1,200-acre land deal in Rancho Cucamonga taken off table
A land deal involving a 1,200-acre chunk of land in Rancho Cucamonga, closely being eyed by the San Bernardino Grand Jury and investigators from the District Attorney's Office, has been put on hold in light of the civil action filed by the county Tuesday against Rancho Cucamonga City Councilman Rex Gutierrez.
Gutierrez would have been a key decision maker if he were to vote on a developer on June 1. One of the developers vying for development rights of the property is Jeff Burum, who is a member of a consortium calling itself Rancho Alliance. Burum, a powerful player in Inland Empire political circles, was named in a 33-page report released Tuesday by former federal prosecutor John Hueston.
Hueston is now in private practice and was retained by the county in January to investigate alleged malfeasance at the county Assessor's Office to justify the lawsuit that was filed Tuesday against Gutierrez and five other former executive-level employees of the Assessor's Office.
"I believe the city and county are best served by suspending the process," Supervisor Paul Biane said in a written statement released today.
Gutierrez, who formerly served as intergovernmental relations officer for the Assessor's Office under the reign of Bill Postmus, is now being sued by the county on suspicion of fraud, civil conspiracy and breach of fiduciary responsibility.
Burum, a supporter of Gutierrez's since the mid-1990s, was instrumental in landing Gutierrez a job at the Assessor's Office. Burum was also instrumental in persuading Postmus to have the county extend Gutierrez's pay for up to six months after his job was eliminated, according to Hueston's report.
Also named as defendants in the lawsuit are Postmus, former assistant assessors Adam Aleman and Jim Erwin, Greg Eyler and political consultant Michael Richman.
The county is planning to sell the 1,200 acres north of Los Osos High School to a developer. The City Council was expected to select two out of five candidates for the project on June 1 and forward its picks to the county.
When asked if the project would go forward if Gutierrez steps down as councilman, Biane said, "It would obviously clear the way with the process."
Gutierrez's resigning from the RC Council would "obviously clear the way with the process", according to Supervisor Biane? Process, what process? Oh yeah, that "sweet deal" that you promised JB during the "settlement negotiations", the last time County tax dollars were being given away to the developer.