIMBERLY PIERCEALL
STAFF WRITER
kpierceall@pe.com
PDF: FBI list of seized airport documents
The FBI seized items ranging from a U.S. Treasury check to scrapbooks to invoices from movie shoots when it searched the administrative office and storage space for the two public agencies overseeing San Bernardino International Airport.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011 – 03:50 p.m.
San Bernardino International Airport Authority Interim Director Don Rogers has just announced his retirement.
Cassie MacDuff
10:00 PM PDT on Monday, September 26, 2011
Cassie MacDuff
The FBI raid on San Bernardino International Airport last Wednesday concerned enough people to pack the room where a special meeting of the airport authority board was held late Friday afternoon.
Sunday, September 25, 2011 – 11:30 a.m.
It was only a matter of time before federal officials descended onto the debacle involving the redevelopment of the former Norton Air Force Base.
4 investigations in less than year
Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 09/24/2011 07:10:43 PM PDT
The federal raid at San Bernardino International Airport on Wednesday marked the fourth FBI investigation in San Bernardino County in the last year, leaving some public officials wondering when the next shoe will drop.
10:31 PM PDT on Friday, September 23, 2011
BY KIMBERLY PIERCEALL
STAFF WRITER
kpierceall@pe.com
Just two days after the FBI and others raided San Bernardino International Airport searching for evidence that could be tied to conspiracy, bribery, fraud and money laundering, officials with the two public agencies that govern the airport offered little comment at a special meeting held Friday afternoon to discuss it.
Josh Dulaney, Staff Writer
Posted: 09/23/2011 08:52:14 PM P
LOMA LINDA – No comment and the promise of another meeting.
That’s all the public got after airport panelists came out of a 90-minute closed session meeting Friday to address issues related to the FBI raid Wednesday at San Bernardino International Airport.
10:54 PM PDT on Thursday, September 22, 2011
BY KIMBERLY PIERCEALL
STAFF WRITER
kpierceall@pe.com
PDF: FBI search warrant – S.B. airport
FBI and other investigators raided San Bernardino International Airport offices seeking evidence of bribery, theft, fraud, money laundering and more, according to a copy of a federal search warrant obtained Thursday from the lawyer for the two agencies that oversee development of the airport.
Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 09/22/2011 05:10:05 PM PDT
The FBI is investigating allegations of conspiracy, bribery, money laundering, theft of federal funds, and wire and mail fraud in connection with Wednesday’s raid at San Bernardino International Airport, according to a federal search warrant.
Josh Dulaney, Staff Writer
Posted: 09/22/2011 03:08:36 PM PDT
The San Bernardino International Airport Authority and Inland Valley Development Agency boards plan to meet jointly to address the FBI’s serving of seven search warrants at the airport and the Riverside home of airport developer Scot Spencer.
The meeting was called for by Josie Gonzales, who chairs the county Board of Supervisors.
Posted on Thursday, September 22, 2011, 11:34 am by GottaLaff
A reader linked me to this fascinating article, along with the question, “Is this the House GOP’s Solyndra?” Maybe Darrell Issa should investigate California Republican Rep. Jerry Lewis, former chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.
Former Supervisor Dennis Hansberger
The following archived story is republished from the Press-Enterprise.
Putting troubles behind them
San Bernardino airport officials give no-bid contract for renovation to aviation insider with checkered past
08:55 PM PDT on Sunday, April 27, 2008
By JOSH BROWN
The Press-Enterprise
He spent four years in prison for bankruptcy fraud, oversaw a string of failed aviation ventures, and could be banned from the aviation industry altogether.
Morris
Thursday, September 22, 2100 – 08:00 a.m.
As federal agents were executing search warrants in an investigation into activities involving the redevelopment of the former Norton Air Force Base, San Bernardino Mayor Pat Morris was reportedly knocking down the door of The Sun / Inland Valley Daily Bulletin newspapers.
No, I’m not kidding.
10:18 PM PDT on Wednesday, September 21, 2011
BY KIMBERLY PIERCEALL and DUG BEGLEY, STAFF WRITERS
kpierceall@pe.com | dbegley@pe.com
Published: 9/21/2011 06:20 PM
FBI agents and other law enforcement officers raided the San Bernardino International Airport Authority office and storage units as well as a home and offices used by Scot Spencer, a convicted felon who was awarded two no-bid agreements in 2007 to build a commercial airport at the former Norton Air Force Base.
By Joe Nelson and Josh Dulaney, The (San Bernardino County) Sun
Posted: 09/21/2011 10:02:16 AM PDT
SAN BERNARDINO — The FBI on Wednesday served search warrants at San Bernardino International Airport and the Riverside home of airport developer Scot Spencer.
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