River City: The City Council Reacts to Falling Dominoes

[A Bee Hive of Activity Lately ]

Last week, the announcement came at the top floor of Riverside's City Hall that Asst. City Manager Tom DeSantis who had been employed by the city since 2005 will be resigning over a series of steps through the next few months. He's been relieved of his post and placed in "special assignments" a euphemism for placing an employee in some assignment at tax payer expense without the tax payers having any idea what he'll actually be doing. From a City Hall that avowed to be newly committed to its newest buzz word, "transparency", it has placed another veil of secrecy around the status of DeSantis.

After that, he'll take what his boss, City Manager Brad Hudson called a "well-deserved vacation" and then it's off the canvas and onto something else for a man who was after all, hired by City Hall after Hudson found himself a Human Resources director who would be amiable to changing the job description for the assistant city manager position to one not requiring a Master's degree in management. Sometime around his hiring, the human resources director at the time, Art Alcaraz was relieved of his duties, hired as a "consultant" for about six months and then departed the city with a severance package which included him signing a nondisclosure statement. He was then replaced by current director, Rhonda Strout before a flood of Riverside County employees came to City Hall.



The announcement of DeSantis' eventual departure apparently came to some degree of shock to members of the city government some of whom were quoted by the Press Enterprise. Even though there had allegedly been some sort of dialogue between DeSantis and members of the city's legislative body behind closed doors on Aug. 24 over a tentative settlement that DeSantis had brokered involving the personnel claim filed by former Riverside Police Officers' Association President Det. Chris Lanzillo. It amounted to about $125,000 and a medical retirement but when DeSantis hit the closed session, the city council didn't want to hear about it. They allegedly wanted DeSantis not to manage the department and it to go off to Chief Sergio Diaz who had allegedly told the police union leadership that the Lanzillo issue was out of his hands. But still some at City Hall apparently wanted him to be clean up crew for the messes that arose before he even arrived here.

The one of a few deals that DeSantis had allegedly made or tried to make with former or current police employees and the only one that apparently imploded in City Hall.

But about an individual who had a laundry list of troubling incidents stemming back not long after he arrived, the city council at least some of them appeared to sing his praises. Which tells you something about some on the city council.



[Riverside Councilman Steve Adams called the departing DeSantis "multi-talented" and a "tremendous asset to this city" and Adams should know, having had his city owned car towed through his efforts at least once.]




Councilman Steve Adams had very good reason to call DeSantis "multi-talented" because DeSantis had apparently helped him out when his city-issued and cold-plated vehicle had gotten impounded in Newport Beach on an unspecified date. Allegedly DeSantis had responded to that situation and arranged to have the car towed back to Riverside. It's not clear why if the car had been only impounded and not damaged as to why it couldn't be released from impound and then driven back to the city. During this incident which allegedly involved him parking illegally (or not, the accounts differ) in front of a garage within the confines of a home owner association, Adams had allegedly identified himself as an undercover police officer according to testimony given by former Chief Russ Leach in a deposition in connection with the lawsuits filed by two former police lieutenants. A call to the watch commander at the Riverside Police Department on that issue apparently cleared it up.

Also, Adams has been plagued by incessant rumors that another vehicle driven by him had been involved in an off-road driving incident and heavily damaged to its undercarriage.

Not to mention that Adams apparently had the neat benefit of being able to offer up his input in the promotional process involving several police captains between December 2005 and January 2008.

So yes, he's going to be more inclined to praise DeSantis as a tremendous asset to the city.




[Riverside Councilman Andrew Melendrez who's running for mayor in 2012 called outgoing DeSantis "multi-talented".]



Councilman Andrew Melendrez walked a tightrope while chairing the recent Governmental Affairs Committee when it conducted its annual review of the Ethics Code and Complaint process on Sept. 1 at City Hall. He pushed for the removal of the text of the code that had been added to state that complaints could only be filed against elected officials if they were officially acting as elected officials. Melendrez put up a brave motion to have that portion of the code stricken and couldn't even get a second by either Adams or Councilman Rusty Bailey until the collective groans among city residents at the meeting prompted Bailey to say he'd second the motion albeit for discussion only at the Sept. 21 city council meeting. Bailey repeated several times that he only wanted it on the agenda for "discussion" in case people didn't hear him the first two times.

But Melendrez has one foot in his council position and the other in a planned run for the mayoral seat against former Councilman Ed Adkinson whose got a facebook page and anyone else who decides to run. So he's being cautious, to the point where it might be doing him more political harm than good because in the year of scandals that have rocked this city, there needs to be city officials stepping on the plate to address what's been going on in a public setting. As chair of the Governmental Affairs Committee, he has some advantages to help him play this role but unfortunately he's already labeling himself as the elected official who responds with inaction.

But Melendrez who had a lot of grass-roots support at one time seems to have settled into the "go along to get along" group think way of conducting business that's interwoven so tightly with this city government. Which is unfortunate because occasionally he acts in ways that help promote accountability but then falls back again. It will be interesting to watch him and his actions as councilman including as chair of the Governmental Affairs Committee to see how he acts leading up to the 2012 mayoral election cycle.

As for the ethics code and complaint process, the Governmental Affairs Committee passed a proposal pushed by Bailey to create some ad hoc committee to perform the review that was supposed to be conducted by the city council which because it will be a lengthy process was clearly done to tie up the ethics code and complaint process and avoid implementing the three suggestions by community organizations until after the completion of at least the preliminary (and possibly final rounds) of Election 2011. The three provisions were:


1) An independent panel to hear and advise on complaints involving elected officials

2) Expand code to include city administration

3) Strike the language restricting the complaints against elected officials




It all comes up for discussion on Sept. 21 for a discussion and more binding decision by the full city council. Do not miss this grand event, to see the city council and mayor grapple with the ethics code and complaint procedure when most of them have been silenced or have stumbled over the laundry list of ethical gaffes involving local government that have taken place so far this year. However, several council members have their own ideas about what will be taking place at the meeting so hopefully it will be quite interesting.





When it comes to DeSantis' departure, others like Councilman Mike Gardner appear to be more cautious in their comments and his comment was the following:




(excerpt, Press Enterprise)



"It's his prerogative and his responsibility to manage his staff as he thinks is appropriate," Councilman Mike Gardner said.





Gardner had said he had noticed and been concerned about a form of entitlement by some at City Hall and that the city government had been working on addressing that issue but the city's residents have noticed that as well and that's partly why many of them have been very upset about the events of the past six months.


[Councilman Mike Gardner (l. with Councilman Paul Davis at the 2009 Regatta) said it was up to Hudson to make decisions about his own staffing.]



But it's not lost on people how quickly the dominoes have started falling, beginning in the police department and then moving on to City Hall which is a natural outcome and testimony to the unhealthy dynamic connecting the two. If one sinks, the other one will as well and to deal with the problems with one, you have to address both.



Waxing the greatest praise for the right hand man of his who he essentially told to take a trip is of course Hudson who's now got one less employee to throw under the bus if the occasion should arise.

[Riverside City Manager Brad Hudson praised the assistant manager he had just pushed into resigning from the Seventh Floor of City Hall not long after he pushed him under the bus on the cold plates scandal.]


