For the most part, government acting in the open is based on the honor system. Remedies for violations of the Brown Act, the state’s open meeting law, are few and far between. At best, the illegal action can be declared null and void and the item taken up again in public. The same goes for the California Public Records Act, where jumping up and down and calling out the violation is as good a remedy as any in the law.
That’s why the District Attorney’s Office is absolutely critical in keeping the sun shining on the business of local government. Without that arm of the law – both as a deterrent against future cheats and to ferret out wrongdoing – local government would literally get away with even more secrecy and obfuscation than normal.
Lately, the Office of Public Integrity under Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley has been working overtime to keep our local elected officials honest, even if that means leveling criminal corruption charges against bad actors. The DA’s Office is acting as the public’s partner in requiring elected officials reveal matters of economic interest, campaign spending and any other information that should see the light of day and if it doesn’t, could make for ethical and legal conflicts or end up influencing an election outcome.
The list of investigations of local officials is long and deep. And while we are disturbed by the number and by the taint these have brought to the good cities of the San Gabriel Valley and Whittier area, we are pleased that DA Cooley, along with Deputy District Attorney David Demerjian, are vigorously going after lawbreaking as it relates to public office.
To name a few:
Former La Puente Mayor Louie Lujan pleaded guilty last month to one felony count of perjury. He agreed to pay $1,000 and three years probation and will not be allowed to run for public office again. Lujan committed perjury by turning in campaign finance reports that were false. In short, he misled the public about who had donated money to his campaign. We’re pleased to see the DA take this seriously. Because elections rise and fall on campaign money these days and when the public can’t follow the money, they can’t be fully informed. A candidate running for office in Walnut has already received more than $70,000. That’s a lot of cash for a volunteer position.
In Temple City, a grand jury indictment resulted in the conviction of former city councilman Dave Capra for campaign violations. Former council members Cathe Wilson and Judy Wong are fighting serious charges of bribery and perjury related to a proposed development. Whatever the outcome, the cases held up a promised commercial mall at the entrance to the city and brought scandal to a once-respected city.
Sharon Martinez, former councilwoman from Monterey Park, is being investigated for allegedly participating in a scheme to produce and mail a fraudulent hit piece against an election opponent. Martinez and a political consultant each face five years in jail if convicted.
Two officials from Pico Rivera are under investigation by the DA: City Councilman Bob Archuleta, for allegedly failing to report campaign gifts; and former Mayor Ron Beilke, who was charged with two felony counts and six misdemeanors. Beilke is charged with perjury for signing a 2008 statement of economic interest that prosecutors say is a lie. Beilke allegedly used $3,464 in free movie passes – adding up to 433 visits for himself and four guests – from Krikorian, after voting on a contract with the movie theater chain.
The DA is serving notice that honesty and openness in government is critical for a healthy democracy. If that gets corroded, the whole system falls apart.
Copyright 2010 Los Angeles Newspaper Group
5 Comments
I read with great interest this article and felt compelled to write you as a victim of “Public Record Tampering” in the City of Compton and the concealment of the crimes committed against me (Harless Cowan & Associates) both personally and professionally which have been concealed by City Attorney Craig Cornwell and City Manager Evans as well as their predecessors former City Attorney Legrand Clegg and City Manager Barbara Kilroy.
Your article stated:
“We are pleased that DA Cooley, along with Deputy District Attorney David Demerjian, are vigorously going after lawbreaking as it relates to public office.”
and
“That’s why the District Attorney’s Office is absolutely critical in keeping the sun shining on the business of local government. Without that arm of the law – both as a deterrent against future cheats and to ferret out wrongdoing –local government would literally get away with even more secrecy and obfuscation than normal.”
On March 2, 2010 in a seven page letter addressed to Sheriff Leroy Baca (Los Angeles County Sheriff), I called upon Sheriff Baca, Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley and Mayor Eric Perrodin of the City of Compton who is also a Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney to move forward with conducting an “independent investigation” pertaining to matter the of Harless Cowan & Associates.
The matter of Harless Cowan & Associates involves forgery and fraud, the destruction of Public Records, the fraudulent altering of invoices by changing the dollar amount billed to reflect that of a duplicate billing and to infer the over-billing of services rendered by my firm and use the of a computer to commit a crime by unscrupulous individual(s) under the employ of the City of Compton with the intent to deceive and to injury which is a crime under local, state and federal and statutes. I also called for the Compton City Council to immediately terminate City Manager Charles Evans and that City Attorney Craig Cornwell resign due to the failure to perform their legally mandated duties according to the Compton Municipal Code and for violation of the newly implemented “City of Compton Fraud, Waste and Abuse Policy” that was authored by City Manager Evans, who formerly worked for the city’s Risk Management Department.
My firms invoices were fraudulently forged and altered to indicate over-billing for services rendered, supporting documentation and monthly reports were destroyed and a fraudulent Request Public Records report was submitted in response to the publisher of the city’s local newspaper with the sole intent to induce the publication of defamatory articles to destroy my firms business relationship with the City of Compton.
