LASD RESERVISTS WHO ARE ALSO THE SHERIFF’S WEALTHY SUPPORTERS MAY GET FREE DEPARTMENT CARS (WHILE LASD* OFFICERS WHO NEED CARS DON’T HAVE ‘EM)
The LA Times’ Robert Faturichi reports. Here’s how it opens:
For months, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Capt. Phillip Hansen heard the grumblings: Deep-pocketed donors and other well-connected individuals working as reserve deputies were driving around in unmarked Sheriff’s Department cars. One reserve, a restaurant owner who threw a fundraiser for Sheriff Lee Baca, was frequently seen parking a county-owned Ford Crown Victoria outside his La Mirada restaurant, a popular hangout for deputies.
Hansen, who heads the volunteer deputy program, was troubled by the reports and asked for an accounting of which reserves had take-home cars.
He was stunned by the response.
“I basically got nicely told I really wasn’t authorized to have that information,” Hansen recalled.
It turns out at least one reserve — the Baca fundraiser — was assigned a county car. A sheriff’s spokesman conceded that other reserves may have had vehicles as well, but he declined to provide a detailed accounting of how many received such a perk.
Last year, the Sheriff’s Department refused to comply with a public records request from The Times regarding take-home county car use and gas consumption by four reserves who have given Baca political support or gifts. The department declined to even confirm the men were reserves, despite all four being named on department websites or other public listings.
When reached by phone last month, one of the four men, Chris Vovos, refused to answer questions about whether he had a take-home car, hanging up twice. “You’re asking me for information I don’t give my own father,” he said.
It is both interesting and heartening that Captain Hansen (the division captain quoted in the beginning of the story) and Norwalk station Capt. Patrick Maxwell (quoted closer to the story’s end), chose to speak out candidly.
There is no way to know for sure, but this suggests an attitude of being fed up with the favoritism and cronyism that has permeated parts of the department. In our investigations we are seeing an attitude of enough-is-enough among large swaths of department personnel—and it’s our observation that the feeling is growing.
* This headline originally read “(…while sworn officers who need cars don’t have ’em). However a commenter reminded me that reserve officers are also “sworn.”
Thank you Phil Hansen for standing up. This is even more disturbing given the fact that many detectives in Detective Division Units like Special Victims Bureau were ordered to park their county detective vehicles at a local station instead of driving them home and parking them in their garages. They were told this was to save gas but even their supervisors weren’t required to do the same. These moves were to give the appearance of saving gas but it really is just another leadership failure by this administration and brass throughout the department. Baca, Waldie, and Tanaka have fostered an era of supervisors entitlement instead of leadership.
The Times article is just another example illuminating the dysfunction and corruption from the Baca/Tanaka crew. In addition to Sheriff’s Reserves receiving cars, Baca has also created many paid civilian positions for specialized “community liaison” employees (religious and sexual orientation “communities”). These individuals, all known to be close political allies of Baca’s and Tanaka’s prior to snagging the paid gig, also receive a take-home Crown Victoria. The value of these employees to the Department is highly questionable, but their political affiliation and the benefits they receive are not.
Phil Hansen is known in the organization as a man of integrity – it’s likely he’s cooperated for the Times article now because he’s retiring later this month and won’t suffer the long-operational retaliation machine. Pat Maxwell on the other hand, formerly a Baca/Tanaka insider (Sheriff Baca’s first “driver,” and disgraced former Undersheriff Larry Waldie’s golf companion), is no hero for speaking out. He filed a hostile work environment/retaliation complaint on Tanaka, so he’s currently persona non grata and now and has nothing to lose, where before, he was sitting shotgun in the car, smoking cigars right alongside the big guys.
So the question is, who told Phil that this was none of his business? What was the actual conversation and with whom? Who really authorized the issuance of these plain wraps to the high roller reserve deputies? Baca’s response sounded like he didn’t even know about it. If so, who did.
And Baghdad Bob Whitmore’s response: “Sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore did not confirm that Vovos was assigned a car until The Times presented the department with evidence. Whitmore declined to say how many reserves had cars, but added that “being a donor to the sheriff has nothing to do with getting a car or not.” Does this man have ANY sense of honor or ethics? Or does he say, “As long as they are paying me and putting gas in my County car, I will say whatever they want.”
After The Times’ inquiries, Whitmore said, Baca recalled any county vehicles assigned out to reserves and planned to draft a policy to prevent it from happening again. Oh, great response. Sounds like once again, the Sheriff’s top executives have kept him out of the loop. I am waiting for Baca to say, again, “I’m not looking to place blame, I am looking to correct the problem and move forward.”