Hudson said to the press that the decision for his right hand man to leave the city was a mutual one between him and DeSantis but it's clear that some form of writing had been on the wall since Hudson blamed DeSantis along with Leach for the cold plates scandal. The troubling contradictions from the testimonies offered by both Leach and DeSantis in their depositions lingered and despite the fact that both versions can't be true, apparently no investigation into perjury was ever conducted by any agency including Riverside County District Attorney Rod Pacheco.

But it's been said that depositions which are set to be taken in one of the outstanding legal actions against the city will shed some light on who really ordered the issuance of cold plates on city vehicles. Was it Leach, or Hudson? My money's on that it was Hudson through DeSantis that ordered them. Leach worked under five interim or permanent city managers and only one of them apparently cold plated his car along with that of his assistant city managers.

CPRC Manager Kevin Rogan To Depart For Another Gig

[CPRC Manager Kevin Rogan to leave his post after three years to take a job with the police commission in Los Angeles.]





The manager of the Community Police Review Commission, Kevin Rogan, is departing after only three years on the job and taking a job with the commission in Los Angeles. The announcement caused some ripples in the city's fabric. It comes not long after the controversy that arose from the commission's violation of its own bylaws for changing the time and location of its meetings from evenings to various times earlier in the day. It was only after the debate when a commissioner saw the language in the bylaws governing the meetings that this transgression that had been overlooked by both Rogan and City Attorney Gregory Priamos came to light. At a later meeting, Rogan publicly took responsibility for the situation calling it his fault. But apparently some time ago, Rogan had been seeking out other pastures and the announced departure of his immediate boss, DeSantis who pretty much had the CPRC in a choke hold since late 2005 just preceded his own announcement by barely a week.

There had been some rumors that something major was coming down the pike this week from the CPRC and apparently this was it. It's probably not surprising that he's leaving in light of all the upheaval shaking the city since Leach's DUI incident on Feb. 8. But while the city adds another management position to the list that it will have to fill, many concerns will no doubt be raised about what will happen to the CPRC in the meantime. After all, besides the police department, the CPRC was the second favorite toy of micromanagement by Hudson and DeSantis and like the police department, the CPRC hasn't been the better for it. It's amazing if a bit puzzling that two agencies, the police department and the civilian oversight of it, have both been badly damaged by micromanagement and politics from the Seventh Floor at City Hall with some help from two floors lower.

Did Rogan see the writing on the wall and go job hunting? How many others are reading the wall right now?

Riverside Police Department Sergeant Files Claim Against City

Riverside Police Sgt. Val Graham filed an FEHA claim with the city alleging racial discrimination and retaliation involving upper management inside the police department including Chief Sergio Diaz and also management at City Hall. Graham alleges that since 2001, he has been routinely passed over for promotion to lieutenant despite ranking high on the lists including #4 on the most recent list and having a history of excellent or outstanding evaluations.

What's interesting is that the city has forgone its standard practice of having City Attorney Gregory Priamos comment on claims or litigation which has been initiated involving the department and has instead handed that job off to Chief Sergio Diaz. That happened earlier when the city had two personnel claims filed against it by former Deputy Chief Pete Esquivel and Officer Neely Nakamura. It'd be interesting to find out whether Priamos is relieved or piqued he doesn't get to tell the media anymore that lawsuits and claims involving the department are "frivolous" or will be aggressively litigated by the city.

So it was Diaz who responded to the news of another claim being filed by a police employee.


(excerpt, Press Enterprise)



"I know what factors guide me, and certainly it was not racial bias," Diaz said Tuesday of his promotions.



Diaz had said that he had based his promotions on reviewing factors such as employee histories (which likely would include the annual personnel evaluations), types of assignments and after discussing candidates with his management team. In the case of the captains' promotions, he also interviewed candidates. There had also been a lieutenant's list from written testing and oral interviews and during the past eight months, the five lieutenants had come from different rankings on that list. These were #2, 5, 6, 9 and 12. Several lieutenant candidates had been promoted who had failed the tests in prior years and who had problems completing prior assignments.

Two candidates off the latest round of promotions from captain to detective had onduty sexual misconduct incidents while they had been sergeants. One was demoted and then re-promoted within two years, while the other received a written reprimand. One officer promoted in a former round had a prior firing that was overturned at arbitration so clearly the candidates who were promoted came from an assortment of backgrounds. Assignment-wise, most of those promoted had either worked personnel and training or SWAT and quite a few, in both. Some officers had worked back to back "special assignments" with little or no assignment time in patrol in between. Considering that the patrol division has been promoted as the department's backbone by many a leader at City Hall and from within the department's own ranks, patrol officers and supervisors who spent considerable time there didn't appear to advance to the next rank as much as those in "special assignments" in this year's promotions.

Most newly promoted sergeants or lieutenants go into field positions including watch commands if they are lieutenants often on the night/early morning shifts. This time around, one of them, Daniel Hoxmeier was transferred to serve as an area commander of the Central Neighborhood Policing Center while Lt. Bruce Loftus was transferred to the Personnel Division.


The severely outdated organizational chart shows what the department looked like in late February this year.

This claim along with the others filed so far will be followed to see how it progresses and will be included under this blog's new subcategory, "RPD Claim Watch".

Asst. Chief Chris Vicino Visits RPOA, to Lunch with DeLaRosa?




[Riverside's new assistant chief, Chris Vicino just arrived.]

Newly hired assistant chief, Chris Vicino who hailed from Pasadena's police department had a meet and greet with members of the Riverside Police Officers' Association recently to share his thoughts on his new job and what he hoped to accomplish. He wanted to be housed near the front line officers at one of their stations, possibly Lincoln but whether he winds up there or closer to his boss, Diaz at Orange Street Station remains to be seen. Also in the plans apparently was a lunch meeting with former Acting Chief and now retired Asst. Chief John DeLaRosa who's been lunching with quite a few higher ranking police personnel lately.

Community gardens coming to the Wood Streets.

Public Event

Meet and Greet Police Chief Sergio Diaz

by Latino Network

at

Zacatecas Restaurant from 6-8 p.m.

March 27, 2007: The Turning Point for the RPD and River City

“These guys don’t care…”


---Former Chief Russ Leach about his bosses, City Manager Brad Hudson and Asst. City Manager Tom DeSantis




“This is our city. Let’s make Riverside a better place for everyone. Together we can’t lose.”


---email sent out to community leadership about March 27, 2007




“We believe that having “at will” contracted positions at this level of the police department management is dangerous and bad for the community. Dangerous, because it has the potential to make a police department completely dysfunctional and may hamper the department’s ability to conduct objective investigations. Out of all the department heads in the City, the Chief of Police should have the highest level of autonomy, when it involves running his/her police department."



----RPAA President Darryl Hurt, March 27, 2007








Riverside City Hall
City Council Chambers
March 27, 2007 6:30 pm.




"I don't recall anything. It was a nightmare."


---Former Riverside Police Chief Russ Leach in his testimony about March 27, 2007 who must have felt worse when he discovered that life was but a dream.






When elected officials walked into Riverside’s City Hall to convene at their weekly city council meeting, they might have been surprised to see hundreds of men and women sitting in the chairs and standing in the aisles and in the back of the chambers. In fact, more people spilled outside of the building into the open area between the building which houses the chamber and the main City Hall. Many individuals who congregated at the city council meeting that evening were members of both the Riverside Police Officers’ Association and the Riverside Police Administrators’ Association but there were community leaders there as well.


