The Trial of Former LASD Undersheriff Paul Tanaka to Begin on Wednesday

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THE FED TRIAL OF FORMER LA COUNTY UNDERSHERIFF PAUL TANAKA

The federal criminal trial of Paul Tanaka, the former second in command of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, begins jury selection on Wednesday, March 23.

Mr. Tanaka is charged with obstruction of justice, and conspiracy to obstruct justice.

In thinking about what to expect from the trial, it helps to review the events underlying the federal charges for which Tanaka will be tried:

In early 2011, the FBI was actively investigating reports of brutality and corruption by deputies in the LASD-run LA County Jail system, most particularly Men’s Central Jail (MCJ) and the Twin Towers Correctional Facility (TTCF).

Yet, as their investigation continued, while the feds had become increasingly convinced that there was a pattern of abuse and corruption by deputies in the nation’s largest jail system, finding proof of these purported acts of brutality and wrongdoing that would stand up in court was not at all easy.

Back then, there were no cameras in the jails. (Cameras had been purchased by the county. But they were languishing in some LASD closet.) And, with extremely rare exceptions, the only witnesses to alleged acts of abuse—other than deputies—were inmates. But deputies backed each other up nearly unvaryingly, and inmates were likely to be viewed by a jury as less than dependable.

Moreover, the LASD’s internal investigative bureaus, Internal affairs (IAB) and Internal Criminal Investigations (ICIB) seemed to display little interest in investigating wrongdoing in the department’s own house—despite years of reports of what Southern California ACLU legal director, Peter Eliasberg, described as “an epidemic of brutal beatings.”

With all this in mind, the FBI decided to launch an undercover investigation inside the system’s most troubled facility, Men’s Central Jail—using, among other tactics, an inmate informant. This informant’s name was Anthony Brown.

According to federal documents, the investigation using Brown “concerned alleged excessive use of force by deputies against inmates in MCJ and TTCF and the alleged smuggling of contraband into MCJ and TTCF in exchange for bribes.”

At first Brown reported to his handler via collect calls. But then a sting operation was launched in which Brown would offer a custody deputy cash in return for smuggling in a contraband phone for his use.

Deputy Gilbert Michel was the deputy who took the bait. The sting was accomplished in late July 2011, and Brown now had a phone with which he could contact his FBI handlers without the LASD listening in.

But, on August 8, 2011, an alert jail deputy found informant Brown’s phone. Jail investigators were called in to examine the contraband phone in order to find out who Brown was contacting. Anthony Brown is a convicted bank robber who was still in jail only until the California Department of Corrections called for him to be transferred to state prison. Thus investigators thought he might be using the cell phone to contact criminal confederates.

He wasn’t. He was calling and texting the FBI.

On August 18, then-sheriff Lee Baca and Paul Tanaka learned unequivocally that Brown was an FBI informant, that he’d gotten the phone as part of a sting involving a dirty deputy, and that the sting was part of an undercover FBI investigation into jail brutality.

Baca got the information through a telephone conversation with Steve Martinez, the man then heading up the FBI’s LA office. And then Baca told Tanaka.

From that point on, the government alleges, Paul Tanaka directed an operation that deliberately attempted to obstruct the FBI’s investigation through multiple means, including an elaborate plan to hide inmate Brown from his FBI handlers, along with alleged attempts to keep potential deputy witnesses from talking to the FBI.

According to federal prosecutors, Tanaka and department members under his direction, also used an array of methods to find out what the FBI had learned thus far in their probe into LASD wrongdoing. Among the methods used was for two LASD sergeants to accost an FBI agent outside her home and falsely threaten to arrest her.

Twice during the course of the operation Tanaka allegedly announced at meetings that this “was one of the most important investigations in the Department’s 160 year history”—or words to that effect.

For these and other alleged actions, on March 13, 2015, Paul Tanaka was indicted and charged with obstruction of justice and conspiracy to obstruct justice.

Former LASD Captain Tom Carey was also charged but he has since made a plea deal with the government, in exchange for truthful testimony about the events leading to the federal indictment.

There are 29 names on the government’s witness list, Tom Carey prominently among them. (See POST SCRIPT below.)

Attorneys Dean Steward and Jerome Haig will represent Tanaka, and they are expected to launch a vigorous defense that will likely include the contention that Baca, not Tanaka, directed any and all of the actions in question, and that all were part of a lawful investigation in which inmate Brown was appropriately protected from possible harm.

The government is represented by Assistant US Attorneys Brandon Fox, Lisabeth Rhodes and Eddie Jauregui.

US District Court Judge Percy Anderson will preside.

To date, seven former department members have been convicted of obstruction of justice in relation to the Anthony Brown matter, and related charges, and their convictions have been appealed to the 9th Circuit.

Additional former department members have been convicted of charges relating to the government’s jail abuse investigation.

There is another jail abuse trial still to come.

---

WITNESSLA & PPOA’S BRIAN MORIGUCHI TALK WITH KCRW’S WARREN OLNEY ON PAUL TANAKA’S TRIAL AND TRIBULATIONS

On Thursday night and Friday morning, WitnessLA was on KCRW’s Olney in LA talking with Warren Olney and Brian Moriguchi, president of LA County Professional Peace Officers Association, about what to expect from former Los Angeles undersheriff Paul Tanaka’s upcoming federal trial, due to start Wednesday.

You can listen to the podcast here.

---

2013 INTERVIEW WITH TANAKA MAY HOLD HINTS OF WHAT IS TO COME

In September of 2012, the Citizens Commission on Jail Violence issued its scathing final report that described a “troubling culture” inside the county’s jails, “which has produced both on duty and off duty aggressive misconduct.”

