I’m on Which Way LA? with Warren Olney Wednesday night at about 7 pm on KCRW FM.
If you didn’t listen in real time you can click on the podcast here. It’s a five minute or so segment about the fight for power going on at the LA County Sheriff deputies’ union, ALADS. As we mentioned below, it’s a very high stakes game that could materially affect the race for sheriff, since ALADS has $2.5 million in campaign PAC money, a million or more of which could be thrown behind one candidate for sheriff in the primary election.
In a seven person race, that much money could—and likely would—change the outcome.
AND…IF YOU’D LIKE TO SEE AN INTRIGUING NEW PLAY FOR A GOOD CAUSE TRY: PLACAS, THE MOST DANGEROUS TATTOO
Thursday through Sunday, April 3-6 you can see a promising new play, Placas, the Most Dangerous Tattoo, by Paul S. Flores, starring Ric Salinas of Culture Clash and inspired by events in the life of Alex Sanchez, founder of Homies Unidos.
If you attend on Thursday night April 3, the performance will in fact benefit Homies Unidos.
On Saturday, there’ll be a pre-performance conversation with Father Greg Boyle and Alex Sanchez.
Celeste, In your discussion on Which Way LA,help us bring into perspective, if possible, why the US Attorney hasn’t issued additional indictments in the “jail informant” matter. It’s quite puzzlingly in light of the obvious participation of Tanaka & Baca. Considering your observation as to the potential impact of money on the critical primary, the lack of action by the US Attorney may even be a bigger factor. There are some widely held impressions of the US Attorney’s M/O; they’re painfully slow( probably a plus when considering measured justice), they can be political( not a plus), appear to over weight the likelihood of a “win” vs the merit of taking the shot even if you might lose. Here’s a hope from someone with decades of law enforcement experience, Mr. Birotte please support the FBI agents harassed at the direction of Tanaka & Baca, consider the enterprise nature of Tanaka’s exercise of power & it’s undo influence on a free election & be willing to engage while continuing the overall investigation. The vast majority of honest hard working deputies & the citizens of LA County would be well served by decisive action. TAKE TANAKA OFF THE PUBLIC’S PLATE!
Celeste, Oops, day late, that’s why retired. Still would like you to address the questions if possible.
EDITOR’S NOTE:
Hi “The Past,”
Obviously the whole thing you bring up is an important topic area for discussion and many of us speculate madly about it on a regular basis.
The one question I can answer is that, yes, Andre Birotte is very deliberative. He won’t pull punches, but he’s not going to go when he’s not ready. He wants to know he’s got whatever charges he brings totally nailed. He won’t take shot and hope for the best.
Now whether that is why they’ve not yet gone higher up the food chain on the Anthony Brown/obstruction of justice case….is anybody’s guess. I’ve heard some great theories but the truth is, nobody outside of the feds knows.
I do fully believe Birotte when he says that he’ll take the investigation wherever it goes. He’s a straight shooter. Also, if you look at the video from the press conference on the day of the first indictments, I think it was the AUSA (but it might have been the FBI guy) who, when asked if they were finished with the obstruction case, he shook his head emphatically and said, “No,” with what I’d call extreme prejudice.
As for whether politics could enter into the matter of indicting people at the top—namely Tanaka and Baca—I think politics are present in everything. That doesn’t suggest that politics will affect the outcome. But we live in a highly political world, and to think those winds wouldn’t be blowing is to be in denial.
So then what should we expect? Beats me. It’s driving all of us totally crazy.
C.
PS: When I’m on the radio there’s always a prescribed topic that we agree on, and I know precisely how much time I have. So going too far off topic rarely is a good idea. It just muddies things. Thus I’d not have been able to bring up the indictments even if I’d seen your comment in time. (Except to have maybe said that there is speculation that Tanaka will be indicted, which I likely could have slipped in.)
Celeste, Love your consistency, it’s just maturity in the face of us who are turning blue awaiting the final decisive conclusion. I can only speak for myself and it’s to say I can barely stand it. The violation of public trust is is so overwhelming and so clear it begs resolution. If it was a horse race Mr. Briotte would have welts on his backside, he would be afraid to lose!
Whether Tanaka gets indicted sooner or later is important, but not as important as the misguided efforts of people on the department who keep offering these glowing testimonials about the disgraced undersheriff. Latest in a line of heroes is Wes Sutton, who followed Craig Ditsch, Tim Milliman (all lieutenants) and Det. Armando Cuevas. Some very personal, heartfelt, but all relentlessly in denial of the damage Tanaka has inflicted on the Department.
