FW: Cheryl-Greg connection: SDUT-Mannes: Councilman emotional as he testifies during perjury trial (Castaneda persecution)

------ Forwarded Message
From: <char.ayers@att.net>
Date: Fri, 18 Apr 2008 21:19:45 +0000
To: Charlene Ayers <char.ayers@att.net>
Subject: Cheryl-Greg connection: SDUT-Mannes: Councilman emotional as he testifies during perjury trial (Castaneda persecution)

-------------- Forwarded Message: --------------
From: PatsyFritz@aol.com
To: tanya.mannes@uniontrib.com, char.ayers@worldnet.att.net
Subject: Re: RE: SDUT-Mannes: Councilman emotional as he testifies during perjury trial (Castaneda persecution)
Date: Fri, 18 Apr 2008 18:44:23 +0000



In a message dated 4/17/8 11:36:08 PM, tanya.mannes@uniontrib.com writes:

<< Dear Patsy,


Thanks for your comments. Given your knowledge of Cheryl-Greg connection, you
might find this story interesting. It was published in May 2007.


Tanya Mannes

DELICIOUS, Tanya! I had not read this report (below). It did not show up in
our North County Inland edition. What we have here, I think, is the effort
to curry favor by Dumanis, and the Supes' quid-pro-quo for her support during
their election campaigns.

I have wondered why th e Lincoln Club and Republican Central Committee are not
shown as "friends of the court" in O'Toole's capers. I see this as Bonnie
sucking up not only to the Supes, but to the downtown Republican establishment.
She's been a Republican for some time (prior to her first race for DA) but
for obvious reasons needs to burnish her Republican rep to get the downtown
establishment's support.

I truly regret the time, $$$ and effort I put into that race, garnering votes
in North County for Dumanis. I was S0 idealistic about Bonnie, but she's
turned into just another run-of-the mill influence peddler - for her own
interests. Sad! She could have been a real force for ethics and reform!

Patsy




Newspaper: UNION-TRIBUNE

Date: May 12, 2007

Day of Week: Saturday

Edition: R,E,S,F

Section: LOCAL

Page: B-1

Length (in lines): 785

Headline: Castaneda says DA probes are ploy | `Unsubs tantiated charges,' he
claims

Byline: Tanya Mannes

Credit: STAFF WRITER

Captions: Published: 1. Steve Castaneda 2. Patrick O'Toole



Town: CHULA VISTA

Keywords: CHULA VISTA. COUNTY. ELECTIONS. ETHICS. HOUSING. PROBES.



[Go To Best Hit]


CHULA VISTA -- Chula Vista City Councilman Steve Castaneda said yesterday

that District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis investigated him three times in the

last year to try to force him to resign.


Castaneda contends that Dumanis conspired with Chula Vista Mayor Cheryl

Cox, his opponent in last year's election. Castaneda hasn't stated an

intention to challenge Cox in the next mayoral race, but many expect him

to do so.


In a statement e-mailed to the media, Castaneda said Patrick O'Toole, who

leads the Public Integrity Unit at the District Attorney's Office, began

targeting him in March 2006 in a "politica l witch hunt."


Castaneda said O'Toole initiated three investigations of him and

subpoenaed him three times to testify before the criminal grand jury

regarding "completely unsubstantiated charges raised by political

opponents with deep political connections."


"I'm up for re-election in 2008, and I'm sure that the Coxes and their

political allies would like nothing better than for me to run with a cloud

over my head or flat-out resign," Castaneda said.


He said O'Toole recently offered him a choice: Step down from office

immediately or he would charge him with a felony. Castaneda said his

attorney advised him not to comment further on the deal, including what

the felony charge would be.


Castaneda said the lengthy, expensive process of fighting a felony charge

would take a toll on his family's reputation and his career -- even if he

prevailed in court.


"The DA knows this, and they are leveraging that reality in an attempt to

achieve the political outcome they seek," he said.


Castaneda said Dumanis is part of the county's "old power structure" that

includes Cheryl Cox's husband, county Supervisor Greg Cox, who has budget

authority over the District Attorney's Office, he said.


O'Toole declined to comment on Castaneda's allegations.


"We don't comment on investigations or the status of grand jury matters,"

he said.


Dumanis also declined to comment, according to her spokesman, Paul

Levikow.


