MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

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Alan Jackson seals his fate

Nobody move or the dipshit gets it.

Champagne corks must’ve been popping at the campaign offices of Mario Trujillo, Jackie Lacey and Carmen Trutanich when they received the news that the Alan Jackson for District Attorney campaign (recently noted for running one of the dumbest campaigns in recent memory) announced that it had received the endorsement of former California Governor Pete Wilson. As one campaign manager on a competing campaign put it, "Too bad for Alan Jackson. This poor guy can’t catch a break."

See, an analysis of Pete Wilson’s endorsement record, put out by someone close to a competing campaign for D.A., (that’s not yet a campaign) pointed out that every candidate Petey’s endorsed in the last fifteen years, has lost.  Take a look at Wilson's recent track record:

Dan Lungren – 1998 race for Governor – LOST

Bill Simon – 2002 race for Governor – LOST

Bill Jones – 2004 U.S. Senate Race - LOST

Rudy Giuliani – 2008 race for Repub Pres nomination – LOST

John McCain – 2008 race for President – LOST

*Meg Whitman – 2010 race for Governor - LOST

*Steve Cooley  - 2010 race for Attorney General - LOST

(*) denotes Petey was a Campaign co-chairman

Bottom line - A Pete Wilson endorsement is almost a guarantee a candidate will lose. Republicans in California call it “The curse of Pete Wilson.”

Where did this curse get started?  Well, back in 1994, Californians voted on Proposition 187, which banned illegal aliens from public services like health and education. That changed California politics forever. Republican governor Pete Wilson, who strongly supported the measure, became the symbol of what was--and still is--considered a vehemently anti-immigrant party. This, in a state where Hispanics are becoming a critical voting bloc, with more members joining their ranks every day.

Gaddi Vasquez, a Hispanic stalwart of the Orange County Republican Party, observed recently that “Pete Wilson had destroyed the Republican Party in California among Hispanic voters.”

Linda DiVall, a Republican pollster, remarked, "I don't know how any Republican thinks they can win in California when they’re associated with Pete Wilson. Most members of my party don't get it. They figure by throwing out a few sops they can overcome this hostility. Not even close.”

Take a look at Meg Whitman's recent campaign. True, she opened a few offices in Hispanic neighborhoods. But who was her campaign chairman? Pete Wilson. In some parts of the state, she might as well have been endorsed by Satan, while running for the papacy.

How can Republicans reverse this? “Well, one way would be to steer clear of Pete Wilson, for starters.”

Unfortunately, it looks like poor Alan Jackson is walking down the same path to loserdom as so many staunch Republicans before him. What’s next, a Sarah Palin endorsement? Let me hear your thoughts.

Mario Trujillo bitch slaps Steve Cooley

We don't need no stinkin' Cooley

Too bad Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Mario Trujillo doesn’t read this blog.  It wasn’t but 2 weeks ago that we posted our information about Steve Cooley’s political smear machine inside the District Attorney’s office.  Foolishly, Mario walked right into the buzz saw.

Last week the aspiring politician sent out a fund raising email asking potential donors to send him their Christmas money for his sputtering campaign. In the process, attempting to demonstrate he’s a “reformer” he threw in some lines about how the “District Attonrey’s Office” is fucked up (we’re paraphrasing), “and only he has” the cajones to turn things around. (still paraphrasing)

Talk about biting the hand that feeds you. Problem is, nobody was buying this crap.

See, Cooley and Mario Trujillo are part of the same management team, which has failed the citizens of LA County for over a decade. If Mario thought things were run so poorly, and reform is desperately needed, then what the hell has Mario been doing all these years?

The irony is Mario is a co-defendant with Steve Cooley and Jackie Lacey in the anti-labor and anti-union lawsuits which were only partially settled against them, costing taxpayers at least $600,000 and probably millions more, not to mention the legal fees that taxpayers will have to pay for the private attorneys hired from the Jones Day law firm which will probably double that amount.

Mario hoped to raise money from a gullible and uninformed crowd by writing "I have seen how archaic and inefficient policies of the D.A.'s office have delayed justice for victims, wasted taxpayer money, and put our community at risk."

Does Mario’s "reform plan" include management personally paying for the damage they cause rather than “wasting taxpayer money” by sticking taxpayers with the bill? Then, to further embellish his dexterity at talking out of both sides of his mouth, Trujillo told the Met News, this fundraising e-mail was “not attacking the administration,”  and “in no way was it meant to be a criticism of my boss.” WTF?