Like many people who attended that meeting, I remember that day very well. I had received news about the situation earlier that week and I had expressed my concern to the city council and mayor via an email sent out to them and to Brad Hudson and he had kindly responded. And then he had come up to me quickly when I entered the chambers and told me to ignore his email and that the process of making upper management police personnel "at will" couldn't be done and his clarification on the matter was very helpful.

Before anyone could speak during public comment on this item and many people had appeared to do just that, elected officials, city management employees and even then Police Chief Russ Leach stood up to address the packed room and give speeches essentially trying to head people off at the pass. To try to tell people there that this was much ado about nothing. That the city manager's office wasn't really trying to undermine the chief's authority over his direct management staff.

So one by one, the speeches began.

Leach opened up his speech by saying that he was surprised that he was the center of all this fuss because he was just minding his own business two weeks ago and then here he was, which when you think about it, is a rather odd statement by a police chief who's active in running a department. And if he had been, then he would have most definitely seen this controversy from far away but he made it appear in his comments that it had been news to him. He continued speaking but he never really addressed the topic at hand except to say that there was a "miscommunication a while ago" but that he was committed to speak loudly and clearly for the police department. Unfortunately, that's not the topic that most people there wanted him to address as the department's head.

He talked a lot about the department, the crime rate, even shaving off his mustache but very little on the actual issues that had brought the men and women in blue as he called them down to the city council meetings in such large numbers. And though he tried to say loudly and clearly that he was in charge of the police department, that was really the day it became loud and clear to most people that in fact, he really had little authority over the police department at all. And it was his own words that he communicated this reality through to his employees sitting and standing in front of him. At the time, his employers were standing or sitting behind him and several individuals on the dais were actively involved in even the police department's day to day operations, let alone its management. Both his employers and employees could send him packing but for his employers to do so would take many fewer votes.

It was also abundantly clear that while the city management had allowed Leach to take the stage to address the audience including many of his employees, they had him on a tight leash there as well.

Because while this drama had been taking place in public, behind the scenes, the city management was busy acquiring all its police toys and had put Leach in the role of having to explain a highly questionable firearms sale involving the city management employees and his department. You had city management employees decking themselves out like law enforcement officers, "several" city officials getting cold plated cars. And rumors of City Attorney Gregory Priamos rolling into a major incident with emergency lights on his city owned vehicle. Everyone denied knowledge of everything later on. Including when Hudson testified that he had no idea whether his city-issued Toyota Highlander had been cold plated although interestingly enough, a document detailing the list of city owned vehicles to be cold plated had a Toyota Highlander at the top of the list. Coincidence, definitely.

But it would seem to most people that the police department had many different people playing chief running around with their guns, their cold plated vehicles, their sirens and even badges. Some people think this is all a big joke or no big deal and maybe to those who associate with the people in power who have acquired this equipment to use to exert authority it isn't, but if the average person engaged in this behavior, they might be arrested for impersonating a police officer. None of these individuals were, though several were investigated for creating badges and trying to acquire cold plates not to mention the highly questionable weapons exchange but they were allowed to first, correct their legal violations and then turn around and tell people that they didn't break the law but that when it was pointed out that they did, they remedied the situation immediately. Then they hid their actions, even going as far as to try to use tax payer money to pay two lieutenants not to come to work, but as they discovered, the truth has a way of coming to light after all.

And that a police department with many chiefs at its helm can actually wind up with none.






[This is the list of city owned cars which were sent to be cold plated. It's difficult to read but if you click the photo, you'll find at the top of the list is a Toyota Highlander which happened to be the same make of car assigned to Hudson from the city yard fleet.]



What was interesting about the cold plate scandal is how it came down to a "he said, he said and who committed perjury" situation because they were all under sworn oath to tell the truth during their depositions. But there's one method to decide who told who to cold plate their vehicles and that's to do a simple survey. During Leach's nearly decade long tenure as chief, he served under at least five different city managers and several assistant city managers as well. You would think that if it were Leach telling everyone to get cold plates that he would have told the others including Larry Paulson, George Carvalho, Penny Culbreath Graft, Tom Evans and Jim Smith for example, to rush out and sign up for cold plates as well. Did any of these prior city management employees use cold plates on their vehicles?

Or was it just the latest group of city management employees and an elected official or two? If the answer to this question is yes, then you have your answer to who's telling the truth under oath or in news articles and who is not.




So for those who didn't know, March 27, 2007 was the day it should have been known that . Leach did hint that the city management had been trying to get the department to conduct administrative investigations against Lts. Tim Bacon and Darryl Hurt after they had been involved in researching what later became the badges, guns and cold plates scandals when they came to light. If what Leach testified to is valid, then apparently the city management employees believed that it was okay to violate the laws, not okay when it came to light and just perfect to investigate those who discovered that misconduct. That whether from accepting responsibility for its own actions and addressing them, the city management could instead try to use its authority and its energy to seek out those who exposed their deeds and punish them. As they allegedly tried to do with both Bacon and Hurt. Pay attention to the adage of punishing the messenger for the message because it's from an old playbook used by the police department and City Hall involving city employees. And city residents should be aware of this as well because of the enormous expenditures from revenues that are used to either litigate lawsuits filed by the city's labor force or pay them off whether by settlement which happens most of the time, or occasionally through the embarrassment of trial.

Leach opted out of making the unveiling of this questionable and illegal conduct by individuals at City Hall, "a full blown internal thing" and instead just focused on responding to the State Attorney General's criminal division through a series of correspondences with that office on the badges and guns incidents.

When River City's Promoting, Why's Leach in...DC?

Leach's deposition testimony is very interesting not to mention troubling as in it, he said that he had actually been in the Bull Feathers in Washington, D.C. when he first heard about the move to make two of his top management personnel "at will". Meaning that this decision had essentially been made by Hudson and DeSantis when he had been thousands of miles away. He testified that he chose to promote both the assistant and deputy chiefs but appeared to have little recall of either the details or time lines of both promotions.

But he testified that when he realized that the upper police management personnel would be serving not at his will but would be "at will" to the city management, he didn't like that much.



(excerpt, Leach)



"I sort of thought we were going that way. We're already that way, actually, now becauswe Esquivel's permanent rank is captain and DeLaRosa's permanent rank is captain. I dcan always reduce them to captain if I want. So I thought we were sort of solidifying that process, when it turns out they were taking a different direction. And this at-will status would be the city manager's office. So therefore, I couldn't support that because I'm their boss, essentially, but I'm not their boss because they would end up working directly for the city manager's office. So that's sort of where we parted company on that particular issue."




But it was even more serious than that, because the two employees would not only be "at will" at their appointed positions in upper management, they would be "at will" period, meaning that they would be surrendering their labor rights associated with their union affiliation which meant that they could be fired by the city management without cause or reason. So essentially, you might have a police chief who is "at will" to Hudson but you'd have his management personnel be "at will" employees to him as well. So essentially all three employees would be answerable to him which enables Hudson and DeSantis to maintain a vigorous hold on the reins of the police department even during times that Leach may have been in disagreement with his bosses.

If he was stubborn, they could just bypass him and go straight to his management personnel and they could have his own management personnel report back to them on someone who in more ordinary circumstances, you know those used in other cities, be their own boss.