Does Baca have ANY idea how decimated morale is right now outside of the Cigar Club crowd? Does he even care anymore? Or is it just all about Leroy? Story after story, after story about Tanaka’s corruption and Baca’s incompetence has just ground folks to the bone. We are beyond sick of all this, we are flat out embarrassed. Yet those on the 4th floor continue to surround Emperor Baca and clap at his new clothing (while he stands there naked), telling him, “Don’t worry boss, this is all bullshit. It will blow over, nice suit boss.” Does Baca have ANY idea how we are looked upon by local and national law enforcement? We are a laughing stock. I am so tired of going to meetings local and out of state and always hearing the same old line, “Boy, sounds like your brass is really screwed up.” Anymore, all I say is, “Yep, they are.”
And of course Tanaka skulks around like a jackal and continues on with his unethical deeds as if nothing has ever happened. Holding an oversized Beverly Hills cigar with his frail hands, he wraps his thin lips around the joint and takes a deep, slow puff. Paul blows out a series of smoke rings and says, “No one can touch me, not even the Feds.”
Good reporting by the LA Times on this one. Captain Hanson and and Captain Maxwell are stand up guys and Captain Hanson has done a lot to weed this nonsense out of the reserve program. It really says a lot that they spoke out about it and in such candid terms.
Most of the 800 or so reserves out there are very hard working and do a lot to augment their stations’ patrol capabilities. I’m sure everyone at each station can think of 1-2 reserves who really bust their ass for their buck a year. The problem is these donors that didn’t receive the same training, didn’t make the same sacrifices, and don’t put in the same work. As noted in the LA Times article, these guys have a special relationship with the sheriff, due to their donor or fundraiser status. They’re not really “deputies” even if they are “sworn.” Everyone has known about this for 6-7 years now.
I attended this year’s reserve dinner and this Vovos character got an award from the sheriff for being one of the best reserves of the year. So did another guy who helped get funding for a helipad. Yet there was no award for the reserve with the most felony hooks, no award for reserves who saved lives. It’s pretty telling, isn’t it? At the end of the day, yeah it’s great that the department got a free helipad that it needed. But to so clearly give special status to the fundraisers over the actual cops demonstrates that this way of thinking is, within certain quarters, systemic.
Thanks for the note, 10-33 Go. I made the correction. (Perils of posting too late at night.)
Stripes, bars, stars and cars are as easy to purchase as a prize in a Cracker Jack box.
How can it be that these people know they are completely untouchable?
Anyone who can do anything to hold them accountable is cowering in the shadows, paralyzed with fear of the what these people will do, and the secrets they will reveal if anything is done to fully investigate them, let alone prosecute them.
When nothing is done and the spotlight is turned off, these people will once again run roughshod over the honest, hardworking men and women of the once proud Sheriff’s Department and the taxpayers of Los Angeles County.
You can’t be serious. Phil Hansen honorable ok I will buy that, but Maxwell is the most crooked cop to wear a uniform. Pull his package and see what you find.
Pull his package? Should I give him a kiss first?
Phil Hanson is a class act and has more integrity than most of the executives on the Department combined. Pat Maxwell on the other hand in no longer “in the car”. Mike Ford was removed from both SEB and Safe Streets Bureau just to make room for Maxwell. The Department lost a “good one” when Mike retired.
Well the Sheriff wanted to clean up the department, well I guess there is no better place to start than starting with those closest to him. This story is just plain sad for our department….keep up the good work WitnessLA.
Wonder if the rich reserve mentioned in the earlier comment is the friend of baca who put in a helipad in the hills here in Malibu. Funny thing a lot of rich/ famous people out here have fought tooth and nail for a helipad and have got nowhere… The zoning laws are just too strict…unless the sheriff is your buddy. Celeste you ought to investigate that..
Kids First Says:
There has been abuse of county vehicles by mostly sworn personnel even before Sheriff Baca, however they were isolated to some extent and not so blatant. How about sworn personnel using county vehicles for private errands like transporting their kids to school, grocery shopping, etc,. Deputies using taking home a vehicle just because he is assigned to a HQ unit, or allowing the female deputy your dating to take home a vehicle because as a supervisor you can, or taking home a vehicle just because your a sergeant or lieutnant with no real work related need. Even better, how about sworn personnel’s uniform allowance to purchase uniforms, (AKA Christmas bonus monies for uniforms)which are never purchased and they subsequently walk around threadbare. Lets not even discuss the cell phone abuse and blackberry abuse of county property and the lack of accountability for the abuse. Your right, the executives on the department display a real lack of leadership and they are accountable to no one. However, ethics, and accountability start with one individual, ourselves. Sure it is discouraging, sure it is demoralizing to see these individual appear to get away with some much, but eventually the chickens come home to roost as they are now. Department personnel need to set the example by their personal conduct and ethics and know that you as an individual brought credit to yourself and the department.