District Attorney Cooley’s copy of the March 2, 2010 letter landed in the hands of Deputy District Attorney David Demerjian, PID Case No.: 10-0168 who ultimately wrote me stating that an invoice is not a “Public Record” and therefore he rendered a decision based on an invoice problem, to which I responded that his “determination was flawed” by quoting the definition of a Public Record directly from the California Public Records Act 2004 as published by the California Attorney General’s Office. I also raised “Official Misconduct” and failure to perform legally mandated duties on the behalf of City Attorney Craig Cornwell who failed to provide the Compton City Council adequate legal counsel and also failed to evoke “conflict of interest” in accordance with State Bar Rules, as referenced in the “League of Cities Handbook for Municipal Lawyers” and Cornwell’s failure to turn the matter of Harless Cowan & Associates over to the “highest ranking authority” due to City Manager Charles Evans failure to perform his mandated responsibilities according to the Compton City Municipal Code.
Attorney Cornwell and City Manager Evans instead chose to conceal the crime of tampering with public records and denied my requests for an “independent investigation” and that the City Clerk conduct a “special audit” in an effort to locate the missing Public Records relative to Harless Cowan & Associates. Further, after I submitted a claim March 2009, Attorney Cornwell and City Manager Evans put before an unknowing City Council for approval the months of June and July 2009 “Fraud, Waste and Abuse Policy”, Liability Insurance for the Mayor, City Manager and City Attorney as well as hired a law firm that I spoke with may 2009. In essence these two city officials used the “economic ability” of the city to conceal these crimes and to reject my claim.
I am of the opinion that City Clerk Alita Godwin; the guardian of the city’s Public Records should have called in the appropriate law enforcement agencies to conduct an “independent investigation” into the matter of Harless Cowan & Associates. In my pursuit to clear my name and based upon the malicious injury inflicted upon me, I submitted a claim (March 2009), which was denied after 6 months (September 2009) citing a 45-day rule of the California Government Codes. This never placed this claim on the City Council Agenda for consideration as promised by City Attorney Craig Cornwell.
It is important to note that June 2006 the Internal Personnel Division of the Office of the Los Angeles County District Attorney and during the month of August 2007 the State Bar conducted an investigation relative to Mayor Eric Perrodin who is also a Deputy District Attorney regarding certain statements contained in news articles for possible violation of the 1st Amendment, of which he was cleared. I pointed out to Deputy District Attorney Dermerjian that the District Attorney’s Office failed to conduct a thorough investigation and therefore missed the crime of “Public Record Tampering”. His response, complete silence! I supplied Deputy District Dermerjian with all of the applicable newspaper articles pertaining to the matter of Harless Cowan & Associates, which can readily be found on the Internet. Dermerjian informed me that there are certain criteria for cases under review by the District Attorney’s office. When I inquired as to the criteria, he did not disclose said criteria.
For sometime, in my pursuit of justice, I have been screaming about the crime of “Public Record Tampering” and the fact that the Compton City Attorney and City Manager has concealed these crimes. On October 28, 2009 I filed a crime report with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department – Compton Station, while they were in the mist of contract renewal. In my pursuit of justice, I refuse to allow the crimes committed against me to be swept under the carpet and will not rest until the matter of Harless Cowan & Associates is investigated and the individuals responsible for prosecuting these crimes is done so by the appropriate law enforcement agencies.
In closing, perhaps you can tell me who is responsible for investigating and prosecuting the crime of “Public Record Tampering”. Deputy District Attorney David Dermerjian acknowledged that this crime falls under the jurisdiction of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. However, when I pressed him by inquiring as to whether or not I should contact the State Attorney General’s Office or the FBI, Dermerjian told me “perhaps they may have an interest”.
Riverside county is worse than LA. Don’t attempt to get any public records here: The various Riverside County public entities refuse to provide anything. They simply say that everything would ‘not be in the public interest’ and won’t cooperate. If you can actually get any type of public records, then they charge you (ILLEGALLY) $15.00 ‘for time it takes to get the records researched’. Even if the report is only one page: $15.00.
Have the DA here investigate?? What a joke. They are the ones who refuse to cooperate on anything much less ‘investigate’ public corruption/public records violations. Riverside county is a joke.
Such a conflict of interest, for that Perrodin character to be both mayor and also deputy d.a., working in the public integrity section where he can spy on and destroy any investigations against him. Going to the home page of the so-called “public integrity” section, Perrodin has violated every one of those grounds for investigation. But the d.a.’s office, like the LAPD, seem to be just another street gang that protects each other’s crooked backs and won’t arrest each other.
Why did the d.a. even hire Perodin, who as Comptonites know, is a member of the notorious Treetop Gangs, and one member of that gang used a gun from Perrodin’s compton p.d.’s evidence room to shoot a Long Beach cop, according to the Press Telegram?
Any public integrity complaints, go straight to Jerry Brown before he leaves office; forget about the crooked Cooley’s office!
I am not surprised to hear that you are having trouble with David Demerjian and public records. I have never been able to access vital records that would exonerate my husband who was convicted falsely by David Demerjian over 20 years ago.
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