But this major shift in the power structure of the police department and its dynamic with City Hall had begun in several stages as rather innocuous wording in meeting agendas, harmless looking until you really started looking past those words and reading the subtext which the heads of labor unions are more likely to do because these issues are under their purview and play a significant role in their operations.

There had been attempts by the city council which had been blocked to change the language of classification or even the classification itself involving captain ranks and upper management appointed positions like assistant and deputy chiefs.

The agenda item that caused the controversy only appeared on an earlier draft of the meeting's agenda, under item #20 that had been submitted through the city manager's office through then administrative analyst Jeremy Hammond.




[A copy of the "tentative" agenda created at a meeting of mayor, mayor pro tem and staff which took place several days before the posting of the "final" agenda on Friday, March 23, 2007.]







[At the bottom of the page, is text that was included for "tentative" agenda item #20 which was submitted by Human Resources employee, Justin Hammond that was to have created "at will" upper management positions. It was subsequently removed and not included on the final agenda for the meeting on March 27.]




So a bunch of people from different places went up and spoke on the issue, from different perspectives after City Hall and its servants had tried to cut off everyone at the pass with how the whole incident had been a "miscommunication." Many members of both police unions had hoped that there would be some kind of confrontation with Leach who was said to be very pissed off with Hudson over the promotions and his boss, Hudson but it never happened. What many thought would be a bang proved but a whimper. There would be a number of anticipated standoffs between Leach and his bosses over the leadership of the police department which would never take place. But what happened after the March 2007 confrontation at City Hall became a turning point for the department and not in a good way.

Not long after the "at will" brouhaha died down, Hudson issued Leach a huge salary increase for being the chief. Well the chief under the department's real chief anyway and on that date, the leadership of the police department had been effectively sold to Hudson and DeSantis.

From that point on, Hudson and DeSantis were able to run the department without any noise from their employee and looking back after the incidents which have unfolded during the past several months, it's clear what kind of grade they should receive for their diligent efforts.

And it's not a passing grade. During the elections to be held next June for four council members, the voters will have the opportunity at the polls to issue them grades as well.

The Mystery of the Disappearing "At Will" Contracts

Being a fan while growing up of Nancy Drew mystery novels, it has a way of shaping how what's going on in Riverside can be examined due largely to the fact that so many questions remain unanswered about the shenanigans involving City Hall and the upper levels of the police department. It couldn't hurt to have Nancy Drew, her pals George or Bess or even that guy Ned looking into these unanswered questions and unresolved issues and assigning them an appropriate title, including the mystery of the disappearing "at will" contracts. Okay, so it's not the secret of the old clock or the hidden staircase or even the whole Lilac Inn caper but someone's just got to get to the bottom of how city employees were able to sign contracts which must have existed in hard copy form at the time but apparently *poof* disappeared not long afterward.

How do things like that just happen? Is there a vortex inside City Hall where physical documents just wander into them and then voila, vanish in thin air? If so, there needs to be a scientific investigation right now to look into City Hall's own version of the Bermuda Triangle and fix it immediately through a seance or whatever to stop even more documents from vanishing in thin air.

Like those missing contracts for example. The ones that have not been seen for over three years and counting.

Here's some initial data on this rather bizarre occurrence. The first to naturally seek out is Hudson who is the chief...administrator of the city. He'd probably provide a better answer except he's apparently suffering from some form of memory loss on this issue.

[City Manager Brad Hudson found himself in the midst of a firestorm in March 2007 after two upper management police employees had allegedly signed "at will" contracts, contracts which later disappeared. In his deposition, Hudson said he had no memory of signing any of the "at will" contracts involving the two high-ranking police management personnel but would have authorized it if he did remember it.]




Hudson as stated said in his deposition that he had no memory of signing either the contacts of either the new assistant chief, John DeLaRosa or the new Deputy Chief Pete Esquivel. But the excerpt of an email below that he wrote seemed to suggest that contracts were signed by his office just as they would normally be in that situation. The language used here seems clear, concise and his response well thought out and deliberative. Nothing flaky or vague about it at all that might result from acute memory loss.

“…At will positions typically pay slightly more than their regular position counterparts; consequently, employees often choose the at-will option. I believe that is the case in this instance. We currently have over 100 contract employees and my office has signed these contracts as required by City policy. Nothing special or unusual was done with respect to the recent contracts you reference….”


---Brad Hudson in a March 22, 2007 email



So if nothing special or unusual was done, then they must have followed the regular procedure for contracts getting drafted, reviewed and then signed by the various parties. His sentiment about people signing "at will" contracts was very enlightening given that for many people it seems that these two words are more scary than welcoming. Because although people might get a slight pay raise, they can also be fired much more easily than if they hadn't gone "at will". Incidentally, the email he responded to had been sent by myself and he had responded to me separately from a later response to the city council and mayor. He later told me at the meeting to ignore the emailed response and that the contracts weren't allowable according to the city attorney. Which in itself might appear "special" or "unusual" unless this is how the city's been doing business with more of its "at will" contracts. Still, it was helpful that he made that clarification and as it turned out, the contracts were apparently voided according to testimony.

But if so, what happened to the originals? If they were created and signed, they should still be in the public record and made available to anyone upon request in accordance with the state laws pertaining to the California Public Records Act.

Well before that, let's move on to the second in the chain of the command of the city and police department, DeSantis who will be identified by the badge that he never was able to possess.



[Asst. City Manager Tom DeSantis testified that he and Hudson met with DeLaRosa to discuss his "at will" contract with him. He said that the "at will" status gave the police chief the authority to actually fire the employee but then again, who has to approve all the police chief's firings?]


DeSantis testified that he and Hudson had met with at least one of the prospective "at will" employees and there's some mention of an earlier meeting with Leach. This wasn't long after DeSantis had allegedly blown up with another management employee, former Community Police Review Commission manager, Pedro Payne at a meeting and had ejected him just three weeks before Payne "resigned" which brought the city's definition of "at will" home for many people including those inside the police department. Meaning that if these employees who were "at will" to the city management office didn't bend to the will of that office's minions, then they would probably be releasing "resignation" letters of their own not long after.

But given that it's not clear whether the city management maintains a tight control of other powers traditionally exercised by Riverside's police chiefs such as hiring and firing, it's doubtful that the police chief such as Leach would have very much autonomy when it came to picking his own direct management staff if the city manager's office has to sign off on them. Something to keep in mind as being very critical now, given that a new police chief has been hired and will have to create his direct management staff. And given what's happened with Leach, how much autonomy will Sergio Diaz have to do just that? Who will really pick his management staff, he or the city manager's office?

Something to keep a very close eye on when he arrives in Riverside to take the helm on July 1.

But what was interesting to follow in the depositions was the reaction of one of the impacted employees, Pete Esquivel who had said his feelings had been hurt by what he felt was the reception to his promotion. The process involving it, he had already agreed to and according to him, he had sealed that agreement through signing a labor contract with the city manager's office.





[Then Deputy Chief Pete Esquivel testified that he had signed a contract to become an "at will" deputy chief, and that it had been sighed by Chief Russ Leach Hudson, City Attorney Gregory Priamos and an unidentified city clerk. He also testified that Hudson and DeSantis had told him that the contract had been "rescinded". Leach denied ever signing the contract in his own testimony.]