Cooley spokesperson Sandi Gibbons was correct, when she called Trujillo’s two-faced comments "disappointing"?! One high-ranking official in the D.A.’s office has told the Dragnet, “It’s a shame Mario’s feeble campaign has resorted so quickly to throwing his colleagues under the bus. But maybe we shouldn’t be surprised. Mario’s role in Cooley’s union busting tactics included snitching on his colleagues who merely wanted labor representation in the D.A.'s office.  It’s obvious he’s now trying to distance himself from his co-horts, Steve Cooley and Jackie Lacey.”  Question is, will the Latino and legal communities back a disloyal snitch?  Probably not. What’s your opinion?

Is D.A. wannabe Alan Jackson another Herman Cain?

"I think I just shot somebody"

The chatter among Los Angeles political observers lately is that Phil Spector prosecutor and District Attorney hopeful Alan Jackson is on his way to running one of the dumbest campaigns in recent memory.

On Saturday December 3, 2011, the L.A. Daily News reported that Jackson was put on notice that he had infringed the intellectual property of Miami photographer Scott Redinger-Lebolt, when he used a photograph owned by Redinger-Lebolt of Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen Trutanich, without the photographer's permission.

After he was caught red-handed, Jackson took a page out of the Herman Cain playbook by employing Cain's strategy to blame everyone but himself. As one keen political observer noted, (not connected to any campaign for D.A.), "Rather than (Cain) take responsibility for carrying on numerous affairs, his camp tried to divert attention by blaming fellow Republican Presidential candidate, Texas Governor Rick Perry.  It didn't work for Herman Cain and it won't work for Alan Jackson."

What makes this story peculiar is that it appears the Daily News was tipped off to this potentially tortuous conduct by none other than Jackson's chipper campaign manager, John Thomas, a young, staunch Republican campaign operative who's track record includes quarterbacking former right-wing radio host Kevin James floundering campaign for L.A. Mayor, and Sunder Ramani's ill-fated campaign for a Los Angeles based Assembly seat.

Essentially, Jackson's campaign was highlighting the he was flagrantly misappropriating intellectual property while infringing the rights of a struggling artist trying to make a living. To add insult to injury, other photographers, not related to Redinger-Lebolt or his lawyer, famed Pasadena copyright litigation specialist, Nicholas Connon, are now claiming that Jackson stole their copyrighted work as well.

Attorneys for Warner Brothers Pictures, the owner of "The Hangover" property are also said to be exploring their legal options against Jackson. One high-ranking motion picture executive at Warner Brothers noted, "It's astounding that someone seeking a top law enforcement office in Los Angeles County would attempt to build their campaign on ripping-off copyrighted content from creative artists and businesses who make their living licensing such works."

Jackson has reportedly only raised an anemic $218,000 so far, less than half of what Trutanich has raised for his exploratory committee.  What has political veterans shaking their heads is that Jackson seems to have foolishly wasted most of those funds on innocuous video clips, built on the apparently unauthorized use of copyrighted materials.

The way this is going, Jackson could find himself spending his remaining dwindling campaign resources fighting numerous lawsuits for copyright infringement which carry a penalty of $150,000 per each willful copyright violation.

What's troubling here is that Alan Jackson seems to have a pattern of playing fast and loose with the law.  On August 10, 2010, Jackson was reprimanded by Department 35 Judge Craig Richman after attempting an unethical end-run around the court in a search warrant matter. Judge Richman stated in open court, "I have never, in my entire legal career - and certainly in my judicial career -- felt so slimed by, frankly, the very office I grew up in. I was raised to believe the District Attorney's office stands for truth and Justice and the Constitution and should not be afraid of the truth. I am beginning to wonder if that was ever the case, or it's just changed since I left the D.A.'s office." At the hearing, Jackson tried to blame colleagues and underlings for what was obviously his own sleazy tactics. The Judge wasn't buying it.

"Bragging about stealing other people's work is not considered an intelligent way to launch a campaign." One observer noted, "Who starts a campaign by shooting themselves in the foot, while blowing all their campaign donations, and then try to blame others for these rookie mistakes?"

It raises questions about whether Jackson is suitable to lead the largest prosecutorial office in the country. A source close to the Jackson campaign commented, "He obviously got caught red-handed and thought the best way to divert attention away from this blunder was to falsely accuse others. If he thought he was innocent, he would've intelligently responded to the photographer's inquiry with points and authorities. Talk about consciousness of guilt. Maybe this guy is not ready for prime-time."

Is Steve Cooley running a Political Smear Machine out of the District Attorney's Office?

I wish the room would stop spinning.

Second in a series.