Much of the blame, according to the commission, was due to a failure leadership at the very top of the department. In particular, the commissioners singled out Paul Tanaka, of whom they wrote, “the troubling role of Undersheriff Tanaka cannot be ignored. Not only did he fail to identify and correct problems in the jails, he exacerbated them…”

A year later, in 2013, when Paul Tanaka was running for sheriff, KCRW’s Warren Olney interviewed the former undersheriff and asked him about what the commission had alleged.

Olney and his producer Jennifer Wolfe have reposted the 2013 interview, and it is very much worth revisiting as we move toward the beginning of the federal criminal trial of the former undersheriff who, for many years, was convinced he would be the next sheriff when Lee Baca finally stepped down.

You can listen to the interview here. But below you’ll find a couple of excerpts from the conversation between Warren Olney and Paul Tanaka to get you started.

Warren Olney: You were harshly criticized in the citizens Commission report at least as harshly criticized as the sheriff himself. How do you plan to convince voters under those circumstances that you’re the man for the job?

Paul Tanaka: First of all, it’s very convenient and unfortunate that the sheriff has resorted to something he’s become very accustomed to and that is pointing fingers and absolving himself, or attempting to, of any blame. If you look at the organizational chart during the years that the Commission did the report on the jail study 2008, 2009, 2010; those are the years in question that the commission did the report on. If you look at the organizational chart you’ll see the jails, you’ll see the captain of that particular jail facility you’ll see three or four commanders in that chain of command on the organizational chart on record. You’ll see a division chief over custody, you’ll see an assistant sheriff’s, name you’ll see an undersheriff ‘s name and you will see the sheriff’s name. You will not see Paul Tanaka’s name anywhere in that chain of command…. And so for him to point the finger at me is completely wrong. He knows that I was nowhere in that jail authority during that particular time period.

And then there is this:

WO: Whatever the Sheriff may say or think, Miriam Krinsky who is the executive director of the citizens commission says that you Undersheriff Tanaka interjected himself in jail issues even when the jails were not under his command and goes on to “We did see evidence that suggested that, at least in tone of what he said, the undersheriff did not create a spirit of compliance within the letter of the law.”

PT: Well, first of all I fundamentally disagree with the findings of that report. I made it clear during the Commission hearing and I’m making it clear right now. If you look at the people they spoke to, all the people that they quote, that they got their evidence from, those were folks had an axe to grind. Never in my 33 years never, ever, ever was I accused of misconduct or encouraging others or supporting others or condoning any type of deputy misconduct, be it brutality in the jails or misbehavior….

And this:

WO: Well, you’re not on trial. You’re running for Sheriff of Los Angeles County. Let me just read so our listeners will know what they report. It says: “The troubling role of Undersheriff Tanaka cannot be ignored. Not only did he fail to identify and correct problems in the jails, he exacerbated them. The commission learned about his ill-advised statements and decisions from a wide array of witnesses and sources. Over the course of several years, the Undersheriff encouraged deputies to push the legal boundaries of law enforcement activities and created an environment that discouraged accountability for misconduct.” It sounds like they talked to an awful lot of people.

PT: That is a well-written piece of fiction. First of all they did not talk to a lot of people. I can tell you the handful of people that talked to you and if you were to look at the individuals they talk to you they were individuals who were disgruntled and who were concerned that if I were running for office and if I were to become sheriff, they would have to be held accountable to levels that they were not accustomed to and not comfortable with.

WO: So you’re saying that the people who were witnesses and gave thier testimony…to the commission were people who had it in for you and wanted to make sure you wouldn’t become sheriff?

PT: I’m saying that and I’m saying that they flat out lied to the commission.

It’s very much worth listening to the whole interview, which you can find here.

We will, of course, have lots more to report this week and next, after the trial begins.

So stay tuned.

---

POST SCRIPT:

For those who are interested, here are the potential witness for the prosecution:

1. Robert Olmsted, formerly with the Los Angeles County
Sheriff’s Department;
2. John Clark, formerly with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s
Department;
3. Al Gonzales, formerly with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s
Department;
4. Dennis Conte, formerly with the Los Angeles County
Sheriff’s Department;
5. Peter Eliasberg, American Civil Liberties Union (“ACLU”);
6. Pat Maxwell, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department;
7. Steve Roller, formerly with the Los Angeles County
Sheriff’s Department;
8. Steve Martinez, formerly with the Federal Bureau of
Investigation;
9. Robert Bayes, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department;
10. Mickey Manzo, formerly with the Los Angeles County
Sheriff’s Department;
11. Connie Cervantes, formerly with the Sheriff’s Youth
Foundation;
12. David Dahle, Federal Bureau of Investigation;
13. Bobby Lyons, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department;
14. Judy Gerhardt, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department;
15. Linda Farrar, former contractor with the United States
Marshal’s Service;
16. Michelle Miller, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department;
17. Gus Academia, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department;
18. Tara Adams, formerly with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s
Department;
19. Kathy Voyer, formerly with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s
Department;
20. Ralph Ornelas, formerly with the Los Angeles County
Sheriff’s Department;
21. Michael Bornman, formerly with the Los Angeles County
Sheriff’s Department;
22. Gilbert Michel, formerly with the Los Angeles County
Sheriff’s Department;
23. William David Courson, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s
Department;
24. John Powell, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department;
25. David Betkey, formerly with the Los Angeles County
Sheriff’s Department;
26. William “Tom” Carey, formerly with the Los Angeles County
Sheriff’s Department;
27. John Torribio, Los Angeles County Superior Court;
28. Leah Tanner, Federal Bureau of Investigation; and
29. Ruben Martinez, formerly of the Los Angeles County
Sheriff’s Department