Way to go, Phil. It makes me sick to see more and more of you having to “go out” with such a bad taste in your mouth; you’re just a few years and another debacle behind me, but you will survive it. Keep your head high and remember just who the “us and them” really are. As time goes on, you’ll be working for LACERA and once a month they’re going to pay you to stay away; it’s really quite beautiful and remember every day that you’ve earned it.
A good follow up would be at Aero Bureau with their take home helicopters. I heard the Captain at Aero Burau allowed one of his deputies to fly back and forth from Santa Clarita to Long Beach.
Just In, you should get your facts straight before you post such harsh accusations. Its not “allowed”, it “allows”.
How come some of the comments are deleted. It’s seems that negative comments about certain people are gone and others stay. I really believe that ms freman is deleting the bad comments on her special informants like maxwell and a chief. What’s up?
Broken, I let the first of your personal attacks through. But you didn’t leave it at that. You came back for round two and round three—which, yes, I deleted—just as I do with anyone who repeatedly throws mudballs at individuals.
As for the “she plays favorites” thingy, forget it. I’m an equal opportunity spiker of ad hominem attacks.
Personal attacks shouldn’t be here anyways. It’s totally non-productive and makes us look childish…and rightfully so. If someone’s corrupt, fine, make your CASE once and let the journalists dig into it. If you just want to diss someone, do it on the men’s room wall. It’s pathetic that other serious topics get no comments on this site but the LASD board is full of deputies shitting on each other.
The point of this site, from a deputy perspective, is to improve the department. Not to anonymously crap on people you don’t like. And, much as I hate censorship, I’m glad Ms. Fremon is protecting us from ourselves. Sadly, it also kinda proves the point.
Just as in a radio car, you represent the department here. So, let’s be mature, speak when we have something intelligent to say and, by the way, try to at least spell people’s names right. Like you’d expect a Day 1 trainee to do…and for the same reasons.
Keep up the good work. Celeste and Matt…
We here at the ranch heard about the guy who commutes to aero bureau in the helicopter. He supposedly was parking the helicopter here and was driving a radio car home, sometimes 2 or 3 times a week. I thought no way that’s gotta be bs. Well sure enough, a couple of us started watching and that guy does it all the time, always by himself,parks the helicopter and drives away in a radio car. Guys who know him says he lives close by.
I agree with 10-33 Go. If you attack the person without facts supporting misconduct and it is just out of hate, your actions demonstrate Tanaka tactics, which is why the Department currently has so many negative issues being exposed. If you want change, demonstrate the professionalism you expect from others.
“Just In” and “Rodney King” – Sounds like you guys have some quality inside info about Aero. Please, tell us you’re not just a pair of whiney pilots who are always down and unavailable to help deputies in LAN and PLM.
Wayside veteran, if you have a name, he should be exposed. Can you imagine the cost to the Department for that person to commute. The L.A. Times exposed Reserve “Friends of Sheriff” Deputies for possessing take home cars. Can you imagine a take home helicopter. Only a deputy alligned with Tanaka could be allowed to do something like that. What would happen to you if you took a county car home. Yet, that guy takes home both a helicopter and a radio car. Even Witmore couldn’t lie enough to cover that one up.
Wayside Vet,
We’re hearing the precise same thing about the Wayside ‘copter run. Please email me directly, if you’d be willing. Thanks. (celeste@witnessla.com)
C.
I think notsurprised should change his callsign to “notqualified”, as in not qualified to have been hired as a deputy. To crap on uniform allowances and county cell phones is total chickens—. Sounds like somebody couldn’t pass backgrounds and is now just a hater in a non-sworn position. I know that I purchase far more in uniforms and gear throughout the year than the allowance provides, and I know very well how much deputies use personal cell phones for department resons, especially on patrol. But you probably wouldn’t know that…….
Hey ease back on the helo pilot. Having been an observer (sometime in the last millennium) I can tell you that we landed the Helicopter where we could fuel it, then drove a patrol car to the Station and back. Our personal cars were parked at the Station. He MAY be doing just that. SCT Station gets noise complaints all the time about helos landing on the roof.
