This week, in Daniel Mintz's article in the Arcata Eye, McKinleyville Press and The Independent, Gallegos announces that he is planning to put together an "environmental crimes unit".
"The idea is that we would be a leader, a hub in northern California for top prosecutors,” said Gallegos.
Staffing would be modest at first, he continued, possibly beginning with a prosecutor that he would hire and the CDAA would pay for. As the unit progresses, fines culled from successful prosecutions might allow further staffing.
“If someone is ripping people off or engaged in unfair business practices, they can expect to be prosecuted as criminals, or sued civilly, or both,” Gallegos said. “And if they’re creating a dangerous work environment – same thing.”
More code words that say, in no uncertain terms, that Gallegos continues to try to implement Salzman's Plan. Using taxpayer's money to fulfill the activist's agenda at the expense of the People's business.
The purpose of the so-called "Alliance for Ethical Business" was "to promote corporate responsibility and to ensure that fraud and illegal business practices are prosecuted in a court of law."
Code words for "get Palco."
read the full article at
http://arcataeye.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1
New DA unit to take up Hagen's work
Also posted the FIRST COMMENT on this post.
FULL TEXT of Mintz's article
ReplyDeletehttp://arcataeye.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1
New DA unit to take up Hagen's work
HUMBOLDT – With its locally well-regarded environmental prosecutor gone, the District Attorney’s Office has again become the focus of public attention and the void will be filled with a new multi-task unit that may provide services to the entire North Coast.
Daniel Mintz
Eye Correspondent
HUMBOLDT – With its locally well-regarded environmental prosecutor gone, the District Attorney’s Office has again become the focus of public attention and the void will be filled with a new multi-task unit that may provide services to the entire North Coast.
District Attorney Paul Gallegos has said that he is working to form a department to prosecute environmental violations as well as consumer fraud. The unit would also enforce workplace safety regulations.
This comes in the aftermath of the apparent termination of Paul Hagen, the environmental prosecutor who worked from a Humboldt base and also handled cases in Del Norte and Lake counties. Hagen effected settlements in highly-watched pollution cases and earned repute for skillful prosecution but his work here and in the other two counties ended in July under mysterious circumstances.
Employed until then by the non-profit California District Attorneys’ Association (CDAA), which paid his salary, Hagen’s tri-county work has been taken over by Gale Filter, the head of the association’s environmental circuit project. Once Hagen’s supervisor, Filter is now based in Humboldt on an interim basis and Gallegos and the CDAA are talking about creating the new prosecution task force.
But both journalists and community members have demanded to know why Hagen is no longer working, whether or not he got fired and if so, who fired him.
Answers surface
To many, the timing of Hagen’s exit suggests political angles, as it came after Gallegos’ June 6 re-election win over veteran county prosecutor Worth Dikeman. The hard fought contest settled an ongoing and bitter power struggle. Dikeman is expected to either be fired or find another job by this fall.
When Dikeman ran as a candidate in the ill-fated 2003 DA recall election, Hagen made occasional appearances at his campaign events. During last June’s DA election campaign, the county’s Democratic Central Committee endorsed Gallegos over Dikeman. Both are Democrats.
Hagen, a member of the committee, strongly backed Dikeman’s objections to the endorsement process but clearly specified that he didn’t support one candidate or the other.
Nevertheless, the objections themselves were viewed as political swordsmanship by Gallegos’ base of progressive supporters. And when news of Hagen’s departure broke, many assumed political retribution. But Gallegos has refuted that notion, and only the CDAA has the authority to end Hagen’s overall employment.
In an unpublished interview last July, Gallegos said that his attorneys are at will employees and can leave – or be told to leave – at any time. “That is the nature of all job environments,” he continued. “What sets this job apart from others is that people can always claim that they were terminated due to politics and get a public ear because it is a public office.”
Gallegos emphasized, however, that Hagen worked for the CDAA. And although the DA could have had Hagen removed “with a simple telephone call,” he couldn’t fire him.
“Nor does CDAA fire attorneys because a DA asks them to be removed from their office,” said Gallegos. “Specifically, that has already happened with Paul elsewhere and he was not fired by CDAA.” That refers to Hagen’s departure from the Mendocino County DA’s office in 1999.
Gallegos did play a role in the CDAA’s decision-making. He wrote a letter on Hagen to the association – but Gallegos said the CDAA requested that he do so. “It was not the first letter I have been asked to write regarding him by CDAA,” Gallegos continued. “If you talk to them, you may find out that the factors that led to their decision were long standing and were related to Paul and his performance.”