Esquivel had said that he had actually signed a contract when promoted to deputy chief that had "at will" terms that he had agreed to, and that had happened before all the controversy had arisen regarding his promotional status in regards to the "at will" situation. No one who spoke on the issue from any corner including the labor unions had actually criticized the promotional choices, just the process of the "at will" conversions to the positions themselves. Many vocally supported the choices but what's odd about this whole contract deal is the conflicting testimony about whether Leach had or had not signed Esquivel's contract. Esquivel testified that Leach had signed it in his presence. Leach denied ever signing either contract and added that he didn't believe there was a place for him to sign them.

But given all the gaps that Leach said he didn't recall including the time lines of either promotions, that brings into question how much role he played in either one.




[John DeLaRosa was also offered an "at will" contract to be assistant chief and accepted it but didn't testify about his own status or whether he had signed a contract.]



DeLaRosa who had been promoted to assistant chief in March 207 didn't testify on this issue or regarding his own promotion or whether or not he signed an "at will" contract though there's been statements by others indicating that he did. Like Esquivel's initial contact, his was voided after a period of controversy about the contracts being "at will".





[Former Deputy Chief Dave Dominguez was set to be promoted to an assistant chief position by Leach until it was vetoed by the city management, according to Leach's deposition. DeLaRosa had been promoted by Leach instead after the veto and apparently his promotion did pass the muster of DeSantis and Hudson.]



Dominguez was rumored to have been offered to go "at will" in the deputy chief position and had adamantly opposed it. If so, it was likely for valid reasons given that the city management had vetoed any suggestions by Leach of promoting him to assistant chief early on and had in fact, wanted to demote him. Dominguez was also alleged to have been included on a list of non-white management employees which included Art Alcaraz, Jim Smith and Tranda Drumwright to be targeted for termination, demotion or "resignation" and none of them are currently employed by the city.

Some individuals in the police labor unions sought to get the records released on this process including copies of the "at will" contracts signed by Esquivel and DeLaRosa. But the city initially told them they couldn't have access to them because they were "drafts" and then when challenged on that, the city had claimed they weren't just drafts (which are releasable under CPRA) but they were "preliminary drafts" without explaining why city management employees were pushing other management employees to sign "preliminary draft" contracts.

When pressed even further in the corner on this issue, the city finally produced the following excerpt of its written response to the CPRA request which is included below.




“Pursuant to Government Code 6253, the City of Riverside submits its response to your Public Records act request of April 27, 2007. In said request, you are seeking copies of any and all employment contracts for the position of Assistant Chief of Police and Deputy Chief Police entered into between representatives of the City of Riverside and John De La Rosa and Pete Esquivel.
Please be advised that there are no documents responsive to your request.”


---City Attorney Gregory Priamos, to a CPRA request by attorney Stephen H. Silver



Okay, now this is downright mysterious and this is precisely what is meant by the mystery of the disappearing "at will" contracts at City Hall which apparently is being impacted by some bizarre vortex or worm hole or something of that nature that is apparently sucking public documents right out of City Hall.

It's past time for Mayor Ron Loveridge to convene one of his special task forces to address the pressing issue of this vortex issue at City Hall. Perhaps then, these missing contracts can be found. And then the city could generate a new logo or slogan...Riverside: No Missing Paperwork here!

Thanks to the mayor in advance!


This incident might appear to be an isolated chapter in the history of both the city and police department but it was part of a pattern and practice of the dynamic which exists between City Hall and the police department. Many questions are being asked by city residents on what will be the situation involving Riverside's newest police chief and what it is that he will be allowed to do by individuals at City Hall like Hudson, DeSantis, Priamos and Councilman Steve Adams. Will he actually be a police chief who's autonomous or will he be a puppet?

And how long will it take for there to be an answer to that question?

Orange Street Station Update

The City Council and Mayor Ron Loveridge have received written notification via the leadership of the Riverside Police Officers' Association of the list of Skelly violations that former Det. Chris Lanzillo alleged took place at his hearing earlier this month. Lanzillo, the former president of the RPOA was given his notice of intent to terminate on June 4 along with former Lt. Leon Phillips. Shortly after, he submitted a written query through his attorney to Hudson asking that DeLaRosa be disqualified from hearing his Skelly due to conflict of interest since he's suing DeLarosa. Hudson denied this request and DeLaRosa did Lanzillo's Skelly hearing and terminated within 15 minutes of the end of the hearing.

Shortly after, Lanzillo filed a second claim for damages and had already filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court.

Phillips' Skelly hearing had been postponed but will be heard either at the end of this week or next week. The actual disciplinary action against him has not been either decided or enacted at this point in time.

Eight days until Diaz takes the helm of the police department and many individuals are counting every day until July 1. Two former employees of the department had some advice they passed along to other employees a while back on the importance of involvement in the things that matter in this city and of the responsibilities as well which are important to keep in mind if the department is to head in a different and healthier direction than it has been lately.







“Here at RPD, we have a proud tradition and coming to work used to be something you looked forward to doing. We believe you all deserve much better than acquiescing “at will” department heads; which is what you’ll get if Brad Hudson and his staff have a part in choosing a Chief. If you want to effect change in our department, then get involved. Educate yourself on what’s been happening in this City and police department since Brad Hudson and Tom DeSantis arrived. “Play along to get along” should never be the first consideration of police officers at any level of command when it comes to making decisions that are ethical and right.”

----Statement by former Lts Tim Bacon and Darryl Hurt, March 2010

Wi Fi Update

[The Wi Fi network has had some periodic slow performances and outages in the Northside Area on Iowa, related to the ongoing construction project involving Iowa and Columbia Streets near Hunter Park. AT&T will be running the network until around Sept. 12 when it will be transferred to the city for management and maintenance.]

The New Chief Meets and Greets Amidst a Mad, Mad World

"Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it"

---Edmund Burke





Over 100 people, from the neighborhoods of Riverside and inside the walls of the police department congregated at the Grier Pavilion on the top floor of City Hall to welcome the city's new police chief, Sergio Diaz, a retired deputy chief from Los Angeles. Many people snacked on the catered food while mingling before sitting down or standing while various speakers stood at the podium to address the crowd. Community leaders from the Eastside, Casa Blanca and downtown showed up in force, alongside the department's command staff, many dressed in blue. Elected officials intermingled with others including a police detective who was terminated from employment last week. Chris Lanzillo the former Riverside Police Officers' Association president had appeared as well, not long after the leadership of his former union had gone to City Manager Brad Hudson to express its belief that the termination was unjustified but Hudson denied their appeal.

Mayor Ron Loveridge spoke about the utopia that he lives in while apparently unaware that the floor of City Hall that he resides in is currently in the state of meltdown, in the light of the revelations coming to light about legal violations that were apparently committed within its walls, with even more awaiting to come out in the days and weeks ahead.

City Manager Brad Hudson talked about the search process, including the recruitment firm of Roberts which had been used by the city in other employment searches. Councilman Steve Adams for some reason was elected to be the spokesperson for the city council and made some strange speech about how someone in San Diego was brought in and created the San Diego Police Department. Then someone from L.A. came in to try to create the Los Angeles Police Department but that wouldn't work for Riverside.


"We are RPD," averred Adams.