Sources inside the Los Angeles County District Attorneys’ office have informed us that Steve Cooley’s political smear machine is up and running.  This may be a throw back to the days when William H. Parker ran L.A. in a way that would make J. Edgar Hoover blush. 

Cooley has assigned staff who dedicate their energies and County time to attack those who dare to challenge his view of the world.

With Joe Scott enjoying his pension on a beach somewhere, one of his sleazy weapons was to unleash Deputy District Attorney David Berger to handle the “dirty work.”

Berger, who has been somewhat of a “butt boy” for Cooley for the past decade spends all his time on his obscure blogs, sending out fabricated accusations about one challenger or another.  On one day alone last week, Berger sent out 18 tweets from his faux twitter account.  He continuously attempted to smear fellow Deputy D.A.’s in the L.A. County Prosecutors Office with all sorts of half-truths, and fabricated allegations.  Berger would have you believe that he’s just expressing his first amendment rights, which he’s entitled to do. But common sense tells you that if he didn’t have the approval of his superiors, including Cooley and his joined-at-the-hip co-hort, Jacquelyn “Jackie” Lacey, he wouldn’t be attacking so fiercely.

But what’s it all about?  Why would an old, grrizzled politician, in the autumn of his career who’s been known to enjoy a cocktail or two after hours, and a veteran career prosecutor like Lacey, want to smear colleagues and friends?

As one observer noted, “The same arrogance he brought to the Attorney General’s race is employed every day at the top levels of the D.A.’s office. After  twelve years, Cooley thinks he owns the office. Jackie will do anything to get promoted. It’s time for a change."

The story takes us back to Cooley and Lacey’s hatred of a group of veteran Deputy District Attorneys in the D.A.’s office who had the audacity to form a labor organization that was designed to represent the employment interests of all deputies inside the office.  The "ADDA" or otherwise known as the Association of Deputy District Attorneys have struggled for years to organize an Association that would collectively represent their employment issues. Cooley did not want his deputies to organize for fear they could challenge his arrogant policies, and he would not be able to manipulate them so easily as he has done in the past. 

He engaged in retaliatory tactics by transferring perceived enemies to less desirable posts. He also issued poor performance evaluations to union leaders after they engaged in union-related activities.

According to California Lawyer Magazine “Steve Cooley Under Siege  - June 2011 edition” the Los Angeles County district attorney faces federal civil charges that he retaliated against union leaders and chilled participation in a nascent labor organization for deputy D.A’s.”  Take Robert Dver, a veteran prosecutor. Dver sought the advice of Jacquelyn Lacey, a close friend and a top official at the DA's office, before deciding whether to join the bargaining team of the Association of Deputy District Attorneys (ADDA) in 2008. According to testimony he gave to the L.A. County Employee Relations Commission (ERCOM) before the federal suit was filed, Lacey warned Dver that Cooley disliked the newly certified prosecutors' union. But the top prosecutor told Dver that the union was going to be a disaster, and encouraged him to join two other deputy DAs in efforts to undermine the organization.

Lacey made a fautian bargain with Cooley.  If she agreed to support his union busting agenda, he would publicly promote her as his successor.  She held up her end of the bargain. Now he finds himself stuck promoting a candidate as his successor whom he’s told several members of the legal community “has no chance.” Ironically, with Cooley’s help, Lacey has only raised a measly $125,000.  Not nearly enough to run a highly contested L.A. County campaign.

In a preliminary injunction filed in March, U.S. District Court Judge Otis D. Wright called the evidence provided by the union against Cooley and Lacey "striking and rampant," and ordered Cooley’s office to stop "discriminating or retaliating against members of the Association of Deputy District Attorneys on the basis of their membership in ADDA."

And a November decision in the ERCOM proceedings identified "a deliberate and thinly disguised campaign" by the DA's office to "destroy" ADDA through a "pattern of antiunion conduct so overt and vehement, it harkens back to an earlier and less civil time in employer-employee relations."

It is unheard of for a Federal Court to issue an injunction against a sitting District Attorney. According to the “Memorandum of Understanding Re: Settlement” dated Sept. 19,2011 the county will pay the ADDA $125,000 for Cooley’s and Lacey’s wrongdoings, and will pay Dep. D.A. Marc Debbaudt $440,000 for the pain and suffering Cooley/Lacey caused him. And that’s just one plaintiff; there are three more plaintiffs involved now in settlement negotiations over the unlawful actions of Cooley/Lacey. Moreover, this settlement stipulates that the injunction is to be declared permanent and in full effect for as long as Cooley is the D.A. — “including both his current term and any subsequent terms.”

