Recently in bad cop Category

Sheriff Lee Baca responded to a series of articles that have appeared in this paper over the past week. Here's the top of our story:

LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is reexamining how it collects towing fees in response to allegations a former traffic sergeant took nearly $500,000 from the city of La Puente in impound revenues, officials said.

"We are doing that now," Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said. "We are probably going to go to a cashless system. Using something like an ATM card to make it more difficult for theft to occur."

Whitmore also said the department is reviewing several other internal policies and will consult with the Board of Supervisors.

Former Sgt. Joe Dyer, who used to work out of the Industry sheriff's station until he retired in May, has been under investigation since the beginning of the year.

I just finished reading your article in today's SGVT in regard to the "Tow fee controversy."  It is certainly sad that a "model law-enforcement agency" has been tarnished by the act of one individual and or others who failed to oversee the procedure of collecting tow fees. I would like to refer you to the comment made by John Stites, president of the Los Angeles County Professional Peace Officers Association who stated in the article published on Friday, October 17th:  "The higher-ups in the department bear responsibility for the missing money" He goes on to say: "We're not money men, Oftentimes they put us in positions we are not trained to handle and it ends up going bad.  I've seen it happen more than once." 
 
Of course this does not mean that someone is not responsible for his or her own lack of honesty, nor does it mean that all the blame should be given to the current higher-up's.  If my information is correct, and perhaps you would be interested in looking for the facts regarding the policy of where and how money was collected for city tow fees that was instigated years ago during Sherman Block's term as Sheriff of L. A. County.   It was and is a poorly thought out policy. 
 
Now, for the main reason I am taking the time to write to you personally.  As I continued to read your article, I was disappointed in you and your comments regarding the "Joe Six-Packs" of the world and the "greasy paws of a tow monkey."  I don't think you considered that everyone who gets their vehicle towed does not fall into the category that you so cutely labeled "Joe Six-Packs" .  People get their vehicles towed for many reasons,  Often, it may be because their vehicle was stolen, recovered and impounded.  They are innocent victims of a crime committed against them. I won't take the time to go into the other various reasons that vehicles are towed, stored or impounded, but I assure you that most of the time it is not for drunken driving as you insinuated.  As for the comment:  "No doubt it would be a helluva lot easier than putting the cash in the hands of a greasy paws of a tow monkey" .....What where you thinking? 
 
First of all, money collected by towing companies are generally collected at a office counter staffed by reputable employees. Secondly, for you to demean the men and women who perform a service for individuals, the community and the police agencies shows me that you are not in touch with reality.  Have you ever noticed a tow truck on the freeway assisting in the removal of a disabled or wrecked vehicle. Would you not agree that the driver is putting him or herself in danger?  If you should ever have the misfortune to be stranded in your vehicle, would you consider the person who is coming to your aid a...."greasy tow monkey?"
 
I don't know anything about you, other than the fact that according to your column you have the title of Metro Editor.  Therefore, even though I might disagree with your published comments, I would never put a derogatory label on you.  I suggest that in the future you might want to refrain from labeling people with inflammatory character references.
 
Sincerely,
Andria Welch

The quarterly report on the Sheriff's department filed by the County Office of Independent Review is a detailed list of investigations into a variety of miscounduct by employees of the Sheriff's Department. Much of it never gets reported in the MSM.

There are stories of domestic violence, theft, beatings and sex with inmates at the county jail.

Interestingly enough there appears to be no mention of Industry Sgt. Joe Dyer, accused of embezzling something like $500,000 worth of towing fees from the City of La Puente. The case is under investigation by the Sheriff's Internal Criminal Investigations Bureau, and reportedly has been refered to the OIR. *

* An anonymous caller points out that a similar incident is mentioned on page 8 of the report. It also says that it was turned over for prosecution but that the DA's office rejected the case.

Here's the text from that entry:

Subject allegedly removed money that the station had collected for traffic impound fees, and failed to follow protocols for collection and documentation of these funds. Investigation is complete; final resolution is pending. Criminal investigation failed to establish a basis for prosecution; Case rejected in July of '07.