Actually, it's curious to see Adams bite the hands that fed him with Leach because in his deposition as part of a lawsuit filed by two former lieutenants, Leach testified that Adams (along with another elected official) were constantly around and involved in the police department. And if city management personnel are telling the truth rather than passing the buck, then Leach was responsible for Adams' cold plates that were issued for his city-issued car. Adams also allegedly involved himself in at least two, perhaps even three promotions at the captain's level, essentially vetoing one and "clearing the air" with one other candidate in a restaurant in Corona less than 24 hours before that individual was promoted.


But maybe this was his way of laying claim? That remains to be seen and maybe it's just natural because Adams had played such a role in the department's operations, probably more than he did when he worked there as a patrol officer.

Adams attended the event with his brother Ron, a retired officer who works for the city's red light camera program and who was the defendant in a sexual discrimination and harassment lawsuit filed by a former female sergeant during the 1990s that the city paid a huge sum to settle.

But Diaz quite deftly deflected Adams' challenge and hopefully he'll be able and given room to continue to do so. He said that "respect" marked every positive interaction involving police and community members and that would be the mark of his tenure as chief. He also said that he would ensure that by the time he departed, there would be commanders who were capable of taking the helm of the department. Perhaps that indicates that he has some inkling about the immense challenges which lie ahead in connection with doing that. As he does have a background in mentoring in the LAPD, it will be interesting to see how that transfers to the RPD where mentoring in some areas of the department is absent or highly deficient but could have great benefits for many of its employees. For one thing, studies show that mentoring employees increases retention which in the RPD has been abysmal particularly for its female officers, from the time they go to the academy to the time they hit the 3-4 year mark.




[City residents come down to City Hall to meet Riverside's new police chief.]




[In the front rows, are many of the elected officials and management police personnel listening to the introductory speech by Mayor Ron Loveridge who doesn't seem to have a very good grasp of what's happened in the past several months. ]





The event was joyful and people stood up and clapped---twice. A festive environment was definitely in the air as people hoped that this was a sign that both the police department and city were turning an important corner.

But then afterward, everyone had to go home. Many took the happiness of the occasion with them but many reflected concern about the days ahead. Feeling that the new chief really has his work cut out for him just to dodge the minefields in this city.

Meanwhile Back at the Mad, Mad World...

“Don’t talk to the bloggers. Don’t talk to the press. We are one family…”


---Acting Police Chief John DeLaRosa at roll call, in February 2010

[The epicenter of the final days of Acting Chief John DeLaRosa's career at the top of the chain and he's been quite busy terminating employees including those who sue him and engaging in some rather interesting activities involving the department's lieutenant's list.]








[Acting Chief John DeLaRosa in different times. He was implicated in the mishandling of the traffic stop involving his former boss, yet his new boss, City Manager Brad Hudson kept him at the helm to show people what an officer who should be facing discipline who's issuing it himself looks like.]







[Capt. Mike Blakely (l.), the only member of the management staff who didn't rise up through the ranks under the promotional system which was the focus of lawsuits filed by two former police lieutenants, alleging that other individuals including a city councilman were influencing or making promotions at the highest level. As head of Internal Affairs, Blakely's, who mentored DeLaRosa up through the ranks, been involved in the opening of internal investigations and the transfer of at least a half dozen officers to the "penalty box" at the Orange Street Station.]





They say that when they transfer an officer to the Riverside Police Department’s administrative headquarters on Orange Street these days, it’s akin to having a scarlet letter attached to your chest. That those who walk its floors are waiting for the next shoe to drop, as the clock ticks away the final days of the regime of Acting Chief John DeLaRosa. For most people, the date of June 30 which will mark his final day as acting chief can’t come fast enough. Feeling it most intently are those who haven’t been playing on the right team which at the moment is his team.

And it's not just that officers are being transferred to the Station from the field, the dynamic duo that now runs the police department has opened up internal investigations on other individuals in relation to incidents that are fairly old and they have made transfers of some individuals out of the Orange Street Station allegedly to fill patrol vacancies which they then draw from to fill these same vacated positions. All this frenetic activity brings to mind what's happened to many a regime that's in power over a population of individuals just before it's about to fall or to experiment an exchange in power. Not every ruling party hands off the keys to its kingdom in ways that are without some degree of turbulence and not every king leaves the throne quietly and it's appearing as if the final days of DeLaRosa's brief career as the chief will reflect that. That's not the way that it should have been but the next two weeks are expected to be particularly...frantic particularly for those individuals not on Team DeLaRosa.

Whose Team? My Team!

The Riverside Police Department had become during the reign of former chief, Russ Leach an environment where officers apparently had to play for one team or the other, almost like some strange variation of the reality show, Survivor Island. Whereas Hollywood has Team Jennifer and Team Angelina for deciding which woman deserves the prize of Brad Pitt, the police department had Team Leach and Team DeLaRosa to decide who will have access to what, inside the RPD. When Leach mentioned the ongoing issues of "bickering" inside the department, this was partly what he meant but what he didn't add was that he played a large role in if not creating this dynamic inside the department in fostering it to ensure that it became one of the strongest dynamics under his watch.

Dynamics like this can be extremely destructive. They take what should be a cooperative, collaborative level from the top levels of management in the department to the officers at the lower levels and turn it into a competitive and even in some areas of the department downright ruthless situation instead. At the highest level of command, there's a very dysfunctional and fractured management staff, which isn't surprising in the least when you research the history including that provided by sworn testimony in the lawsuits filed by former lieutenants Tim Bacon and Darryl Hurt and learn about all the different individual climbs to power. You'll read about who stuck which stiletto where and how far some of them went to reach their positions, selling out the person who might wind up working with them.

You have to ask yourself this, what part of the promotional process involving captains that was detailed again in sworn testimony reflects anything remotely similar to cooperation, collaboration, leadership skills, communication skills, interpersonal skills or professionalism for that matter. If people are being ruthless to each other to get where they are and they succeeded, then it's these skills which will dominate at the level they work at in most of their interactions rather than the ones they really need.

Under the system that is only beginning to come to light, there's no room for any of the skills that management really needs for the police department to grow and thrive. The fact that in recent months and years the opposite has happened is reflected largely in what's happened at this level and how the management tier of the department had been built. One of the new chief's greatest challenges and one that has to be addressed immediately is how to address what other police leaders have done (not to mention his own bosses!), that's now been left on his door step.


He's definitely got his work cut out for him.


Some say that in the waning days of his short reign at the top of the command structure, DeLaRosa has been disciplining officers including those who filed lawsuits against him and that he and Personnel Capt. Michael Blakely have been transferring officers to the Orange Street Station and just as importantly, transferring certain officers out of the building into patrol. Almost immediately after DeLaRosa was appointed by Hudson to become acting chief, four officers were placed on administrative leave, an internal affairs sergeant was investigated after being a victim of a car burglary and then there's this whole issue of what's been called, the "penalty box" at the Orange Station.

There's at least six officers who were placed in this box, and of those six, four remain. Most of them are younger officers with most of them having less than five years work experience. And in what can surely only be explained as a bizarre statistical anomaly, three of them testified at the same criminal trial involving a former police officer charged with sexually assaulting three women in a three month period in early 2008.