There should be some investigating about donors that are not reserves getting cars, phones, and access that no one else has. There’s a Billionaire Boys Club around the Sheriff that has given sworn personnel fits for years. Personnel have been punished for not making them happy.
Celest, all I am asking is that you check on credibility before you post something as the truth. You praise maxwell for coming forward. That is a joke. Not only was he in the car, he drove it. He should have never been promoted. If you don’t believe me just ask anyone who worked with him from his days at Lennox to when he almost ruined SEB.
Now Phil Hansen is a stand up guy, I know I worked with him at west Hollywood when he was a deputy there in the early eighths . He doesn’t talk trash and was a very reasonable and honest man.
I have a strong suspicion that half of these posts are from the same guy, using different names
As for wasting the taxpayers money, that does happen. But not just in the sheriffs department. The fire department rolls out the big fire truck with the paramedics who are responding to a call of a man having a heart attack, why? It a big waste of money but they have been doing it for thirty years.
Like wayside veteran I would love to know the truth about the aero bureau using their helicopters for their personal transportation. I can’t believe a Captain would let this happen. If its true, it’s criminal but let someone state a fact about the incident not just their opinion……
That supposedly Chris Vovos reserve sheriff is a fake. he owns over 25 Tams burger joints and a fancy steak house called MR V I think in La Mirada. People like him and the 3 other big shots are a waste of air. Send in the I.R.S and let’s see what they find.
At first this sounded pretty scandalous, but then it occurred to me, what are reserves supposed to do drive around in their personal cars to do work? I spent more than 15 years at SEB and I’m not a fan of many execs past or present, but it is well known Phil Hansen is best of friends with Phil and Roberta Abner. Phil is being kind of sneaky here probably to help Roberta Abner’s attacks against Tanaka. It will be interesting to see who gave the cars and why.
INTERESTING…every reference made to Roberta Abner is removed edited from WitnessLA…hmmmmm–Freedom of Speech?
CELESTE…please keep in mind the close personal relationship between Phil Hansen and Phil and Roberta Abner is extremely relevant to this “story”–But I’m sure this will be deleted as well
Got to love “journalists” commitment to Freedom of Speech…
Oh, get a grip, Eric. Nobody’s deleting comments with Chief Abner’s name in them—unless there was some weird attack comment that got spiked during the period when I refused to let a whole pile of attack-oriented comments through then shut down the comments section altogether.
If your comment is slow is coming through, either I’m busy in a meeting and haven’t gotten to them, OR I’ve overlooked a comment, somehow (it happens) OR the spam catcher got it.
If that occurs you could just email me like a normal adult—but that would mean you’d have to use a real email address. (I know, The Horror!) Or you could just submit another comment letting me know.
(sigh.)
Comment #34…..RED FLAG.
Ok, this probably won’t last am hour on this website but here goes. LASD members you are letting a liberal democratic extremist who has made her living writing articles about gang members believing every word they say. If I’m not mistaken even Hillary Clinton calls her an extremest. C MON MEN. She has an agenda just google her and dig deep. Don’t let her drag LASD DOWN
You like to dig deep into members of the department and print stuff that has never been proven, now it’s our turn.
Break it down. Liberal, democratic extremest. These words could be used to describe the globetrotting Sheriff of Los Angeles County (aka Sheriff Moonbeam). Gang members could easily be construed as a group of fellas with matching tattoos that cover for each other (ie Regulators, Vikings, Reapers, Pirates etc.). We all have agendas ranging from drinking deeply from the PT Kool-Aid ™ fountain to actually wanting change. If random agendas just happen to link up in this chaotic assembly that we call a sheriff’s department, then that is a great basis for an alliance. LASD as an institution and as a law enforcement agency cannot be dragged down by the simple re-printing of statements by the few that are participating here. It is quite obvious that there are those that are uncomfortable with the scrutiny that has followed the revelations that have been allowed to flow on this open website. If there is nothing to hide, then the musings on this blog are no more than the annoying twittering of a bird outside the window that will soon enough be gone. If one does not like what the little bird is saying, it’s not the little bird’s fault. The guilty conscience is still there even if the evidence to prove has been covered up. Give it time. This will all be sorted out in the courts as it should be.
Tired of phonies – Wit LA has an agenda, but I am not sure it is as black and white as being strictly anti-law enforcement. Wit LA has censored my comments that could be viewed as anti-law enforcement. It is more pay to play than anti-cop.