Last year, Cheryl Cox and Castaneda ran in the Chula Vista mayoral primary

in an effort to unseat incumbent Mayor Steve Padilla. Castaneda received

25 percent of the votes in the June 6 primary, which wasn't enough for him

to proceed to the runoff. Cox won in November.


Cox said yesterday that Castaneda's alleg ations came as a surprise.


"I don't know what he's talking about," she said.


She said she considers Castaneda a colleague, not a rival, and noted that

both share the goal of demolishing the South Bay Power Plant.


"The race with me and Steve was over in June," Cox said.


Castaneda said O'Toole's three investigations focused on an apartment that

Castaneda rented for his wife in Sunbow Villas; property that he purchased

in 2005 with Chula Vista resident Henry Barros; and his role as a board

member of the Chula Vista Redevelopment Corp.


Castaneda has been a City Council member since 2004. He is a

transportation and land-use consultant who was once an aide to Ron

Roberts, the former San Diego councilman who is now a county supervisor.



"I am not a wealthy man, and this pretense has cost me personally

thousands of dollars in legal fees, not to say what it has cost the

taxpayers," Castaneda said.


He said he has spent $15,000 on attorney fees, and the city hired council

for him and other city officials who were forced to testify in the

investigations.


Shortly after his announcement was sent out, Castaneda attempted to remove

one statement in it. In a subsequent e-mail, he said that the news release

should not have stated that O'Toole threatened to charge him with a felony

if he didn't resign. The information is true, but it "may be deemed

privileged," he said.


Dumanis established the Public Integrity Unit in early 2006 to root out

public corruption involving violations of state law in San Diego County.



Last year, O'Toole began using the county's criminal grand jury early in

his investigations as a fact-finding body. The grand jury has the

authority to issue subpoenas, and witnesses testify under oath.


Previously in San Diego County, the criminal grand jury was presented with

the results of a district attorney's investigation as a final step in

getting an indictment. Now the grand jury gets involved much earlier,

before prosecutors have determined whether any crime was committed.


O'Toole is a former federal prosecutor who previously served as the U.S.

attorney in San Diego. He developed the new procedure based in part on the

federal model and on procedures used in Los Angeles and Santa Clara

counties, he said.


The criminal grand jury has 19 members. A new group is convened every 30

days, selected by lot from the trial-juror pool. Jurors' identities are

kept confidential.


End-of-Story







-----Original Message-----

From: PatsyFritz@aol.com [mailto:PatsyFritz@aol.com]

Sent: Thursday, April 17, 2008 4:29 PM

To: char.ayers@att.ne t; Mannes, Tanya

Subject: Re: SDUT-Mannes: Councilman emotional as he testifies during

perjury trial (Castaneda persecution)




In a message dated 4/17/8 5:20:28 PM, char.ayers@att.net writes:


<< Castaneda has described O'Toole's investigation as a "political witch

hunt" intended to prevent him from winning re-election. He said last year
that

District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, O'Toole's boss, sought to damage his
reputation

and help his rival, Chula Vista Mayor Cheryl Cox.


Dumanis has declined to comment on those statements. >>



Tanya -


.... Chula Vista Mayor Cheryl Cox, wife of County Board of Supervisors

Chairman Greg Cox. The Board of Supervisors provides the District
Attorney's

generous budget, including the allocation of a disproportionate amount of
Prop 172

funding while shafting Fire Departments in the County who get n ada, zero, zip

to protect the electorate.


The 1993 vote for Proposition 172's tax increase was clearly successful ONLY

because votes watched TV coverage of horrendous brushfires raging through

populated areas from Oakland to Malibu to the US-Mexican border, just days
befoe

the election.


Name one voter who thought the tax should pay so much for the DA's office and

none for fire protection!


But the Supervisors always need the endorsement of the D.A. and the Sheriff

at election time, to prove they're "tough on crime!" Hence the lavish
budget

enhancements for the D.A. and Sheriff.


So ... why shouldn't the D.A's "McGruff," Patrick O'Toole, go after Mayor

Cox's rival, Castaneda, and curry favor with the Supes who butter his bread,

especially Mayor Cox's husband, now Chairman of the Board of Supes?


I guess it's the least he could do ...


Pa tsy Fritz >>




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