And some of it is a flat out fabrication. Case in point, Wes Sutton’s statement: “I can attest that Paul’s number one priority was safer communities for all citizens in LA County.” Wes, exactly how does that square with Paul’s often repeated claims that there were no gang problems east of the 710 Fwy, and he routinely diverted resources away from serious gang problems in those communities?
A message from the thousands of department members who suffer no delusions about Tanaka’s leadership: you can’t be good to some people and really, really, bad to others and claim to be an honest leader. It doesn’t work that way. A true leader is consistent across the board, operates without malice towards others, and looks out for the best interest of the ENTIRE organization. What part of that do you not understand?
I think the four of you need to sit down and do some serious soul-searching. The voting public is not going to buy your version of Paul, and neither is the media – they already have his number. Matter of fact, so does the FBI!
Understand this: the entire department will unite behind ANYBODY who is not named Paul Tanaka if by some miracle he would survive the primary…
See this morning that Mr. Briotte has been nominated for the Federal Court. Think that explains or changes the pace of the jail informant case? If I’m Tanaka, I’m much more relaxed this Friday morning. Damn!
What is frustrating is how prosecutors “always” think in terms of “can we win this case.” I think what they should “always” consider is, can we allow the criminal mind to out smart us. Don’t get me wrong, wise people “always” think ahead, but “sometimes” you have to make a move just to make your point.
There are many times where people should be indicted based on the evidence exposed in the beginning, if for no other reason than to prove to people they aren’t above the law. If Deputies in the field used that same mentality no one would get arrested. Wait, I’m sorry, that’s already happening.
I went back to Wes Sutton’s “testimonial” on Tanaka’s website for a careful read, and I think the author speaks volumes, without admitting it, of Tanaka’s pay to play schemes. To wit, in his own words:
“This case was concerning favoritism and misconduct by an executive under Paul’s command. As said by others and confirmed, Paul held his command staff to the highest standards set by the law and Department Policy.” I take it the author developed selective amnesia and forgot all about Paul’s transgressions with the law and department policy. Pay to play, violating civil service rules, abusing, berating, and belittling subordinates, creating a hostile work environment for all, exhorting department members to literally bend the law in order to enforce it, are these the highest standards of conduct?
Another quote: “I soon promoted to lieutenant was assigned to Men’s Central Jail (MCJ). This was during 2006 when Paul was the Assistant Sheriff overseeing Custody Division. Paul firmly told me that MCJ needs strong leadership and someone who will guide, train and mentor young deputies so they will have long, successful and safe careers.” Let’s see, 2006, wasn’t that the miracle lieutenant list of 2005, where just about everybody “aced” the test? And why would Paul “firmly” tell a newly promoted lieutenant, four levels beneath his direct supervision, about anything that was not told to an entire group of supervisors and managers? Does this mean the author was one of those “I work for Tanaka, not for you!” individuals?
Wes Sutton saved the best for last: “My hope and goal is to leave the Department in far better condition than it is now. You deserve to have the dignity of our once proud organization and the public’s trust restored. The only man capable of leading us there is Paul Tanaka, a man of his word and no one else will work harder for you, the troops and the community.”
Wes, since you decided to inject yourself into the public debate, perhaps you should realize that most people on the department are shaking their heads at your comments. Tanaka is the one man responsible for our loss of dignity and trust. Baca was a fool, but Tanaka was the architect of all that went wrong. I wonder what the going price is to offer such an astoundingly false testimonial on Paul’s behalf. We will work hard to convince you to retire in March of 2015, because what you put on paper now indicates you sold your soul to the devil a long time ago.
At this point your only redeeming act would be to confess all you and your ilk have done to the organization on Paul’s behalf. It appears your only hope and goal is to gain another rank. How sad.
LATBG, he isn’t the only supervisor in his unit to sell his soul. One just recently transferred into the unit. None of these new testimonials coming out right near the election should surprise anyone.
On another note, I just saw KTLA report on a former Deputy Sheriff Sanchez from Palmdale being sentenced to 9 years for rape. SIGH
Looking at the Mr T FB page, I saw something that really disappointed me. I saw a picture of the Mr T bullies who go knocking on door trying to intimidate voter to go their way. I saw a Lt (Jack D) in one of the photos. Now Jack is a good guy, but not the sharpest nail in the box. Mr T fed him answers all the the way to his current rank. Cmon Jack, get real. Your Daddy Mr T will not get elected.