And that is all Gallegos would reveal. “The real problem is this: Paul is CDAA’s employee,” he said. “I do not feel I can talk about their decision as it is theirs. Therefore, if you want to get to the truth, you need to contact them.”
But the CDAA is saying nothing of substance, as per a recent agreement between it and Hagen.
Pact of silence
David LaBahn, the CDAA’s executive director, would not say whether or not Hagen’s been fired, and his only comment, repeatedly made, is that Hagen is “no longer with the association.”
He said the lack of commentary abides by a mutual agreement.
But Gallegos’ commentary, made prior to the agreement between the association and Hagen, indicates that a firing took place – by the CDAA, which apparently used Gallegos’ letters as a partial basis. The district attorneys in Del Norte and Lake counties were not asked for input and have said that they were surprised by the termination.
Asked about what happened, Hagen said, “That is not for me to say.”
Hagen plans to stay in Humboldt County and is transitioning into private practice.
A new unit
As Hagen’s former supervisor continues to fill his place in an interim capacity, Gallegos and the association are talking about forming the new unit, which would follow a model used in larger offices. “The idea is that we would be a leader, a hub in northern California for top prosecutors,” said Gallegos.
Staffing would be modest at first, he continued, possibly beginning with a prosecutor that he would hire and the CDAA would pay for. As the unit progresses, fines culled from successful prosecutions might allow further staffing.
“If someone is ripping people off or engaged in unfair business practices, they can expect to be prosecuted as criminals, or sued civilly, or both,” Gallegos said. “And if they’re creating a dangerous work environment – same thing.”
That may make those who doubt the DA’s competence nervous. Gallegos’ previous attempt at a white collar crime unit drew criticism. Manned by former Assistant DA Tim Stoen, some of the unit’s most publicized cases provoked negative public opinion and Stoen left the office to return to Mendocino county prior to Gallegos’ re-election campaign.
Stoen’s most memorable handiwork is the Pacific Lumber Company fraud case, which has been subject to intense doubt since being filed early in Gallegos’ first term. The case’s dismissal by a superior court judge is under appeal.
The prosecution of the former owner of the Eureka Inn for non-payment of property taxes had also been controversial and a county supervisor publicly questioned it.
But Gallegos described the new unit as a mechanism for guarding quality of life.
“We have work to do here, we want to make Humboldt County a better place to live,” he said. “That doesn’t mean we limit growth or deny opportunity, we just want to make sure those things are done in a responsible manner.”
The plan is in a preliminary discussion phase and may take two years to fully realize, said Gallegos.
What a joke. Gallegos gets Hagen canned for speaking out for other democrats. He then says lamely that he is going to have a enviro/consumer fraud unit for the entire northern CA. He didn't prosecute any white collar "crime" with stoen and has a hard enought time doing his job in Humboldt. Why should our resources go outside the county when he lets murderers, rapists, child molesters and heroin and meth dealers off. What a bunch of dribble from a guy who came from an unaccredited law school and can't practice anywhere else because of it. And to think that the regressives buy this crap turns my stomach.
ReplyDeleteWhree are the top prosecutors to do this. The top ones have left or were fired and he can't hire anything but yougofree.com (the biggest joke in the courthouse who plea bargains or dismisses everything and lost the only trial he tried to conduct in HumCo.) and Mr. Klien, who couldn't make it off of probation in the Monterey County DA's office.
ReplyDeleteMaybe Paul should identify the "top prosecutors" and why won't the press hold his feet to the flames on this issue.
Who ya gonna get to to this Paulie?
A new environmental unit ? He can't even get his offic up to operating strength, DDA's. Where is he going to pull these prosecutors from ? Why can't Paul hire any PROSECUTORS ? Oh I've heard Klien was a prosecutor for a short time, he was a defense attorney for a much longer time. Yougofree.com was a defense attorney, and I've heard he hired a another defense attorney, Andy Truitt ?
ReplyDeleteIt is only going to get worse.
HOW IS IT THAT NOBODY DISPUTES WHAT ROSE PUTS ON THIS BLOG ?
ReplyDeleteI HAVE A CLUE, CASUE IT'S ALL RIGHT ON POINT!
GOOD STUFF.
Keep at it Rosie - you got guts and the facts. The e-mails and the reports you post speak volumes more than the garbage on blogs like Sohum and heraldo
ReplyDelete