If you go to the web page that lists the financial donors to the jail articles you find the names of the very people who are being talked about on these pages. I gave the exact names before, but was censored. You can look them up on your own. They are public record, just like the sheriff campaign records.
Wit LA makes money by accepting these payments and then playing certain figures and groups against each other. This brings in more money and more hits on the web page.
How about it Celeste? Turn about is fair play, at least give us the info in how to get the names. If they are department members that can influence how the articles are written. Shouldn’t the people decide?
Left at the ball,
“The public” has been nattering on in comments—most of which I didn’t let through because I don’t want to take time to answer this idiocy (I’m up late enough as it is.)—about how Paul Tanaka and related LASD people are actually funding WLA.
Right.
But okay, unlike him (or her), you seem to be asking a genuine question, so here’s the deal:
He’s referring to this: http://spot.us/pitches/772-the-la-justice-report-project-2-dangerous-jails
When we began working on this series back in May 2011, we expected to do a 2-part series on the problems at CJ. As you know, we yanked on that thread and a whole lot of other stuff came down. So what began as a two part series on deputy abuse at Men’s Central Jail has turned into something far deeper and more complicated and, in the end, we believe, more important. It is a long-term story to which we are very committed.
As you also likely know, we are now working on Parts 5 and 6, with more to go after that.
Anyway, the original “Dangerous Jails” two parter was funded in partnership with Spot.us, (see the above link) through their “crowd funding” model.
If you go to the link and bounce around the site, you can find out how it works. (“The Public” didn’t bother to take the 5 minutes that would have required.) But in general, the way Spot.Us works is this: people who are interested in seeing any story or series produced, can donate $3, $5 or $200 until the requisite asked-for amount is reached. And then the spigot is shut off.
We funded parts 1-3 with Spot.us money, and then put out another call out on WLA to help fund part 4 (Through Spot.us), which is when I suspect a few LASD people kicked in.
With few exceptions, if you’ll look, the donation amounts are in the $5 range. Although one very nice person, who donated anonymously, gave $200. I don’t know that this is an LASD person, but I am guessing it is, due to the timing of the donation. (And whoever you are, thank you for that.)
One more thing: a lot of those “credits” weren’t cash donations at all, but $3 or $4 or $5 credits that can be earned if you fill out a questionnaire about whatever survey the Spot.us people have up that week.
Between the earned credits and the cash donations, the grand total raised through Spot.us is 1,753.58 “credits”—which means dollars. That is, obviously, not enough to fund what has thus far been a four part series that is in its 11th month of investigation, plus the extra stories that I do on the topic on a regular basis.
That’s it. We have accepted no other personal donations whatsoever. Period. Full stop.
As for the main part of our funding, WLA is a recently formed nonprofit that looks to foundations for funding—and those foundations have very strict rules.
Prior to our nonprofit status, I began WLA in 2007 with some grants from the Justice and Journalism fund, which was funded by the Ford Foundation, and administered by the Institute for Justice and Journalism—of which I am a senior fellow. (You can find all that material at the link below.)
http://justicejournalism.org/
None of the above tell us what to write.
In truth, both Matt and I do more work than we are ever paid for because we believe very much in what we’re doing.
The good news is that WitnessLA is in the midst of expanding, and sometime in the fall WLA will be redesigned, with more reporters, and all of this funding stuff will be spelled out. But until then…..there you have it.
I hope that helps.
Well there you have it, very clear, very transparent and very accurate.
Thanks.
I understand you are not paid for your passion, and you are most certainly underpaid.
Your answer should take care of any other accusations or implications of how you received donations for the other stories.
The series certainly has opened an extremely large picture into some of what has gone on in the department.
Unfortunately, it has degregated into a forum of gossip. Sadly some of those in power in the department are trying to use it for their own power agenda. Usually change is good. Getting to that change is going to be difficult. If it happens.
The current plans have been in place for a long time and there is a large group of people put into place to make it happen.
“Left at the Ball Says very clear, very transparent” – What is clear and transparent? Wit LA takes a $200.00 donation from the sheriffs and writes stories about them. They say the story is unaffected by the funding. A sheriff gives a $100 campaign donation and that is supposed to buy him a 6 figure promotion. If this gets posted I will let the readers decide which story is more credible.
“The Public,” I let this comment through, but now you’ve made your point and we’re done on this topic unless you have something new to say.
Ditto the thing about LASD members not having the right to use computers at work. That horse is way beyond beaten to death. Move on.
Thank you in advance.