Source
"Nine felonies and a handful of misdemeanor charges... ...dismissed or suspended sentence on all of them in a single day."
full story here
It's tempting to make jokes like - If Debi August had only known, she could've saved $150,000 in legal fees - or Gallegos is cutting out the middle man, his defense attorney buddies aren't going to be too happy - but there is nothing funny about this.
Paul Galleogs should be disbarred. He should resign immediately.
UPDATE: 11/18/2006
Related stories:
ER - Bear River members seek chairperson's recall
ER - Gallegos sidesteps questions about possible conflict of interest in Bowman charges
ER - Questions without answers hinder our newsgathering
ER - Bowman story not accurate
ER - Contribution made because Gallegos was the better of the two
ER - Questions remain in DA's handling of Bowman charges
ER - Bear River official discusses financial contributions from tribe
ER - Tribe's contribution to DA's campaign was made by the Tribal Council, not Bowman
ER - Gallegos is 'public servant,' not Legal Spiegel
ER - It's telling that Gallegos witch hunt didn't start until firing of Dikeman
ER - Writer appreciates editor's note that identifies writers
ER - Residents deserve answers to questions asked of DA's Office
ER - Bitter? You bet!
TS - Donations not improper, says Bear River Band
TS - DA's office: State OK'd handling of plea deal
OR how about a Recall?
ReplyDeleteAlot of people say they don't like Recalls, but it is the people's right to say "We made a mistake. We were lied to, and we realized it too late, but we will not stand for this."
ReplyDeleteOf course you are joking.
But how is any person in this County going to trust anything that is done by this D.A.'s office?
"And now the end is near and so I face the final curtain...I did it my way!" No Paul you didn't write it, it was a Frank Sinatra song. Roy
ReplyDeleteNo, I was not kidding. That would be a waste of my time.
ReplyDelete"this office operates without fear or favor"
ReplyDeleteNOW THAT EXPLAINS EVERYTHING!?
Forget the recall. How about letters to the State Attorney General asking for or demanding an investigation?!?!?!?!? If he can sue Toyota, Honda, GM, Ford, et al he can go after a slimey DA.
If Gallegos "polices the Police" who polices him ?
Is he really unaccountable to anyone?
And if the State AG won't do anything how about letters to the US Attorney General, or at least the AG for the Northern District out of San Francisco?
What's most disappointing is the blind allegiance of the Gallegos followers.
ReplyDeleteClearly they're more absorbed with his personality than any rational evaluation of his abilities.
The progressives are supposed to the the community's conscience? This pretty thoroughly ends that quaint notion.
From Paul's HELP WANTED AD: "The Humboldt County District Attorney's Office is recruiting for a top-flight prosecutor, with at least 5 years felony experience, who is able to "pick up a file at a moment's notice and run with it."...
ReplyDeleteThe Humboldt County DA's office is one of the most exciting prosecutorial offices in California. Its District Attorney, Paul Gallegos, is willing to charge anyone who commits wrongdoing--no matter how wealthy, sacrosanct, or ruthless. He believes in total equality before the law. He also plans to be innovative in promoting programs of prevention and treatment. He wants to make it the best prosecutorial office of its size in the nation."
Yeah. Right.
But Rose, everyone knows that Timmy Stoen wrote those adds. And we all know he's goofy as can be. And remember, after an exhaustive nationwide search Gallegos picked Stoen as his assistant DA !!!!
ReplyDeleteDo you think Timmy will have a job when the new DA takes over ?
Only in Humboldt County is a drug (pot) called a herb and a Floride a harmful mind altering drug. And somehow taking $10,000 in donations and then dropping most charges not a crime.
ReplyDeleteBut anon, you don't understand.
ReplyDeletePaul is just so cool.
Hope that clears things up for you.
Remember the ad's from the most recent election ? Gags prevents crime by preventing crime ....... "without fear or favor" ..........
ReplyDeleteHe fearlessly accepts favors, is what he meant.
ReplyDeleteHow about an inquest? Let's open it up, let's see what's what.
ReplyDeleteLet's go to the courthouse, read the court's file, see the probation report.
An inquest ? GREAT Idea.
ReplyDeleteAnd get a former prosecutor (no at will status to hold over their head) to give a reasonable estimate to how much prison time the Bowman's son was looking at when he hit the Gallegos jackpot.
Let's open it up!
But that beg's the question, if Gallegos polices the police, who polices him ?
It doesn't appear to me that the cops are the ones we have to worry about. How does the saying go .... something like ABSOLUTE POWER CORRUPTS ABSOLUTLY ...
"All governments suffer a recurring problem: Power attracts pathological personalities. It is not that power corrupts but that it is magnetic to the corruptible. Such people have a tendency to become drunk on violence, a condition to which they are quickly addicted."
ReplyDeleteMissionaria Protectiva, Text QIV (decto)
Frank Herbert
Thankyou, that's a very accurate description of the U.S. government.
ReplyDeleteThink LOCAL.
ReplyDeleteThink NATIONAL too. Humboldt County isn't an island.
ReplyDeleteWho will start the re-call? It needs to happen. Or a Attorney General inquest.
ReplyDeleteSomeone wake up the Grand Jury. There's work to do.
ReplyDeleteFolks, Rose has been working on the Paul "is a crook" issue for far too many hours. She has dedicated many days and at the sacifice of her family. Many of you are now feeling the momentum building against this Tyrant. If you have facts, if you have felt threatened because of your job, if you have issues that we haven't discussed, please comment on the Blog NOW. This is to see that Paulie baby finally gets the Truth and Justice he so rightiously DESERVES. Thanks Rose for everything, Roy and Nancy Comer
ReplyDeleteQuestion is, who will Gallegos throw under the bus this time? Wes Keat again? Max Cardoza?
