TMC: Thirty Miles of Corruption

Dave Wright with life partner Vincent Price, “Two Peas in a Pod of City Corruption?”

When it comes to the City of Riverside the commingling couldn’t have taken a more devastating effect to the taxpayer, as it did with this couple.  Wright from a prior marriage has two three two sons, one works with RPD, the other with RPU.  A case of nepotism?  Probably, but who cares when it comes to looking out for the best interest of the taxpayer.  I am being told there is a third child that ended up doing work with Webb Engineering.  It appears that the one who works for RPU, had a prior employment with Webb Engineering.  The City of Riverside has contractual work with Webb Engineering.  Wow, we could probably do another story of “My Three Two Sons.”  Update: 04.27.2022: it looks as if Wright has a third son, Spencer Wright who works for LADWP.  Yep Dave, you have done well!  ‘My Three Sons’ will be your legacy to nepotism and corruption within the public service arena.

Dave Wright was hired by Reiko Kerr when he received his first job with RPU to eventually become RPU General Manager, then retired and left RPU under a devastating cloud of scrutiny.   Then took a job with Las Vegas Water and Power, then back where he currently works as head of LADWP.  Here he hired former RPD Assistant Chief of Police Chris Vincizo, who is now head of LADWP Security.  Hmmm… wonder how his son was hired with RPD?  Don’t wonder anymore.  He then hires former RPU Utilities Principal Manager Reiko Kerr. to be LADWP’s Senior Assistant Manager of the Power System.  Hmmm… gotta wonder how Wright’s other son was hired at RPU?  Don’t wonder anymore.  He also hired former Riverside City Manager Brad Hudson who now is Chief Administrative Officer of Corporate Services.  Former RPU Assistant General Manager Michael Bacich was hired by Wright to again be LADWP Assistant General Manager.  All Recycled trash, again we say that because the Public Sector has an open door to corruption and easily attained tax payer monies. The question is, “How has the taxpayer benefited from these high salaries and pensions instituted within the system?” The question that comes to mind, are many of these public servants actually qualified for their positions?

What happens to the minds of public workers when they believe they are above the law?  Well they may believe the are above law for whatever reason.  This reason becomes the heart of the issue, public employees do not care about the about the taxpayers, they care foremost about themselves, and how much they can receive.  Case in point is Dave Wright and Vincent Price.  Let’s make no mistake about this.  Did we get it right, if we didn’t please comment, we will correct.

Below is the plea deal made by David Wright and the United States District Court for the Central District of California.  Play close attention to Attachment A.  That describes the salacious play by play action Dave Wright was involved in.

“We will get this all done and fuck anybody that tries to get in our way” – Dave Wright, LADWP

CLICK THIS LINK TO VIEW FULL PLEA DEAL OF DAVID WRIGHT

But this story continues, his partner City of Riverside Senior Auditor Vincent Price, seemed to allegedly fudge the numbers when it came to City Audits.  When Price’s partner Wright was to undergo scrutiny, he was right there to massage the numbers.  At the time the Riverside DA’s office was looking at him.  Recently, Dave Wright was given the same scrutiny in L.A. when it came to over billing rate payers as in this L.A. Times article.  According to the article his departure follows new controversy over the $67-million settlement in 2017 of a class-action lawsuit brought by DWP customers who were overcharged when the utility rolled out a new billing system.  Now Wright is embroiled in possible malfeasance with the new FBI raid on his LADWP office.  Currently as of July 2019, it wasTMC’s understanding that Wright was squirming under a deposition per PWC (Price Waterhouse Coopers) counter suit by taking the safety of the 5th under questioning having to do with money laundering, bribery, kickbacks, extortion etc.  Will the FBI targets SCPPA (Southern California Public Power Authority) next?

According to a quote from Los Angeles Magazine in their article ‘Still in the Dark About the DWP Scandal? Here’s a Primer‘, “During the summer of 2019, the FBI searched the city attorney’s office, as well as the offices of DWP and Kiesel Law, looking for evidence of bribery, kickbacks, and extortion. In the span of a few wild hours, David Wright, then the head of DWP, pleaded the Fifth while being deposed about his involvement in the lawsuit, then literally quit his job.”  I as a writer question those he hired to enable his grand scheme.

But, he wrote, “there appears to be potential unauthorized spending by the general managers of RPU through SCPPA.”  SCPPA — the Southern California Public Power Authority — is a partnership of 11 municipal utilities, including Riverside’s, along with one irrigation district. It formed in 1980 to provide joint planning, financing, construction, and operation of transmission and generation projects, according to its website.