There's about 350 officers left in the police department. There's about four left in the penalty box and three of them testified in this trial. During the Forman trial, about seven officers testified and a sergeant so while about 2% of the department's officers testified in that case, about 75% of the officers left in the penalty box had testified in that trial and these three represent just under 50% of those who testified in that trial. At least 66% of the Forman officers in the penalty box testified in ways viewed (but not necessarily so) as being favorable to Forman's defense.

Having been a student of statistics, this naturally caught my attention but whether it's what is called in statistics, a "random cluster" which can definitely happen or if there's some significance to it, one definitely can't be sure without further information but it would be hard for even professional statisticians to ignore and would definitely be interested in studying further. It's too early to tell in terms of drawing any conclusions except to say that's one hell of a statistical anomaly the department has here.

Officers Assigned to the Department's "Penalty Box"
By DeLaRosa

Lt. Leon Phillips, received note of termination for Leach incident for failure to properly supervise

Det. Chris Lanzillo, terminated within several months after filing his claim and lawsuit for dishonesty

Officer Michael Bucy: Awaiting disciplinary action for an incident from Oct. 2009, testified in Robert Forman Trial in autumn of 2009 as a former trainee of his.

Officer Richard Glover: Awaiting disciplinary action for an incident from Oct. 2009, testified in Robert Forman Trial in autumn of 2009 as having worked with him.

Officer Jeffrey Adcox: Awaiting disciplinary action for an incident involving a pursuit. In March 2009, involved in DUI accident and plead guilty about six months later.

Officer Justin Mann: Awaiting disciplinary action for an incident involving a pursuit, testified in Robert Forman trial in autumn 2009. He testified about receiving and forwarding one victim's report.



The idea of this "penalty box" is interesting because apparently it's not regular practice for all these individuals to be removed from the field to the administrative headquarters to sit idly waiting for discipline. The serious cases usually are placed on paid administrative leave (when not being promoted to acting chief) and most of the others are disciplined from the positions of their particular assignments. Some say it's done to humiliate officers who are facing disciplinary action who for whatever reason don't fall along the lines of being Team DeLaRosa just before the department terminates them.

Because most likely there are officers who have engaged in even serious misconduct who weren't treated in this fashion. It's ironic beyond belief that these disciplinary or punitive actions are being carried out by an individual who was allowed to retire out of the department either in lieu of disciplinary action or without any disciplinary action. In most cities, an individual in DeLaRosa's shoes would have been placed on paid administrative leave, not given a pay hike to be the acting chief. But then maybe other cities have city management employees who don't get themselves in this kind of situation and who incidentally aren't more focused in decking themselves out like cops than they are in being competent managers. Not to mention elected officials who as a legislative body play much stronger leadership roles than the Riverside City Council and Mayor Ron Loveridge.

But for there to be a "penalty box" under DeLaRosa who should be inside it himself is not the appropriate way to do business or to manage a police department or even to micromanage one for that matter. All of the officers inside the "penalty box" including Lanzillo should have their administrative processes brought to an immediate halt and suspended until they can be more appropriately handled by Diaz. Any disciplinary action should be stopped or reversed until that process under Diaz is completed. Phillips and Lanzillo should if not be reinstated to duty be put on paid administrative leave until their cases are handled and processed by individuals who have the authority but do not harbor an actual or perceived conflict of interest in the outcomes.

Lanzillo for his racial comments should be afforded the same discipline given to the now retired lieutenant who currently works for the City Attorney's office as an investigator. If it's good for a command staff employee to receive no disciplinary action for engaging in very similar misconduct, then it's good enough for someone lower in the chain of command as well. The police management at the time had some clue that what they did wasn't equivalent to how they would treat a lower level employee because after letting this command staff member completely off of the hook, more severe disciplinary action given to a detective was reduced to a written reprimand. It's not clear exactly why people in the upper ranks are able to skirt disciplinary action but if they are granted greater authority and power in the chain of command, they also hold greater responsibilities and should if anything, face greater disciplinary action.

Diaz has a wealth of experience in the Internal Affairs Division of the LAPD and thus has the tools to address this issue and he already has greater credibility than an acting chief who's proven that preferential treatment for a certain class of employees is still alive and well in Riverside. This just seems the best way for these situations to be handled in ways that practice equal protection under the law including pertaining to conflict of interest and will likely save the city huge litigation expenses in the long run if the actions against these officer are not being conducted fairly.

Fired Detective Files Second Claim for Damages with City

Lanzillo who was fired within 15 minutes after the end of his Skelly on June 11 has filed another claim for damages with the city, alleging that his rights to have his Skelly hearing heard by an impartial party were violated when his requests to have DeLaRosa removed from the process through his attorney were denied by Hudson. The claim is against the city, DeLaRosa, Blakely and Lt. Ed Blevins who supervised the Vice Unit where Lanzillo had been for several years until he was transferred out earlier this year not long after his two-year term as RPOA president ended.

During his Skelly, Lanzillo appeared and saw the Internal Affairs sergeant assigned to his case in the hallway which led him to believe the outcome was pre-determined. He had been investigated in relation to a racial joke he told in a cultural diversity training class that had been reported by a supervisor who hadn't attended the class.

According to Lanzillo, he had a confrontation with DeLaRosa during one of the roll calls where DeLaRosa was telling the department's officers to stick together and among other things, challenged DeLaRosa on why he took so long to send the case involving Leach's incident to the California Highway Patrol. The investigation was launched soon after and after Lanzillo's comments hit the pages of the Press Enterprise, the Internal Affairs Division was allegedly ordered to place his investigation at the top of its list in terms of priority by someone in management at Orange Station.

The city council will upon legal advice from the City Attorney's office or from outside counsel will decide whether to uphold or deny the claim.





When DeLaRosa hasn't been firing employees who have sued him, he has been engaging in transferring employees in and out of the Orange Street Station for other reasons besides disciplinary action. One interesting story to follow has been the ongoing situation involving the police department's promotional list for lieutenants, which as has been shown here several times is top-heavy with both men of color and especially women. Four out of five people at the top of the lieutenant's list weren't white men. But even though two candidates have been promoted, first Andy Flores from #6 and Melissa Bartholomew from #5, this is what has happened to other individuals on the top five of the lieutenant's list in recent weeks.

Promotional list for lieutenants:

Jaybee Brennan, white female –transferred from chief’s office to patrol allegedly to fill vacancy

Daniel Hoxmeier, white male—transferred from PACT/patrol to Communications after Williams goes to patrol

Lisa Williams white female-- transferred from Communications to Patrol after she is required to report to Blakely instead of the police chief

Val Graham Black male, Internal investigation activated on him in relation to an incident involving other officers and a sergeant that took place six months earlier.



More to come on as the DeLaRosa regime draws to a close...and a new era begins?

Committee Hears Ethics Complaint

At Riverside City Hall, the Mayor's Nomination and Screening Committee minus the mayor appeared to hear and rule on the ethics complaint of Michael Morales who alleged that Councilman Paul Davis had been operating a catering business out of his garage without the appropriate permits. Morales who had been railing at city council meetings against another councilman, Mike Gardner had disappeared for a while and then resurfaced with complaints against Davis.

Loveridge did show up in the middle of the affair, saying that the meeting had never appeared in his appointment calendar and if a meeting's not in that book, then he doesn't appear at it. Well anyway, he missed part of the proceedings but stuck around for the rest as the committee grappled with issues like whether or not people would be cited for lemonade stands and making cookies and whether or not women could be independent business owners or whether they were merely props of men to do what they are told.

Oh and whether the complaint filed by Morales fit under the purview with the city's code of ethics. City Attorney Gregory Priamos said it did not and so the committee voted 4-0 in agreement with Priamos. Ironically, Morales who spoke about the importance of equal protection under the law as being important in terms of code enforcement didn't seem nearly as clear on this issue when it comes to how people who are DUI like police chiefs are treated. Earlier this year not long after the incident involving former police chief, Russ Leach he claimed that Leach hadn't been drinking but it had been only medication that he had taken. Well, the video at the Club 215 proved that Leach had in fact been drinking seven "doubles" on top of what he had already drank. So what's good for Davis, isn't good enough for Leach?

What struck as ironic about the process is that it came on the wake of the revelations in recent weeks of city management employees and at least one council member, Steve Adams, had been implicated in the commission of what were illegal actions including the issuance of cold plates.

Two former high-ranking police employees in the city's department who are now police chiefs each responded to this article in different ways but revealing similar information in that city officials and city management employees did use cold plating on their cars.

First Palm Springs Police Chief David Dominguez said to the Press Enterprise that city management employees had directed the issuance of cold plates.


One of those who had cold plates in his city issued vehicle, Asst. City Manager Tom DeSantis responded by calling Dominguez a "disgruntled" employee but every time DeSantis opens his mouth to explain away his involvement in these "inquiries" made by the State Attorney General's office, he just defies logic further. Maybe he should just quit while he's ahead.


Then Hemet Police Chief Richard Dana announced the removal of cold plates issued to city officials there. Here's a narrative on what happened in Hemet according to Dana, who like Dominguez has worked in upper management in the Riverside Police Department.


(excerpt, Press Enterprise)

The chief said he didn't realize putting untraceable plates on cars used by civilians was illegal until he read a June 9 Press-Enterprise story on Riverside's use of the plates

"It was a mistake, and I am taking them off," he said.

Dana said that when he was a commander at the Riverside Police Department, he was aware that non-police employees such as council members and the city manager's staff had cold plates on their city vehicles.

So what DeSantis and his boss, Hudson have to realize is that now they apparently have two "disgruntled" employees. Because clearly if there's more than a handful of "disgruntled" employees, then that would seem that it's more and more likely on a geometric causation scale that this would point to problems with management's relationships with its work force.



But anyway, it's just a bit strange and more than a little bit surreal to have an ethics complaint against one city councilman being heard by a panel of his peers which includes one member who was part of an investigation into illegal violations involving the issuance of cold plates. But maybe that's why the suggestion of some organizations like The Group and the League of Women's Voters to instead have the hearing process on complaints done by an independent board perhaps made up of retired judges might need revisiting. After all, the city council had said that the idea was supposed to go back to the Governmental Affairs Committee for further discussion and then that got dropped.

Save-Riverside's Kevin Dawson talked about the relationship of what he referred to as the Betro/Schiavone clause that had been passed not long after his own complaint had been rejected in the summer of 2007 by the City Attorney's office and how maybe the city council needed to rethink its inclusion. And yes, women can operate independently of men and are individuals who can think, act and even conduct business independently without having to cleave to men to do so.

Anyway, here are some snapshots from the meeting.






[Michael Morales who filed a complaint against Councilman Paul Davis prepares to make his speech.]





[Riverside Councilman Paul Davis appears at the ethics code hearing by the Mayor's Nomination and Screening Committee which held a joint meeting with the City Council to satisfy the provision of the state's Brown Act which prohibits serial meetings. Davis said he supported Morales' right to file complaint but called his views on his wife, "sexist". ]




[Councilman Steve Adams (l.), Councilman Rusty Bailey who are members of the Mayor's Nomination and Screening Committee sit with City Attorney Gregory Priamos to decide Davis' fate. Adams was implicated in the recent revelations about the cold plating of city issued cars which is a violation of state law.]

Introducing the New Police Chief

The denizens at City Hall including those employed in the city management office put the newly hired police chief, who's retired Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Sergio Diaz on display at the Grier Pavillion on the top floor of City Hall.

Talk about a new employee in a difficult and interesting situation, of having to work directly under a city management which has been implicated in several scandals involving violations of state laws involving badges, guns and cold plates. To be a newly hired police chief overseeing a department which appeared to be put to use by individuals inside of City Hall in ways that had nothing to do with the mantra, to protect and serve the public. Because of actions being taken by these individuals, it was at least in part being used to equip and service city officials and management employees. In ways that go even further than what's been unveiled so far. The lid's still not come completely off of this boiling cauldron and the Seventh Floor as it has been called is definitely feeling the heat.

Well, its denizens have to remember that they created the cauldron and if it's heating up, well they have no one to blame but themselves for that.

With talk in the wards about candidates preparing to come out of the woodwork for the elections next year in each ward, there's discussion of what leadership really means in a city which has seen very little of that from City Hall even as illegal activities by some of those inside have come to light. The most that city residents get is some patronizing words about it all being "old news" which is only true because City Hall tried to keep it "buried news" and failed miserably.

D.A. Closes Books on Witness Tampering Case involving Former Elected Official

An announcement came out today that the Riverside County District Attorney's office won't file charges of persuading a witness against former Councilman Frank Schiavone which is probably the only responsible decision it can make at this point because everyone's taped each other at this point and there's really no case to file for this situation if the complainant has provided two entirely different accounts of the incident in question on tape. If there's not enough of a strong case to win at trial, then charges shouldn't be filed past what can be proven in court. A lesson that at least outgoing District Attorney Rod Pacheco learned just in time to make a final ruling on Schiavone's case.

I did receive a rebuttal from Schiavone of sorts where he fully denied any involvement in any of the scandals at City Hall, including the cold plates scandal in response to the posting where that documented that lists city-owned vehicles to be cold plated was posted. That response is duly noted.

As for his assertion that it's "killing me" that he's not guilty of witness tampering, no not...really.

With all the problems hitting Riverside at once, most of them in relation with how the city government and city management did business in the past five years not to mention all the collateral damage that resulted, it's been too busy to really give him and his somewhat colorful exploits much thought.

Though hopefully he will move on and do something constructive and positive with his life to help those people who are wrongfully accused and have charges filed against them who lack the resources that he enjoys. That's a worthwhile endeavor and I wish him good luck with that.

Still, it's definitely ironic that the only one who spent time in jail was the only one in that situation that lacked privilege and social status.


But to refresh memories so that people want to know what the rebuttal's at least partially in reference to, here's the document.

As far as council members go, testimony from the depositions mentions at least two people receiving them and both Dominguez and possibly Dana from their comments seem to be saying that it was more than one elected official who received them in Riverside while they were employed there.


[Document posted previously of city-issued cars to be cold plated. Click to enlarge.]





Menifee struggles with cityhood.

Riverside City Council Regatta and Barbecue

Saturday, June 19 from 1-4


Fairmount Park

The second regatta among the city council members takes place this Saturday and it remains to be seen whether Councilman Paul Davis will repeat or whether Councilman Rusty Bailey will atone for his very surprising last place finish during last autumn's event. Part of a day's worth of events taking place at this historic park.