**Officials now say that was a separate case from another station. Apparently the problem is widespread in the sheriff's department. Anyone want to bet that the policies for handling tow money is about to change? How many other cities have been shortchaged?

Tania Chatila pieced this story together from a variety of sources who indicated something fishy was happening in La Puente after Industry Capt. Mike Smith was transferred on a Sunday afternoon.

Here's the top of the story, and a link:

LOS ANGELES - A sheriff's deputy is suspected of embezzling nearly half a million dollars in towing fees from the city of La Puente, officials said Thursday.

Sheriff Lee Baca said the department's Internal Criminal Investigations Bureau is investigating allegations that former traffic Sgt. Joe Dyer stole nearly $500,000.

"My belief is that no one is above the law and I think that the criminal justice system will act appropriately in this case," Baca said Thursday.

Dyer, who could not be reached for comment, retired in May after detectives "established a need for an investigation regarding funds at the Industry station that were missing," Baca said.

Dyer's supervisor, Capt. Michael Smith, was reassigned to the sheriff's headquarters in Monterey Park effective Sunday, officials said.

The District Attorney is aware of the case, Baca said. He expected it would be submitted for review by the end of the year.

"We've done as much as we can to build a good strong case," Baca said.

The investigation was launched in January.

 

Dave Gunderson, a former member of the Baldwin Park Police Department, is probably headed to state prison after his conviction on several firearm related charges.

From The Eureka Times-Standard:

Former Blue Lake Police Chief David Gundersen faces a state prison sentence of up to three years and eight months for the illegal possession of a submachine gun and a pistol with a silencer, charges a jury convicted him of on Wednesday.

Gundersen will also be sentenced for 11 charges of battery, each of which carry a maximum six month county jail term or a fine of $2,000, or both. He originally faced 24 counts of spousal rape with the use of intoxicant, which carried far longer sentences that might have totaled 72 to 192 years in prison.

The felony firearms convictions effectively end Gundersen's career as a law enforcement officer, and the misdemeanor battery convictions make would make it illegal for Gundersen to possess firearms.

Gundersen was found not guilty of attempting to dissuade the victim of a crime, but guilty of violating a court order. He will be sentenced on Oct. 22.

On Tuesday, the jury sent a note to Superior Court Judge Bruce Watson shortly before 2 p.m. announcing that it had arrived at a verdict. Since one juror had to leave early, the judge postponed the reading of the verdict until this morning.

From reporter Ruby Gonzales on the 211 beat in Whittier:

LA HABRA - A man arrested for allegedly robbing a La Habra bank last week is a former Pasadena police officer.

The FBI said it is also investigating if the man, 44-year-old Vincent Cantu of Whittier, could be the apologetic "Polite Bandit" who hit three local banks in 2006.

"There are similarities," said FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller. She said the "Polite Bandit" robbed Banco Popular branches and the La Habra robbery was at a Banco Popular.

The bandit was seen with a gun during the 2006 heists and told victims he was sorry.

    The death of retired Pasadena Police Lt. David Richter has highlighted the need for responsible journalism in a time when tabloid reporting and the sentiments of bloggers are confused with news.

    Richter's abandoned car was found by a water-filled pit in Irwindale last January. Police assumed the retired lieutenant had either taken his own life or simply walked away from his financial troubles.

    The later discovery of Richter's corpse and a firearm under a nearby overpass seems to corroborate the theory that Richter took his own life. But then there's the conspiracy theorists, and admittedly the case possesses all the potential of a Law and Order episode.

    Thursday, I read an article by Andre Coleman of the Pasadena Weekly. Buried on page 13, the article uses an unnamed source and anonymous letter to create speculation amongst readers. After a short recap of the facts, Coleman delves into a lengthy digress about an anonymous letter sent to members of the Pasadena City Council.  The letter alleges everything from police malfeasance to racism.

    Coleman's sublimation of this anonymous letter leads to another anonymous source:

"According to an earlier conversation with one coroner's office employee who did not wish to be named, among the factors that may have led authorities to reopen the case (the case was never closed) was that a gun found near Richter's body appeared to have been fired four times, and one bullet remained in the weapon."

    Keeping in mind that they are a tabloid, I find it alarming that the Pasadena Weekly published this story. Had someone in the coroner's office made the statement, a statement that Los Angeles County Coroner Assistant Chief Ed Winter doubts the legitimacy of, I would have written it off as conjecture, rather than present it as news. How would someone in the coroner's office know this information? According to Winter, homicide detectives would have taken the weapon and run ballistics on it, not the coroners office. While the article spends ample time on anonymous sources, it fails to mention Richter's financial possible motives for Richter to commit suicide.

    Prior to writing my article on Richter, I searched for reliable information, unfortunately reliable sources of information weren't permitted to comment.

    Friday I spoke with a psychic who claims the spirit of David Richter awakens her every morning seeking justice for his murder.

    Monday morning I listened to a voice-mail from an anonymous caller who presented himself as law enforcement by using the word "we" often in his rant. I listened to the message several times in an ill-fated attempt to extract meaningful insight.

"You'll never find out what happened, because that's what happens to us good cops when we make promises we can't keep."

What promises? Promises to financial institutions involving adjustable rate mortgages?

    After racking my brain for three days I had an epiphany: there probably isn't any credible information indicating Richter's death was anything but a suicide.

    Let's face it, Richter was a retired cop and retired cops kill themselves. By the age of 55 Richter had spent his entire adult life in law enforcement, and didn't have a spouse or children.

    Police who survive years of service, only to take their own lives after retirement is not a new concept. My own grandfather retired after 30 years as a Philadelphia homicide detective, and spent the next ten years drinking himself to death.

    Sure, it's possible that Richter caught a bullet during an old-west-style shootout with a crooked cop. However, it's far more likely that Richter was lamenting his career, his impending financial doom, and a Christmas without not only kin but comrade, last holiday season when he died.

    Regardless of what happened to Richter, it's important that journalists remember their role: to report the news not create it. That's why I take it as a compliment when bloggers like Aaron Proctor recognize me with a "ham and egger" award for "stealing" a story. So long as the Associated Press continues to recognize the difference between news coverage and misleading narratives, there just might be hope for the media and the role it should play in our society.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- A police lieutenant in Daytona Beach was fired over accusations that he threatened slower emergency response times if he was not given complimentary specialty Starbucks coffee drinks.

Story here.

The Department of Justice sent out a press release Thursday afternoon indicating they had arrested an attorney working for the agency and his wife for taking bribes from immigrants at least one of the bribes was $20,000. Nice.

Here's the top of the release:

A senior attorney with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was arrested today after allegedly taking a $20,000 bribe from an immigrant seeking documentation to remain in the United States.

ICE Assistant Chief Counsel Constantine Peter Kallas, 38, and his wife, Maria Kallas, 39, both of Alta Loma, were arrested this afternoon by special agents with ICE Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. They
were arrested at the San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino in Highland, where they allegedly accepted a bribe payment from an immigrant.

The couple is expected to make their initial court appearance tomorrow afternoon in United States District Court in Santa Ana.

El Monte resident Candace Aikin testified before a grand jury in Joliet, Illinois last week regarding the disappearance of her niece.

Her niece happens to be Stacy Peterson, a 23-year-old woman who went missing in October and has become the missing woman case that the cable news networks love to cover, mostly because of her husband Drew.

For good reason perhaps. According to Wikipedia:

Drew Walter Peterson (born January 6, 1954), is a former Bolingbrook, Illinois police sergeant and alleged double-murderer who has received nationwide attention in the United States for becoming a suspect in a police investigation following the death of his third wife and subsequent disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy.^[1][2] Peterson has repeatedly denied involvement in both cases.

Here's part of what Aiken said, according to thekansan.com:

"At the end they asked me what kind of a mother (Stacy) is, what kind of a person she is and would she ever leave her family. That was really hard," Aikin said, still visibly shaken from her testimony. "I'm glad I was able to talk to the jurors and tell them my love for Stacy and what a great person she is, and to be able to help the case in any way that I can."

<snip>

Aikin, of El Monte, Calif., last saw her niece in August. Although Peterson had told her aunt of marital problems for more than two years, Aikin said Peterson was seriously considering leaving the relationship by the time she visited in August.

"She wanted out," Aikin said. "There was so much pressure. Fear too."

 

 

David Gunderson, a former Baldwin Park patrol cop who moved on to Adelanto then Blue Lake, where he became chief, is the subject of an LA Times story that paints an interesting picture of his ongoing legal troubles:

The Blue Lake police force was armed on a par with a big-city SWAT team. And no Blue Lakers knew until Police Chief David Gundersen's life began to very publicly unravel.

In February, Humboldt County sheriff's deputies arrested Gundersen on suspicion of crimes in his own bedroom.

Prosecutors have charged him with 33 counts, alleging that the chief repeatedly drugged his wife, a Blue Lake police sergeant, and forced her to have sex.

As investigators dug deeper into his private life, they discovered Gundersen's guns.

At home, he had a weapons cache that included a machine gun and a James Bond-style pistol with a silencer, both unregistered.

At police headquarters, he had enough weaponry to arm a small platoon.

Gundersen, 53, advertised his love of guns on a MySpace page for "Gundy Bros," with a photo of a machine gun, the words "LIVE, LAUGH . . . LOVE" and the offer of "Weapon Systems/Sales and Services." In all, investigators seized 111 weapons -- nearly a quarter of them from his home.

Crime Scene made a short mention of Gundersen back in March. Up in Eureka, the Times-Standard (where this picture originally appeared) has kept on top of the story. meanwhile, I'm still trying to find Baldwin Park officers who remember Gundersen...

 

Whatever happened to the unnamed victim in this story, it sure sounds ugly. Thank God the feds are keeping on eye on suspicious cops in southeast LA County. No one else seems to care.

Here's the top of Ruby Gonzales' story:

LOS ANGELES - A former Bell police officer and Pico Rivera resident was arrested Thursday for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman after a 2007 traffic stop.

A federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted Feliciano Sanchez, 33, on one count of depriving the woman of her civil rights under color of law and one count of carrying a firearm during a crime of violence.

FBI agents took Sanchez into custody Thursday and he appeared in the afternoon in federal court. He is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center without bail and will be arraigned Monday on the charges, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Tammy C. Spertus.

Sanchez's attorney, Ira Salzman, could not be reached for comment.

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David Gundersen used to be a cop in Baldwin Park. He moved out and up. First stopping in Adelanto then moving on to Blue Lake, a small city near Eureka, where he became chief.

Just before Valentine's Day this year, Dave got himself arrested -- for rape. Ultimately he was booked and arraigned on 19 felony counts.

His colleagues and neighbors say Dave's a nice guy.

Here's what the officials are telling the Eureka Times-Standard. There's much more to this story....

 

A cornucopia of crime:

County probation officer picked up in parole sweep with a dozen felons.

Here's a snippet:

Among those named in the indictment is a reputed leader of the Crips street gang, 27-year-old Jerron Johns of San Bernardino, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. His girlfriend, Crystal Dillard, a Los Angeles County Probation Officer, is also named. Both were arrested late last month after Johns sold more than 2 pounds of crack cocaine to a police informant, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Meanwhile, police say they are hunting another high-profile gang leader with ties to the operation. They say Raymond King, 37, is the main source of crack cocaine in Pomona.

"We will continue to work with local authorities to go after the worst street gangs that traffic in narcotics and terrorize neighborhoods with their violence," U.S. Attorney Thomas P. O'Brien said in a written statement.

Encino man (wasn't that a movie?) arrested at the border.

NY man upset with daughter for text messages; suspected of killing her.