ZUMA DOGG TELLS DAVID BERGER TO GET LOST

I'm a legend. Just ask me.

Self admitted mentally ill blogger David "Zuma Dogg" Saltsman has asked suspected mentally ill blogger and L.A Loser David "Junk-yard Dogg" Berger to stop sending him his manufactured nonsense via his corny twitter account.
Today, in a tweet to Berger's L.A. Dragnet twitter account, Zuma, the L.A. Legend and Mayoral Candidate pleaded with Berger to "stop sending me" your asinine tweets.  See the Tweet below.

@DragnetLA: Does it require a cash payment to have you stop sending me "@"ZumaDogg tweets? It would REALLY improve the quality of my life. about 8 hours ago

It seems as though the blogging community has finally figured out that Berger can be counted on for nothing more than an endless stream of fabricated anti Trutanich vitriol which has done nothing but propel Trutanich into the front-runners spot in the race to become L.A.County's next District Attorney.


But I stay up all night sending out these tweets



HAS DAVID BERGER'S BLOG OFFICIALLY SHIT THE BED???

What are you lookin' at?

Deputy District Attorney David Berger, a main henchman in the Steve Cooley-Jacquelyn Lacey smear machine, has officially "shit the bed."  Last week he posted several posts that were complete crap. We point this out to highlight that some blogs tell the truth, and some peddle complete fiction.

First, Berger posted some phony poll in the race for Los Angeles County D.A.  It was an "unofficial" poll supposedly conducted by an "unknown, unnamed, and unidentified group. " There was no data for sampling size, margin of error, methodology, or anything that a real poll would include. Berger simply invented the data. in order to disparage Lacey's competition in the D.A's race. The only fact Berger got right was that Lacey was losing the race behind Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen Trutanich, and Deputy District Attorneys Alan Jackson and Mario Trujillo.

Then, Berger claimed Deputy District Attorney Mario Trujillo was dropping out of the race for Los Angeles County D.A. because he was going to run for Los Angeles City Attorney.  Trujillo put out a statement saying "he was dropping out due to health considerations."

Berger ended the week with a totally fraudulent claim that FOX L.A's newsman Jeff Michaels ambushed Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen Trutanich in a live televised interview last Friday afternoon. Jeff Michaels responded with a Twitter message that said "the interview wasn't an ambush." One examination of the  interview, which is available at http://www.myfoxla.com/  will show that Michaels asked topical questions and Trutanich tried to focus on the issues.

What's even more head scratching is that Berger seems to have aligned himself with David "Zuma Dogg" Saltsman, an admitted mentally ill blogger and candidate for Mayor of Los Angeles.

The lame stream media finds Berger has no credibility, and most reputable blogs won't go near him with a 10 foot poll. The only publication that references him is the Metropolitan News, and that's only because they're part of the Cooley-Lacey political smear operation. Just check out all their articles criticizing the ADDA (Association of Deputy District Attorneys), but nothing on all the lawsuits the County is paying for all of Cooley's & Lacey's union busting tactics.

It's one thing for an unemployed, mentally-ill, homeless chap to blog about various issues, it's quite another for a Deputy District Attorney who is an Officer of the Court, and a member of the State Bar of California to put out 100%  fabricated nonsense in an effort to spread disinformation and smear political opponents.

This may be another reason why change is needed at the highest levels of the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office.

L.A. TIMES WAKES UP!!!

The third estate has figured out Steve Cooley and his perjuring side-kick, Jacquelyn Lacey might be as sleazy as every other downtown politician. Today, the LA. Times reported that the D.A.'s office may have over-looked presenting some exculpatory evidence to the Grand Jury in the Richard Alarcon case. It appears when Cooley and his stooges are hell-bent on carrying out a political hit-job, they probably figure, why let the facts get in the way? Unfortunately, Judge Kathleen Kennedy saw it differently.

Our good friend, Betty Pleasant, who writes for The Wave newspapers, has picked up that Jacquelyn Lacey, the Chief Deputy D.A. under Cooley may be under investigation for conducting campaign like activities at the office.

Betty is eating the The Times lunch, covering an important story that the Old Hag on Spring Street refuses to touch.

Basically, Betty reported, "Sources inside the D.A.’s office have said that Sharon Matsumoto, the assistant D.A. in charge of administration, was conducting an investigation into the complaint that Chief Deputy D.A. Jacquelyn Lacey, who is running for election to succeed Cooley, had violated some rules, memoranda and directives regarding campaigning for office on “company time and space."

Betty is the first one to draw a connection by the distractions in the D.A's office, and the appearance of many long festering issues with teachers in the LA Unified School District.

We know readership and circulation are dwindling, and so major media doesn't have the resources it once had, but there are many important stories that require the attention of the third estate. Rather than write fluff pieces on Mayor V and the demographics of the Motion Picture Academy, maybe the big boys at the Times can look into some of the antics at Los Angeles District Attorney's office, which will have an open seat this year.

BREAKING!!!! L.A. TIMES JACK LEONARD DECLARES L.A. DRAGNET (DAVID BERGER) IS "NOT A RELIABLE SOURCE."

Would you buy a used car from this man?

L.A. TIMES reporter and Steve Cooley crony, JACK LEONARD is on record stating emphatically that "L.A. Dragnet",  the downtown blog written by Deputy District Attorney David Berger, (a Steve Cooley  butt boy), "is not a reliable source."

Leonard made the remarks in response to an inquiry by the campaign of Deputy District Attorney Mario Trujillo ,who had advised Leonard that Alan Jackson had touted the endorsement of former California Governor, Pete Wilson.  When Leonard asked for the source of such endorsement, the Trujillo campaign pointed to the David Berger blog, which is published under the facade of "Los Angeles Dragnet." Leonard stated emphatically and on the record, "Everyone in the newsroom knows that blog is not a reliable source. Too many journalists have been burned by that huckster"  In fact, it is well-known that the Berger blog is really nothing more than an arm of the Steve Cooley/Jaquelyn Lacey political smear machine, written with the standards of your average British tabloid.

As one longtime Los Angeles political insider observed, "Instead of Page Six girls, this blog has false and sensational stories about Nuch Trutanich and Alan Jackson. It's a running joke how transparent and one note the whole thing is."

It hasn't seemed to slow Trutanich down. Last week it was reported that Trutanich received over one million dollars in donations to his exploratory District Attorney campaign, without formally declaring his candidacy. Alan Jackson and Jaquelyn Lacey have received a disappointing small fraction of that, after campaigning for over a year, with Steve Cooley's support. 

The community seems to be speaking loud and clear.  They're tired of Cooley, Lacey, Jackson, and their brand of management, and seem to want Trutanich. Our friends at City Watch have conducted a poll asking whether Carmen Trutanich should run for District Attorney. The results thus far have over Seventy three hundred respondents with as of this posting 75% answering "Yes, Trutanich would make an excellent DA."

A veteran reporter at another media outlet, who is known for having a keen eye when it comes to the Los Angeles political scene, commented, "Cooley and Lacey seem to be serving out their final months bathed in a fountain of sleaze. Using one of their Deputy District Attorney's to blog political smear attacks, jumps the shark. "

After Rick Orlov and several other journalists were burned by Berger and his phony blog, Jack Leonard, and several other local journalists have confirmed that Berger is as credible as a Used Car salesman. It's not surprising since over the past couple years, the downtown L.A Justice community regards Berger as if he has leprosy. Now it's apparant the L.A. Jounalism community wants nothing to do with him either.

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.