I WAS BORN TO BE READY!
On November 19, 2013, Vivian Moreno was at home reviewing the City Council video when Item #21 caught her curiosity. The question arose. Was Councilman Steve Adams telling the Riverside citizens in an open forum that one or all of his council members are corrupt? Yes he did!
His Video Statement: “We’ve seen it happen in Moreno Valley, we’ve seen it happen in San Bernardino, I’ve seen similar issues here. They can lobby us, they can talk to us, there is absolutely nothing we can do legally. In my ten years, have I seen council members try to influence things? ABSOLUTELY! I think it is inappropriate.”
Steve Adams, you talk about the perception of collusion and how we need to be more transparent. At the Governmental Affairs Meeting in October 2013 he stated, “I can’t count how many times this has happened here (Riverside).” We now need to take a look at how the action of lobbying effect are politics, in my estimation lobbying entails influence and money, as City Attorney Greg Priamos would say without coming out to say anything, this could give the “perception.” In my eyes, this certainly can give the perception of bribery. Bribery and lobbying seem to comingle, just like a bad monthly finance statement. But is bribery what is really occurring? Incidently Dvonne Pitruzzello had asked Congressman Ken Calvert if their office would look into the allegations of Sewer Bond Fraud, but was responded with deaf ears. As we know Congressman Ken Calvert has had his issue in the past, but you as constituents continue to vote for him. Who’s fault is it for faulty representation? Look in the mirror folks.
COUNCILMAN STEVE ADAM’S ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL? EVEN AT COUNCILMAN’S MIKE SOUBIROU’S WARD 3 INAUGURATION AT CITY COUNCIL?
Congressman Ken Calvert message in support of Candidate for Congress, Steve Adams, can be found by visiting his web site (click this link). But Calvert received much flack from the gay community with a mailer he sent out when running against current Congressman Mark Takano back in the 1994, not to mention his appetite for side of the road activity, with his pants down. We all know Congressman Ken Calvert has had his issues with “ladies of the night” in the past, but you as constituents continued to vote for him. Incidently, Candidate for Congress, Steve Adams will be running against Takano in the next congressional race.
Some other highlights of Adam Antics were when former City of Riverside Deputy Attorney Raychele Sterling, asked him if he thought discrimmination was funny. Or the time when Mayoral Candidate Dvonne Pitrozzello shared words while on the podium, if she actually saw an event happen. This was in reference to a knife wielding incident by Councilman Chris MacArthur’s legislative aide Chuck Condor. In a seperate unrelated incident, Vivian Moreno questioned the thousand of taxpayer dollars spent on Councilman Steve Adams going out to breakfast, lunch and dinner. His response to Moreno was, “Well, I gotta eat!”
What does Emilio have to say about this?…Emilio..Emilio…Well, will just ask him later..
Councilman Steve Adams spoke of corruption in the City of Riverside at a November 2013 City Council Meeting. Some of the key pieces are as follows:
“We’ve seen it happen in Moreno Valley, we’ve seen it happen in San Bernardino, I’ve seen similar issues here. They can lobby us, they can talk to us, there is absolutely nothing we can do legally.”
“In my ten years, have I seen council members try to influence things? ABSOLUTELY! I think it is inappropriate.”
In another completely different scenerio, Councilman Steve Adams at an October 2013 Governmental Affairs Committee Meeting stated the following:
“In my ten years…I’ve seen…I can’t count how many…I won’t even attempt to. The number of times that a council member injected themselves in this process…tried to influence the process. I think this is innaproppriate.”
“I think this staff is a good staff to eliminate that, because they may be personal friends, people that they’ve done business with. Whatever the situation is, this eliminates the possibility of, or impropriety of happening.”
“Because I’ve seen it to many times. You can’t say it doesn’t happen…it does. And if it is eliminated from being possible, the repercussions, your eliminating the process of events…incentive enough not to violate this process.”
“Because the pressure of the public already is that everything we do is corrupt, no matter what it is. So I think it just gives us that buffer,of, that there is no chance of impropriety..because have there been…they would’ve been removed. So nobody is getting special treatment.”
“But I can say that I have on one or more occasion seen some of my colleagues inject themselves into this process to try to influence the process. I think it is inappropriate.”