The County taxpayers are likely to get stuck paying the tab for $5 to $7 million dollars in civil damages due to the wrongful mismanagement conduct of Cooley and Lacey.

At a time when government services are being cut up and down, they're wasting taxpayer money to settle their personal misconduct. It's outrageous and the County Supervisors should refuse to pay it. What’s your opinion?

David Berger in Hot Water!



Hopefully, he's calling his lawyer.

First in a series.

Looks like Deputy District Attorney David Berger has stepped in it once again.

As reported by the Met News http://www.metnews.com/, on Tuesday November 15, 2011, in the courtroom of Georgina Torres Rizk , it was proffered by Defense Attorney Anthony Salerno that Berger—a one-time special assistant in the City Attorney's office, until he was shown the door for what some sources say was "questionable behavior"-, was ready to "breach the attorney-client privilege held by the city, in divulging information learned during Berger’s tenure with the office."

Berger, who collects a large County check for duties that remain unclear, seems hell bent on attacking his former colleagues with childish name-calling, fabricated accusations, and British, tabloid-like, smear campaigns. As one former colleague put it, "I wouldn't trust this guy as far as I could throw him." Another former colleague added, "He's a snake!"

He has already been proven to be less than accurate when he wrote on his silly blog that L.A. Mayoral candidate Kevin James had raised close to $500,000 for his Mayoral campaign in the first fund raising cycle. *James raised less than $90,000.

He also wrote on his blog that Chief Deputy District Attorney Jacquelyn Lacey's long-shot campaign, received the endorsement of County Supervisor Mark Ridley Thomas, and the L.A. County Federation of Labor. *It turned out neither party had endorsed Lacey.

This last episode burned L.A. Daily News veteran reporter Rick Orlov, who reported Berger's false missives verbatim, until Ridley-Thomas and the County Fed publicly denounced such nonsense, forcing Orlov to issue an embarrasing retraction.

In fact, Berger has regularly disseminated so many false stories, that local L.A. media has shunned him, and now routinely ignore his postings.

Berger, who ran for Los Angeles City Attorney in 2009, was clobbered by all other candidates in that race. It appears his blind rage has him reaching for a new low where he attempts to violate the confidences of his clients while siding with defendants and Defense attorneys. This strategy should pay-off well for Berger. Not!

Sources around the L.A. Prosecutorial community say they wouldn't be surprised if a State Bar complaint against Berger for breaching the attorney-client privilege is right around the corner.

Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown.

It Friday. Cold and rainy. People getting ready for the Thanksgiving Holiday. Not much going on. What better way to spice up the day than re-open a 30 year old case that’s been long put to bed? Today, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Office announced that they have received “new evidence” that warrants taking another look at the mysterious death of Hollywood Actress Natalie Wood.

BOOM GOES THE DYNAMITE!!!

The wild pack sometimes known as the “news media” were all too eager to sop up this saga.  It’s got everything. Hollywood Stars! Possible threesomes! Deep philosophical conversations about life and career!

With the Jackson case over, Kim Kardashian getting divorced, and the McCourts reaching a settlement, the mainstream media needs something sexy and sensational to jin up their “sweeps month” audience.  The Herman Cain story has fizzled. The Coach Sandusky saga is not enough to hold an audience.  (that one is kind of icky and really has no “hot babes” to display. )  No, this one has got it all. Aging movie stars. Unsolved Mysteries. After dinner drinks on a yacht on a cold, rainy night.

The dopey Boat Captain went on the Today Show this morning and insinuated that “R.J.” was the culprit.  Did you see this guy? He wasn’t what you would call “reassuring.”  He was wearing his U-boat commander cap, his responses were haulting. His memory was foggy.  At least he could’ve shaved for this National Book Promotion appearance.  And where was this idiot 30 years ago when these facts might’ve meant something?

Now what? The People are going after Robert Wagner, 30 years later? Highly friggin’ doubtful. First, the man is 81 years old, and second, THE MAN IS 81 YEARS OLD. It’s highly unlikely a case will ever be made against anyone in this matter.  (Note to self: where was O.J. that night?)

Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley, on his way out the door after 36 years of service to the County is not going to file a messy, high profile case like this on his way out the door.  I mean, shit, Mel Gibson’s girl friend had pictures and voice mails and Cooley filed nothing.

No matter what happens here, we will probably never really know what happened on that cold, rainy night. But that won’t stop the media from running with this sensational unsolved mystery for a while. It's sweeps month. Seem like we've been here before, forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown.