DA Investigations
Quotes

DA concludes old guard did violate Brown Act...again; District spokeswoman Beverly De Nicola’s spin about the “perception” of a Brown Act violation was wrong

Feb 28, 2008 Filed in: Hess, Dan
Dan Hess, Letter to South OC Elected Officials "It appears that the CUSD Trustees who voted for these additional projects did violate the Brown Act by failing to adequately describe – on the agenda – items to be discussed in open session…since each project had been planned and discussed separately, and since all of the projects are controversial, each one should have been individually noticed on the agenda."

The DA's conclusion shows that CUSD attorney Ron Wenkart's "analysis" was wrong again, as alleged by reform advocates. Wenkart presented the sleazy, flawed analysis and De Nicola announced it as cover for the Fleming-era trustees who had been warned about the the violation before their Dec 10 vote. Without Wenkart's "opinion" to coverup their intent to violate the law and their October 2007 agreement with DA, Trustees Benecke, Draper, Darnold and Stiff could (and should) have been prosecuted as criminals. Hess is Senior Deputy District Attorney for the Special Prosecution Unit of the Office of the Orange County District Attorney.

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OC Register's Mickadeit reveals slimey way Fleming trustees avoided a well-deserved criminal prosecution

Oct 22, 2007 Filed in: Mickadeit, Frank
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Frank Mickadeit, The Orange County Register "Prosecutor Bill Feccia concluded this and many other items discussed were not within the law. But because the board can hide behind an attorney – one who wasn’t even there to provide Brown Act advice in the first place – and because Fleming told the board he’d run the agenda items by a second attorney (which the other attorney doesn’t recall), the D.A. would have a hard time proving the board had both the knowledge and intent to violate the Brown Act. Therefore a civil, not criminal, complaint."

Mickadeit is a columnist for The Orange County Register.

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OC Register's Mickadeit explains the "flagrant, obnoxious" and "corrupt" nature of the Fleming trustees' Brown Act violations

Oct 22, 2007 Filed in: Mickadeit, Frank
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Frank Mickadeit, The Orange County Register "D.A. investigators targeted meetings at which the board met in closed session to discuss a variety of topics that went beyond the narrow exceptions under which agencies can meet in private. It was flagrant, obnoxious and the very essence of what Lord Acton was talking about when he said, 'absolute power corrupts absolutely.' Not only were the most routine of district matters (“head lice”) put on agendas to be discussed in private, but also the weightiest, such as the $38 million district headquarters the board was building itself while pupils were attending overcrowded, deteriorating campuses.”

Mickadeit is a columnist for The Orange County Register.

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OC Register columnist emphasizes absurdity of trustee Draper's defense to repeated Brown Act violations

Oct 22, 2007 Filed in: Mickadeit, Frank
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Frank Mickadeit, The Orange County Register "The catch-all Brown Act exception the board used to justify all manner of secrecy was 'Evaluation of Superintendent,' which were it strictly about Fleming’s performance would be OK. However, board President Marlene Draper told the grand jury she allowed the board to discuss just about anything in private because 'all issues pertaining to the management of the district fall under his evaluation.' "
    
Mickadeit is a columnist for The Orange County Register.

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Former Trustee John Casabianca changes his testimony and joins Marlene Draper in dishing out district doublespeak

Jul 08, 2007 Filed in: Casabianca, John
John Casabianca
Seema Mehta, The Los Angeles Times "Former Trustee John Casabianca initially testified that the timing of the [contractor] settlement, which occurred as district critics were gathering recall signatures, also played a role. But after consulting his attorney, Casabianca said the board kept the settlement confidential on the advice of its lawyer, and not because of the recall attempt."

So, first, Casabianca swears the timing of the settlement was about the recall and, then, he swears it wasn't. Plausible? Hardly. But OK under the advice of CUSD's attorneys! Guess that's why we taxpayers pay those legal beagles the big bucks.

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Draper spins herself deeper and deeper to justify secret meetings

Jul 08, 2007 Filed in: Lubinski, Michael
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Michael Lubinski, The Los Angeles Times "How did that go into the superintendent's evaluation? Were you going to name it after him?"

Deputy District Attorney Michael Lubinski repeatedly asked how issues such as the road-naming were relevant to Superintendent Fleming's performance evaluation (the justification used by Fleming and the Board for conducting closed-door meetings to discuss virtually every aspect of the district's business). Trustee Marlene Draper told prosecutors that the board needed to consider a broad swath of topics to evaluate Fleming.

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Grand jury found no legitimate educational purpose for enemies lists

Jun 01, 2007 Filed in: Rackauckas, Tony
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Tony Rackauckus, The Ladera Post “The grand jury found no legitimate educational purpose for any of the multiple versions of the enemies lists that were created.”

Rackauckus is the Orange County District Attorney.

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Criminal defense attorney helps Fleming play the blame game

May 26, 2007 Filed in: Brower, Robert
Robert Brower, The Orange County Register “In my client’s mind, the D.A. is a political animal: He’s hearing a lot of complaints down there … and there is political capital to be made.”

No Fleming defense would be complete without a healthy dose of the classic Fleming blame game. Brower is former superintendent James Fleming's criminal defense attorney. Last fall, the Fleming-era trustees approved the district's payment of Fleming's criminal attorney's fees at nearly $400 per hour. Last March, the ABC reform trustees successfully brought a motion to reverse that decision.

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Fleming speaks "from the heart" by "standing tall" for "the children" and playing the denial game to the bitter end

May 26, 2007 Filed in: Fleming, James
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James Fleming, The Orange County Register “I want you to know, unequivocally, from my heart, that I did not do these things. I stand by my decisions and recommendations; I would not change my actions in order to avoid my present situation ... My entire 43-year professional career has been devoted to serving the public and specifically public school children; this goes against everything I believe in.”

Fleming is the former superintendent of the Capistrano Unified School District.

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Admin building controversy is just one of many to plague CUSD in recent years

May 09, 2007 Filed in: Mehta, Seema
Seema Mehta, The Los Angeles Times "The administrative center is just one of the controversies to dog the district in recent years. Although many of the district's 56 schools are ranked among the state's best, other brouhahas have included an Orange County Grand Jury probe; a raid of district headquarters by the district attorney; the resignation of its longtime superintendent after accusations he kept an "enemies list"; and disputes over attendance boundaries, a high school's location and portable classrooms."

Mehta is a reporter for The Los Angeles Times.

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Outside investigations in order for both CUSD and registrar

Jul 11, 2006 Filed in: OC Register
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Editorial, The Orange County Register "The scandals that demand outside investigation are twofold: the behavior of Mr. Fleming and his administration and the performance of the Registrar of Voters office. The former should be conducted by the district attorney, the latter by the Board of Supervisors."

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CUSD scandals followed by DA raid and grand jury subpoenas

Aug 21, 2006 Filed in: OC Register
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Editorial, The Orange County Register "Nothing but bad news has come from the Capistrano Unified School District over the course of the summer, with the latest story coming last week. Investigators from the Orange County District Attorney’s Office showed up at Capistrano district headquarters with a search warrant and seized computers used by Superintendent James Fleming’s assistant. Several district employees also appeared before the grand jury after being served with subpoenas."

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CUSD a poster child to warn other districts as its culture of corruption unravels

Aug 21, 2006 Filed in: OC Register
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Editorial, The Orange County Register "An investigation doesn’t mean guilt, of course, but there have been many troubling revelations about how Mr. Fleming and the board of trustees have been running the district. It’s a story of power and arrogance, and the unraveling of the administration contains warnings for other districts."

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Fleming resignation should not deter investigations, new leadership, oversight

Aug 21, 2006 Filed in: OC Register
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Editorial, The Orange County Register "Mr. Fleming announced his retirement effective at the end of this month, but that should not quell the call for serious investigation into any illegalities or stop the movement to bring new life onto a board that has failed in its responsibility to provide meaningful oversight."

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Outside investigations in order for both CUSD and registrar

Jul 12, 2006 Filed in: OC Register
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Editorial, The Orange County Register "The scandals that demand outside investigation are twofold: the behavior of Mr. Fleming and his administration and the performance of the Registrar of Voters office. The former should be conducted by the district attorney, the latter by the Board of Supervisors."

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Waldrip report confirms nearly all recall allegations

Jan 11, 2007 Filed in: Volzke, Jonathan
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Jonathan Volzke, The Capistrano Dispatch “The report confirms nearly all of the allegations made during last year’s recall battle, but Waldrip also acknowledges he tried to avoid duplicating the work of district attorney’s office investigators looking into the district, as well as public-meeting-law violations alleged in a civil lawsuit against the district.”

Volzke is the publisher of The Capistrano Dispatch.

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ABC slate ran on platform to reform CUSD corruption

Jan 02, 2007 Filed in: Winsten, Mike
Mike Winsten, Trabuco Canyon News “The ABC Reform Slate candidates ran on a reform platform, vowing to restore honesty, integrity and accountability to CUSD – a school district whose leaders are involved in a number of high-profile scandals and who are currently the subject of a criminal investigation being conducted by the Orange County District Attorney and Grand Jury.”

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