“But I have actually seen it..”
The ethics complaint again Councilman Steve Adams is as follows. It indicates that he, as a sworn elected official, had a duty to the taxpayer to reveal any wrong doing that would not be in the best interest of the taxpayer.
CLICK THIS LINK TO VIEW COUNCILMAN ADAMS ETHIC’S COMPLAINT
The complaint will be heard by the Code of Ethics Adjudicating Body, on Friday, March 28, 2014, at 3:00 pm in the Mayor’s Ceremonial Room.
Will Councilman Steve Adams really stand up for what is right? Or is this just more political hot air? Adams promises and makes a couple of poignant points as a candidate for US Congress in this YouTube Video:
“If something is wrong, it needs to be fixed, and I don’t care which party or which people are to blame.” “I will always take the stand for what is right.”
“When you stand up to the status quo, you’re always going to be attacked. And folks, I was born to ready to take on those attacks.”
Adams makes two important points, one, he will all stand for what is right, and two, he will stand up to the status quo. We believe at TMC, that leaders, those representative of the people, should not allow others or themselves to circumvent the law, no matter what it is, a parking ticket, DUI, political corruption etc…
AGAIN, RIVERSIDIAN’S ARE ASKING THE QUESTION, OF CONGRESSMAN CANDIDATE STEVE ADAMS….WHY DIDN’T HE STAND UP FOR THE FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHT OF FREE SPEECH FOR PUBLIC SPEAKERS KAREN WRIGHT AND ATTORNEY LETITIA PEPPER?
UPDATE: ATTORNEY LETITIA PEPPER WON’T BE CHARGED DO TO INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE!
D.A. Paul Zellerbach
According to the “Citizen’s Arrest” document signed by Mayor Rusty Bailey, a line was place over the following statement: “that at the time of the arrest I informed the said defendent of his/her arrest, and my authority to make it.” This whole thing stinks to high Bailey heaven… Again this is proof that RPD is unresponsive to Letitia Pepper, and DA Zellerbach does not find this a situation to express a legal opinion. Many citizens are asking the question, is Zellerbach owned by the City of Riverside?
CLICK LINK TO VIEW MAYOR BAILEY’S SIGNED CITIZEN ARREST FORM
CLICK LINK TO VIEW ATTORNEY LETITIA PEPPER’S SIGNED CITIZEN ARREST FORM
Attorney Letitia Pepper’s citizen arrest form was of course refused by the attending Riverside Police Officer based on his assertion that there was no real evidence to sustain an arrest against the Mayor William ‘Rusty’ Bailey. Evidently by Sgt. Patrick McCarthy stated Leticia had no evidence to sustain an arrest against Mayor Bailey.
Sgt. Patrick McCarthy, Riverside Police Department
But in true accord with the first citizen arrest against Letitia Pepper, the RPD officer failed to realize that there was evidence to sustain an arrest against the Mayor. But RPD officers arrested Ms. Pepper as we all know it, with “insufficient evidence” as stated by the D.A.’s office. So, is this really about right and wrong, or just not liking what someone says in Mayor Bailey’s classroom? Or simply of an attempt to show who’s the boss by a mediocre endeavor by the new Mayor to display power?
City of Riverside Mayor Rusty Bailey Sorry, Mayor William Rusty Bailey
Why did the attending officer refuse? Was it because of the presence in the city of Riverside that Mayor Bailey’s father hold? Mayor Bailey’s father is non other than Judge Bailey. Judge William R. Bailey II is connected to a close associate, friend and founding father of the infamous Riverside Best, Best & Krieger law firm, Judge John Gabbert. Does anybody see the light on this one? Are we actually coming to answers of why the City of Riverside is the way that it is politically?
In this pic we see Bailey’s father, Judge William R. Bailey II, with now Mayor William “Rusty” Bailey (middle) , and Judge John Gabbert. Judge Gabbert has a history going back to the 40’s which answers the question of why the City of Riverside uses Best, Best and Krieger so much..
Judge John Gabbert, in younger days, a Quandrangle of Influence within the City of Riverside?
First, there was a Citizen’s arrest form signed by Bailey himself, accusing Pepper of violating PC 403, and the City’s own video tape was evidence to the reveal that Ms. Pepper did not disrupt the public meeting and therefore did not violate PC 403. We often said, as many have said who live in this great city we call Riverside, we have a culture and practice of status quo. To many, it’s simply known as corruption. Many in the community are afraid to state this publicly. Why is it? Is it not public servants work in the employment and service of the taxpaying constituents?
I had the citizen’s arrest form signed by Bailey accusing me of violating PC 403, and the City’s own video tape that showed I did not disrupt the public meeting and therefore did not violate PC 403, Ms. Pepper stated.
The question many Riversidian’s are having these days, is what would happen if Mayor Rusty Bailey attempted to tell either of these two folks to stop clapping?
A WORD TO THE WISE AND FOR FUTURE REFERENCE: UNLESS CHARGES ARE ACTUALLY FILED, NO NEED TO SHOW UP IN COURT!
THE CONNIE LEACH TAXPAYER PAID EXPENSES…YOU ASKED FOR! The following are just a smidgen of some of the receipts turned in by Connie Leach for reimbursement, starting with a camera purchased in care of the taxapayer.
Connie Leach, the wife of Chief of Police Russ Leach and hired by the City of Riverside as an independent contractor to oversee the Multicultural Youth Organization, which was a youth program initiated by former Mayor Loveridge. She was hired by contract to run this project, she also had an extravigant expense account that was paid for by the taxpayer. Most organizations have donations pay for expenses. Here are some of the receipts we found.
CAMERA EXPENSE BALOONS AIRLINES VARIOUS 1 VARIOUS 2
When the Grand Jury was doing it’s investigation into the Connie Leach case, both Mary Figueroa and Dvonne Pitruzzello had been interviewed. Pitruzzello told the Grand Jury that the person you want to talk to is Vivian Moreno, this was beacause she did the majority of the investigative research and was fully knowledgeable of the events that occured. Moreno was next in line to be interviewed and the Grand Jury had just submitted a multitude of document request from the City of Riverside. The investigation was suddenly squashed a couple of weeks later by a letter sent to Figueroa stating the investigation was unfounded. Though to this day, their has not been a formal investigation of the findings and a conclusion submitted online. Why hasn’t this occurred? Was there a cover up or a failure of the current DA to take on what could possibly be an embarrassing event in his own back yard? The following is the original complaint submitted to the Riverside Grand Jury back in March 2011.
CLICK THIS LINK TO VIEW COMPLETE COMPLAINT AGAINST CONNIE LEACH
The rumor mill states that then Mayor Ron Loveridge may have had something to do with this in conjuction with DA Paul Zellerbach, in order to stop the proceedings. We now ask the question, if this is true, wouldn’t that be jury tampering?
STREET SWEEPING..SHOULD IT BE SWEPT UNDER THE RUG?
A recent post in the Press Enterprise (PE) made in known as TMC had indicated many times the frustration of the city parking associates, AKA “parking nazis.” The second thing of concern is that residents pay for this service, and possible three times over as we will demonstrate. First, as the PE has indicated, we pay for street sweeping services through our trash bill. But, we also pay for it through our property taxes as indicated in the document below.
CLICK THIS LINK TO VIEW COMPLETE DOCUMENT
Incidently, Measure A was also indicated to pay for street sweeping in the form of keeping are streets clean as in this ad in favor of Measure A paid by the taxpayer. A bit of a conflict I would say.
CLICK THIS LINK TO VIEW MAILER
In the City of Riverside the resident continue to double and triple pay for services they should receive through their property taxes. This is only one example, but we not only see it in street sweeping, but in tree maintenance, parking, utility rates etc.
According to Dan Berstein, Press Enterprise, many of the no parking signs do not mention “street sweepint.” TMC contributors have also noticed that certain areas of the city including commerical areas, no citations are given to illegally parked vehicles during street sweeping day. Another double standard of punishment to the tax payer. It appears that tickets are focused on property owners. Maybe for alterion motives, if a ticket is not paid will place it on a lien against your property, or simply make it difficult to pay your next car registration.
CITY WI-FI TO BE ELIMINATED, BUT WASN’T MEASURE A TO PREVENT THAT?
Since it’s conception the city wi-fi never worked to it’s full potential, now the whole system is antiquated. But on side note, the city claimed that the city wi-fi would be cut if Measure A did not pass. But it appears that the city was just throwing money at the wi-fi programs, a system that never worked to begin with. The city continued to spew the lies as indicated in this flyer focused on the Goeske Senior Center. They even scared the seniors into thinking that there would be cuts directly effecting them if they didn’t vote Yes on Measure A.
PENSION BACKDRAFT: IS FIRE CHIEF STEVE EARLEY FEELING THE HEAT OF FIRE AT HIS FEET?
Back in October 2002, Steve Earley submitted this paper to FEMA regarding the defeciencies within the Riverside Fire Department. Primarily focusing on the preparing personnel for management positions. Earley became Fire Chief in 2009; the contradiction is that currently he decided to retire as Riverside’s Fire Chief at 55 years of age, and take on a new position with the City of Riverside as Fire Administrator. In doing so, no valid successor as Fire Chief could be found. Three possibilities will be rotated, and in doing so, will also be each elgible for a 5% raise, and it was left as that. Was this another scheme by the City Manager Scott Barber to spike the pensions of these three Fire Chief candidates? Why would a Fire Chief with intellectual knowledge, not act or have a plan for his replacement? Why must the taxpayer be responsible for Chief Earley’s irresponsbilities? He stated the deficiencies in the Riverside Fire Department, and as acting Fire Chief never acted or implemented guidelines or criteria to reach these goals?
CLICK THIS LINK TO VIEW COMPLETE FIRE CHIEF EARLEY PAPER SUBMITTED TO FEMA
During Earley’s reign many of our fire stations were placed as collateral for city loans, this is no way show protection and a defense of taxpayer assets. Remember folks, there were other instances of fire stations used for collateral. Such as the time when Firestations #13 and #14 were given to Redevelopment as collateral in order to provide funding for the Hyatt Hotel.
What did Earley do to protect the taxpayers against the misinformation of losing 12 Firefighters if Measure A did not pass? Support it? As in this taxpayer paid mailer shows below, and taxpayers thought they had a choice when it comes to voting…Not in Riverside:
CLICK THIS LINK TO VIEW FULL TAXPAYER PAID MAILER
Some say he worked hard for his money and the city, he deserves it. I know a lot of people who work hard for their money, but will never get the compensation such as is seen in the government public sector. It used to be that the big homes were owned by entrepreneurs and business people, now they are owned by government employees.
FROM THE DESK OF SCOTT SIMPSON: SIMPSON RESPONDS TO THE GOVERNOR BROWN’S DECLARATION OF A DROUGHT EMERGENCY.
Scott Simpson was former Chief of Enforcement for the California EPA Department of Toxic Substances Control, and also worked for the Department of Food and Agriculture in their Environmental Hazards Assessment Program specializing in ground water contamination:
Yesterday, the governor declared a statewide water emergency. It will allow the city to raise water rates without a hearing per Prop. 218. However, we are water dependent. This means we do not purchase imported (expensive) water. Remember, we sell water to Colton, Rialto, Fontana, High Grove, Home Gardens, Corona, Rubidoux and the WMWD. We own court adjudicated water rights to annually harvest more water than the city uses. Approximately 20% of our water is sold outside the city. Most if not all of our water rights are a type that requires the city to pump and use it or loose it forever. Our rights to the water can be taken away by anyone should we stop harvesting all of the water.
So where does water conservation fit in? The Governors Emergency? Once again we will be urged to conserve and leave the water in the ground?! Not hardly, this is why we sell water outside the city–we have to in order to maintain the legal protections for our water rights. So we will told to use less water, pay more for less water, and the city will sell your water to others and continue to approve new developments (future water customers) in spite of state law specifying that during a declaration of emergency “no new connections to the city water system can be approved.” Riverside the city of Honesty, Clarity, Transparency and Measure A.
Scott Simpson
NEW ELECTRIC RATE HIKES AND WATER RATE HIKES FOR 2014?
The city never fails to take advantage of a perceived disaster, refering to Governor Brown’s Declared Drought Emergency, as a result water rates are forcasted to go up. This time it is masked into the recycled water program or also known as the purple pipe program. But even at that, the rate increase must go to the voters for approval and the residents must have a direct benefit withing their property. The last time the public question the purple pipe recycling plan, the whole idea was swept under the rug, only to raise it’s ugly head again in a different form.
You may remember, TMC wrote about this in a past posting, whereby former Utilities Manager Dave Wright asked council for their blessing. If people are to be confronted with a new charge, which is really a tax, the city should justify the direct benefit to the property owners. It appeared the city could not.
On the other hand, regarding Electricity, if the people of Riverside would see the invoices on the wholesale purchases of electric credits for the City, they would be surprised. The purchase rates are hardly nothing, the gouging of the citizens is. The city even has electric credits that have not even been used. We should also ask the city about their off book accounts in the Power Department. Another L.A. DWP fiasco?
Here’s a response to the water hikes From the Desk of Scott Simpson:
There is according to some sources, over a million acre feet of water in the Bunker Hill Basin (San Berdo). This is the source of our water (we use about 80K acre/ft. and sell to other water agencies about 25K acre/ft. We pump and use all we can for fear of loosing it in a legal challenge to our right to harves water. Use it or lose it is how our water law works. So we a lot of excess water pumping every year to protect the legal right to harvest all that we own. It is so much more than we use each year that we sell it far under wholesale market value. We take a loss on these sales in order to secure long term selling contracts for disposal of our annual excess harvest.
Conservation in Riverside means we sell more of our water outside the city in $ losing contracts! It means nothing to us as far as protecting our annual supply. We are annually ordered by a Court appointed water master to pump all of our water and more, or lose the future rights to pump it forever. So our City Water Conservation ordinance is a fraud. State policy to conserve water is VOLUNTARY, because some areas in the state are under Court order to pump and use according to prior adjudication of a regions wate rights. It is history and law that goes back to the beginning of California in 1849.
The purple pipe is another project for future development/population increase. State Law specifies that new infrastructure to serve new development (or our downtown redevelopment of high occupancy buildings) is required to recover the infrastructure cost via property assessments to the parcels that receive the benefit.
State Water policy conflicts with our constitution and law if you apply it in an area like Riverside as our city is doing. Instead, our city wants to put the cost on our water bill under the guise of following state water conservation policy. This increases the cash flow of water sales and Measure A sweeps more money into the general fund every month. Increases in utility rates, fees and charges will always send more cash to the general fund. This is why we, the current residential utility customers of Riverside are subsidizing the infrastructure investment to prepare the city for future growth. We are being scamed.
-Scott Simpson, (former Chief of Enforcement for the California EPA Department of Toxic Control Substances, specializing in ground water contamination.)
TO RENEW OR NOT TO RENEW A WATER CONSERVATION SURCHARGE? CITY OF RIVERSIDE RESIDENTS QUESTION THIS NEW TAX.
The following came in the mail of City of Riverside residents the first week of February 2014, that Riverside Public Utilities is proposing to renew the 1.5% Water Conservation Surcharge. Well it’s being called a Surcharge, but that is code word of Tax, and all Taxes by law must be brought to a Vote of the residents.
CLICK THIS LINK TO VIEW DOCUMENT
According to the mailing insert, the surcharge will expire May 31, 2014. Therefore, there will be a hearing March 21, 2014 at 8:30 am at the Public Utilities Boardroom, located at 3901 Orange Street, Riverside. At this time, the board will consider all public protest and objections. Usually what we find is that hardly any of the public ever show up, or can show up for that matter due to the time element, most people work and cannot participate in this democratic process. The board may just find that no showed and push through the renewal of this surcharge. But again, this surcharge should be challenged, because what it is in essence, is a TAX.
FORMER RPD DETECTIVE JEFF COLLOPY HIRED ON IN MORENO VALLEY TO INVESTIGATE CORRUPTION? It appears as if the City of Moreno Valley has hired on Riverside’s own retired RPD Detective Jeff Collopy to do some snooping into the corruption in Moreno Valley according to this local Moreno Valley blog. Who could have hired him on? Tom DeSantis? After all he was former Assistant City Manager for the City of Riverside. His leaving was questionable, in lieu of the scandal he left in Riverside, now he’s Assistant City Manager for the City of Moreno Valley. Or could it be former City Manager Henry Garcia? Or his girl Rhond Strout, Human Resource Director for the City of Riverside? Everyone knows that Collopy is the goto guy to hire when you want a favorable outcome, good or bad…just ask Riverside City Attorney Gregory Priamos. Keeping it in the family is always important.
Does PI Jeff Collopy still have his detective agency office at Riverside City Hall? If he does, isn’t about time he started to pay rent?
LOCAL 7-ELEVEN GETS A BAD DEAL FROM TOKYO BASED COMPANY AFTER 19 YEARS IN BUSINESS? Why’ll corporate 7-Eleven claims coupon fraud and threatens a law suit against the Patel’s, who were the legal franchise owners, the Patel’s inadvertainly signed over the store under duress and without council. The new store owners are now telling loyal customers that the previous owners, the Patel’s, “retired and sold the store back and they didn’t want the store any longer.” According to the Patel family, 7-Eleven managers had encouraged them to liberally coupon and give away free merchandise to children in the nearby elementary school for getting good grades! Sounds like a good community supported endeavor.
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE
We have since found that the Tokyo based 7-Eleven’s have been trying to force out many older store owners on bogus grounds in order to get the stores for free and then to re-sell them as part of 7-Eleven’s new expansion plans. In another words, it appears that the Tokyo based 7-Elevens are attempting to attain profitable stores by any means possible only to flip them at exorbitant profits! The Patel’s 7-Eleven Store is on Jurupa and Magnolia in Riverside.
RIVERSIDE DISTRICT ATTORNEY PAUL ZELLERBACH BANNED FROM SPEAKING AT LOCAL MIDDLE SCHOOL? DAM IT ALL ANY HOO..
What the #$%*!, Opps, I did it again… Ah *!#&%..
According to the Press Enterprise, DA Paul Zellerbach in an election year, won’t be invited back to talk to school children at Gage Middle School, as a result of his use of a profane word, “dam.” But it seemed uplifting to know, that the PE states he hasn’t been “blacklisted”, which sounds more devasting than just being banned from one school. But it also seems that the PE didn’t get it all correct when it came to the profane termology use at the school. According to KESQ News out in Palm Springs, he also used “ass” and “bullshit” as well. According to commenter Bill Wallace on the PE, Zellerbach was only trying to “keep it real.” Others have told TMC that the middle school should not have been offended, since these kids usually hear or use far worse profane terms on the school yard…
Tom Hunt, RUSD Board V.P. Tom Hunt, RUSD Board V.P. Here we go, Tom Hunt, RUSD V.P.
Anyway, TMC came up with some possible alternatives swear terms that good ol DA may consider to use in place of the offensive ones and help prevent him from becoming black listed, and best of all, still keep it real!
Here you Go: Fudge!, Fiddle Sticks!, Jiminy Crickets!, Schucks!, Dagnabbit!, Gee Whiz!, Fish Sticks!, Holy Cow!, Sufferin Succotash!, Geez Loise!, Golly Gee!, Drat!, Oh My Goodness!, Leapin Lizzards!, Sam Hill!, Bummer!, Balderdash!, Crabcakes!, Doggone!, Heck!, Goodness!, Good Grief!, Gadzooks!, My Word!, Gobbledygook!, Hogwash!, Holy Frijoles!, Hockey Puck!, Kawabunga!, Mother of Pearl!, etc. etc. So much for “sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”
Maybe Middle Schools should consider a sign for the adults, not sure if this would apply to the children…that’s left to be seen. But many are asking the question if this was politically motivated. Was this actually about the middle school kids or the teacher’s unions?
SHOULD WE WORRY ABOUT POLICE OFFICER’S IN RIVERSIDE GIVING TICKETS TO BICYLCIST FOR UNSAFE DRIVING? This was a TMC submission which shows an occurence between a Venice Beach bicyclist and an L.A. Police Officer on patrol with his motorcycle on a beach bike lane (is that even legal). This was not meant to give the City of Riverside any ideas.
CLICK THIS LINK TO VIEW THIS TMC SUBMISSION ON YOUTUBE
IG
Javier Moreno
TMC: Thirty Miles of Corruption 