Dear wants credit for resolving Carson home foreclosure standoff
Here's a transcript of a phone message I received this morning from Carson Mayor Jim Dear at 9:40 a.m. It speaks for itself, but I have a comment at the end.
"Hey Larry, it's Mayor Dear. How you doing? I read your article in today's paper. Today'sFriday the 13th.
And just a correction, not so much in this article but the article that came out the day before yesterday. Both in the article and also in the caption underneath the photograph, the man, Mr. Torres, when he was in his house, he was actually on his cell phone with me.
He did speak with his brother briefly. Mostly he spent 25 minutes on the phone with me and I negotiated with him to leave the house. So you can verify that with Capt. Todd Rogers at Carson sheriff's station, and you know the number there, of course.
So ask Capt. Rogers what transpired. I was on the phone with him almost the whole time and I was actually on the phone when he yelled out the window, you know, 'I'm on the phone with the mayor.'
I think you were present at the time when he, when Mr. Torres stated that. The television networks got the information accurate about who actually negotiated him out of the house, but your newspaper really didn't make that very clear. I thought you should have the accurate information on that I know you like to have the facts.
And I hope you have a good day....
(Gives his numbers)
All right Larry, you have a good day and I appreciate if you do any followup articles that you verify with Capt. Rogers, the sequence of events. And so, if you have a followup article, I don't know if you will or not, please state that correctly.
Thanks a lot Larry and have a good day."
Now a few words from me:
Yes, I was there. In fact, I got there before the deputies.Torres had called me when it all began. He wanted to be on the news.
I was standing on the sidewalk across from Torres' house when the deputies arrived. They didn't know what they were getting into. I watched them risk their own safety and take positions outside the home, not knowing if Torres had a gun. I then watched deputies and his brother speak to Torres on the phone and try to talk him out without anyone getting hurt.
I haven't heard from any of them. None of them called looking for any credit.
During the standoff, it became clear Torres wanted to speak to the mayor. From what I know, Torres' uncle, Ruben Martinez, called Dear. I clearly reported that the mayor became involved and that Torres gave up after their conversation.Dear wasn't at the scene while it was ongoing, and neither were any television reporters. They all arrived after it was over and I was long gone. I don't know how they knew to come, unless they read coverage on this Web site or got a phone call from someone.
Dear somehow found himself in front of the cameras.
I have no doubt that the mayor played a role in resolving the situation, perhaps a significant one. If TV said Dear was the hero, then they heard that directly from him.
Dear, by the way, had nothing to say to my colleague, Gene Maddaus, yesterday when Gene called to ask him if he knew about Torres' criminal record. Dear hung up on him.
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About the Blogger
Larry Altman has covered crime in the South Bay since 1990. He's seen it all - the missing model who turned up dead in the desert, the wives found dead in trunks, the high-school coaches who get a little too close to their players. He drives his young colleagues nuts with his "I remember when" stories. He welcomes your tips and observations about the present, and you can mix in a little Lakers basketball talk if you like.
E-mail Larry at larry.altman@dailybreeze.com.
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Re: Mr.Torres. Who cares if he's had run in with the law? That is nobodies business. I fail to see how that information has anything to do with his foreclosure. He's a good man. He works hard, takes care of his family. And actually owned a home. I think your reporter should go on leave without pay. You turned a good story into trash. You should be ashamed. We lost our home also. Thank God I didn't call the daily breeze for help.
R.W. Torrance,Ca.
Re: What does his past history have to do with his house going into foreclousure. We need to remember that we all need help somehow and if it means asking for it then we should. Thank you to the Mayor of Carson for stepping up to the plate when Mr. Torres asked for help. Hopefully we see this more often in people since it's to late for the family in Wilmington.
Oh Mayor Dear - your political whoredness is delicious. How much did you get for your soul, anyways?
I look forward to the day when, in the course of our epic economic and social demise, we will be eating people like him.
You know what, I wouldn't have talked to Gene either if he was trying to say that Frank Torres is a bad guy. Stick to the facts. I believe Mayor Dear was just trying to get the facts out. Give him credit for stopping the situation for escalating. Thank you.
Thanks for doing a complete job on the journalism with the background on the guy. Too often we only get one side of the story the main stream news is trying to push on us.
I wouldn't be surprised if Dear soon forgot about the whole home matter considering it took such an event to bring attention to Dear about the matter.
Can't blame him though, who wouldn't want free positive national air time in the political business?
Terrific! Yellow Journalism at its best. The mayor did the right thing and you should have reported it correctly.