Wright, who moved on from Riverside in 2013 and will step down as head of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power in October 2019, was only in charge for two months out of the three years covered by Price’s audit. During that time, Wright used the Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA) to authorize almost $1.8 million of spending instead of directly asking the Riverside City Council for approval, this is what the investigation report concluded.  Is this really a “Tale of Two Cities?”

Its charter limits it to power generation and delivery projects, said Hunter, who was fired from Riverside Public Utilities in 2013 directly by RPU General Manager Dave Wright at the time for exposing fraudulent activity, but Hunter reached a settlement with the city over that termination in 2014.

With that in mind, Hunter learned how expansively officials interpreted that shortly before RPU fired him, when the agency investigated him for not buying an energy product — and used SCPPA to pay for that $7,286 investigation, which the investigation verifies.  An investigation against Hunter paid by SCPPA, which of course, the Riverside City Council didn’t know about, or weren’t privy to this activity behind the scenes.

Former City Auditor Cheryl Johannes stated in the comment section of the Press Enterprise, “What was missing from the article (and perhaps in the Nevins report, since he was hired BY THE CITY MANAGER) is that many, many people – several City Council members, Mayor, current Riverside City Manager Al Zelinka and one of his Assistant City Managers Lea Deasing, Deputy City Manager Carlie Myers, many City Manager admin staff, HR Director, and of course past and present Public Utilities managers, and including Susan Wilson in the City Attorney’s Office – KNEW FOR YEARS that Mr. Price and Mr. Wright were “romantic” partners!!  At the time of the two audit reports prepared by Mr. Price regarding SCPPA, none of these individuals raised a concern regarding “conflict of interest”.  I look forward to the forthcoming audit by a third party on RPU and SCPPA! The full Nevins report on Mr. Price should be made public asap.”

What does the above mean?  It mean that multiple people in high positions at the City knew about the romantic relationship between Wright and Price.  So I would imagine they would all be complicit to whatever is brewing behind the scenes to this nefarious criminal behavior.  They knew it was wrong, but didn’t do anything about it to protect the taxpayer.  Someone benefited, not the taxpayer.  They found it necessary to only protect themselves.  I personally, as all tax payers, should find it revolting.

At a June 2018 Governmental Affairs Meeting, Cheryl Johannes simply did not concur with local Riverside Tax Advocate Jason Hunter’s criticism of a City Audit report.  According to Hunter, City Auditor Cheryl Johannes accosted him in the Council Chamber’s after Wednesdays Governmental Affairs meeting was adjourn and stated, “I’m going to sue you for defecation of character.”  Hunter replied, “I don’t believe I ever defecated on you..”

Johannes, City of Riverside Auditor, felt strongly enough of Hunter’s accusation of a ‘white wash,’ referring to the audit number’s, as to threaten a defamation of character law suit, or which she called it “a defecation of character.”  Well there is a big difference between Defecation of Character and Defamation of Character.  Defamation law suits are difficult to litigate in court, but it could be considered the notorious ‘slap suit.’  A suit in order to silence someone and to make someone financially destitute via the expensive legal process.  Will she attempt to do this?

Cheryl Johannes

https://www.pe.com/2018/04/24/after-riverside-dispatcher-got-257000-in-overtime-audit-finds-problems-but-no-fraud/

What?  City of Riverside Internal Audit Manager Cheryl Johannes found no fraud in dispatcher receiving $257,000 in overtime.  Well they may not have been any fraud but I can assure this doesn’t happen in the Private Sector.  This is pure negligence and incompetence on executive staff at the City of Riverside to allow this to occur.

Then Interim RPU General Manager Todd Jorgenson stated in 2018 that we may have ignored that $50,000 rule in the past.  Which means that RPU illegally spent monies in excess of $50,000 without Council Approval.  Are you disgusted, you should be at this point.  Here’s the Low Down.

Hunter gives Councilman Andy Melendrez a lesson proper procedure with regard to SCPPA spending.  we published back in June 9, 2018.  RPU General Manager stated that we may have ignored that $50,000 rule in the past.  Hunter makes note that city staff are involved with the cover up of the scheme of executive staff for the City of Riverside.

As with LADWP, voting officials were given bogus information by staff to allow the schemers to pursue a criminal agenda.  CITY OF RIVERSIDE: When former City Councilman Adams stated that City of Riverside Staff gave bogus numbers regarding our utility! The majority of City Council decided that the bogus numbers were legitimate and voted to increase the resident’s utility rates!  The premise is that staff at LADWP also lied for the executive staff.  To protect the scheme.  The question is ‘Will there be accountability for the taxpayer’?  Usually, because of the corruption within the legal system there is none, as we know it.  But as I hear, taxpayers want accountability, not community service for these scumbags … but hard jail time, as they deserve.  Below, is another example of elected officials receiving bogus information from city staff.  Remember, there is no statute of limitations, once the deception is found the game begins, and the law sets in.

Again, Resident and Tax Advocate Jason Hunter uncovered another deception, and this time, Council can legally be culpable if they continue not to take action. What we find according to Hunter is that SCPPA (Southern California Public Power Authority) in itself is misappropriating funds. According to Hunter, SCPPA can only support ‘facilities,’ they cannot work on such projects as ‘energy efficiency programs or projects.’ The question that arises is that SCPPA was misappropriating funds. The very fact that the process was brought into conformity with City policies, says that process was not following the rules. That with City documents solidifies the argument of misappropriation of taxpayer funds. Hunter considers the audit, performed by Internal Auditor Cheryl Johannes, a ‘whitewash.’ Question remains as this story the tip of the ice berg, and how long was Johannes and staff covering the truth to Council? Also SCPPA was originally set up for ‘facilities,’ not ‘special programs’ and it was used for much, much more unintended uses! Thank you Hunter for exposing the corruption!

Governmental Affairs Committee: March 4, 2018: Apparently, an audit of SCPPA which was presented to the Governmental Affairs Committee apparently was lacking in the SCPPA (Southern California Public Power Authority) audit component, leading to questions of a cover up of taxpayer dollars. The audit was performed to specifically review monies overseen by former RPU Director Girish Balachandran (A.K.A. Drunk Daddy). Incidentally, worked with current Riverside City Manager John Russo at the City of Alameda, California and in the City of Riverside. Former RPU Employee Jason Hunter questions the audit, and Committee Members agree. Again, more Recycled Trash?

City Auditor Vincent Price presents to City Council that numbers of SCPAA audit are in order… yeh right.  Council quickly catch on to the discrepancies. Price is at a loss of words, caught in the act?

Roy Bleckert of the IE Newswire interviewed Riverside Community Tax Advocate Jason Hunter on his show this week and here was what he had to say!

I guess I have been coined as a Latino White Supremacist, evidently I’m not really good at it, as my community is telling me, can someone comment to help me be a better Latino White Supremacist?  Also cancelled by Next Door, then reinstated, for racist statements I made.  That is another Pandora’s Box ready to roost.

YES WE TOLD YOU SO!

TMC, RATED RIVERSIDE REGIONAL COUNTIES MOST EVERYTHING, RACIST, A.K.A “THIRTY MILES OF CR-P,” RACIST,  “LATINO WHITE SUPREMACIST SITE,” “SITE IS A JOKE,” “RACIST,” “SCANDALOUS,” “NEGATIVE,” DID WE MENTIONED WE HAVE BEEN LABELED RACIST?, “WARPED,” “RAUNCHY,” “LOW CLASS,” “VISIONS OF GRANDEUR,” “FULL OF B.S.,” “REPREHENSIBLE,” “IGNORANT,” “MISGUIDED,” “BULLYISH,” “INDECENT,” “REPUGNANT,””IMMORAL,” “FILTHY,” “VILE,” “SICK,” “PERVERTED,” “DEFAMATORY,” “STUPID,” “PATHETIC,” “DESPICABLE,” “DISAPPOINTING,” “BELOW THE BELT,” “A NEW LOW,” “SHOCKING,” “OFFENSIVE,” “OBNOXIOUS,” “INAPPROPRIATE,” “HURTFUL,” “MEAN SPIRITED,” “DISTASTEFUL,” “EMBARRASSING,” HORRIFFIC,” “SLANDEROUS” “FIT TO BE VIEWED FROM THE REAR” AND MEZZSPELLED, “MISSPELLED” AND “OPINIONATED” BLOG SITE! YES WE ADMIT WE OUR ALL OF THAT AND MORE, WHICH IN CURRENT TERMS IS KNOWN AS “UNPOLITICALLY CORRECT.” TEMPORARILY BLOCKED BY THE CITY OF RIVERSIDE AT PUBLIC ACCESS SITES WITHIN THE CITY, THEN UNBLOCKED. I GUESS YOU CANNOT DO THAT ACCORDING TO THE ACLU. BUT IT LOOKS LIKE WE CANNOT TRUST THE ACLU THESE DAYS ANYWAY!  RATED ONE STAR OUT OF FIVE IN TERMS OF COMMUNITY APPROVAL RATINGS.. … AGAIN, THANK YOU COMMUNITY OF RIVERSIDE AND THE CITY OF RIVERSIDE EMPLOYEE’S FOR YOUR SUPPORT! CONTACT US: thirtymilescorruption@hotmail.com