ReplyDeleteWho else is getting sweetheart deals for their clients and family members?
How will the Times Standard whitewash this one? Which reporter will have to say this is just the Eureka Reporter out to get Gallegos?
Carson Park Ranger said...
ReplyDeleteSomeone wake up the Grand Jury. There's work to do.
CPR, you seem fair-minded about certain other issues, I'd be interested to know what your basic opinion of Gallegos is.
The Grand Jury does seem like the place to start a local investigation of what's happened. Isn't this part of their job?
ReplyDeleteCould it be possible that these kind of plea bargains occur all the time, or frequently, in Humboldt County because the DA's office is so understaffed and/or mismanaged ?
ReplyDeleteOr maybe because it's easier for a deputy DA to give a sweetheart deal than to fight or put in the effort for something more appropriate?
Inexperienced DA's perhaps? Lazy DA's perhaps? Demoralized DA's perhaps?
Whatever the reason or cause this whole thing (Bowman - Gallegos)seems inappropriate, it stinks. Poor judgement, sloppy work, apathy, or whatever ?
What makes this such a big and questionable issue is all the other stuff! The plagiarism (dishonesty) issues. The firing of Deputy DA's Jackson and DIkeman. The persecution of Debi August. The association with Salzman, (the dude that writes letters to the editor and signs someone elses name). The failed attack on PL. There have been other questionable plea bargain deals brought up, and I'm sure many more that have not been brought up.
Don't know what the answer is but when contacted by the press "no comment" is a lightening rod answer. And the follow up e-mail of "this office does not operate by fear or favor" is kind of lame and provides no clairty.
I do give credit to the Eureka Reporter for reporting issues that I don't think the Times Standard would even touch. And to Rose for her very informative blog.
Gallegos wants to be a public figure and he got what he wanted. He must realize that he is responsible for his actions and those of his office, the good and the bad.
Apologize on this one Rose.
ReplyDeleteBowman story not accurate
by Max S. Cardoza, 9/27/2006
As the deputy district attorney who handled the various criminal cases against Derek Bowman, I was appalled by your Sept. 26 article suggesting improprieties regarding the handling of the matters.
First of all, District Attorney Paul Gallegos had no input whatsoever in the handling or disposition of these matters. The files landed on my desk because, by the luck of the draw, the local court system assigned the matters to Department Seven of the Superior Court, the department to which I have been assigned for several years.
After receiving the cases, I handled them as I would any others and I received no contact, pressure or input, direct or indirect, from Mr. Gallegos or Mr. Keat, nor, for that matter, from Mr. Dikeman. My decision regarding the plea agreement in the matters was based solely on my evaluation of the cases, their provability to a jury, and the interests of justice as I view them.
Lest you think I am some toady who did the boss’s implicit bidding with a “wink and a nod,” allow me to be so bold as to tell you a bit of my background.
I have been a deputy district attorney for Humboldt County for nearly 25 years, having been hired in early 1982 by Terry Farmer’s predecessor, Bernard DePaoli. During the course of my employment, I have prosecuted every type of criminal case imaginable, including literally dozens of criminal homicides.
During the 2002 district attorney’s election, I was a strong supporter of Mr. Farmer and during the 2004 recall election and this year’s DA race I took no position, public or private.
During the past four years, Mr. Gallegos has never asked or directed me to do anything which I felt was illegal, unethical or unprofessional, in the Bowman matter or any other. Had he done so, my resignation would have been on his desk that very day.
Furthermore, I have no connection whatsoever to Leonard Bowman or the tribe of which he is chairman. Indeed, I clashed with him and his wife on several occasions when I was prosecuting their son Derek in juvenile court.
Derek Bowman now stands convicted of several felonies as a result of the plea agreement in these cases. That fact is buried so deep in your article that it is almost indiscernible. He has been and will in the future be treated the same as any other defendant in my courtroom; no worse, but certainly no better.
I don’t feel it necessary to discuss all the factors which went into the plea agreement in these cases. However, I do feel the need to address the most inflammatory charge that was dismissed as part of the agreement, namely the “statutory rape” ( a term which has no legal meaning in California).
The allegation was not that the sexual relationship was nonconsensual, but rather that the teenager involved was too young under state law to give informed consent. What your article fails to mention is that the teenager in question is the defendant’s wife, with whom he has two children. To prosecute any defendant for that offense under these circumstances would be unjust and a misuse of executive power and I would make that decision again in a heartbeat.
I find it rather telling that, to my knowledge, no one from your newspaper attempted to contact me regarding the facts of this matter prior to the publication of the article, despite the fact that the court documents in the matter clearly list me as the prosecutor at the time of the entry of the plea and at the time of sentencing. Furthermore, the lines of communication between myself and your staff (particularly Ms. Benson, who appears to be the only one in your newsroom who didn’t contribute to the piece) have always been open.
As a final point, neither Mr. Gallegos nor anyone else had any input whatsoever in this letter. As always, my words and my feelings are my own.
(Editor’s note: Max Cardoza’s response misses the point of the article. The question was not whether Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos and his deputies did anything improper in their handling of Derek Bowman’s criminal charges. Rather, it was whether they should have been handling the charges in the first place because of the potential for a conflict of interest. We asked Gallegos the question, and he refused to answer in detail. Gallegos could have told our reporter to speak with Cardoza instead, but he didn’t.)
Who posts this at 4:47 AM?
ReplyDeleteIt's not from the TS, or the ER at least not as of 7:00 AM.
Apologies? No. This is merely more damage control.
If this were the case, Gallegos would have said he had nothing to do with it when first contacted, would have said that he recused himself, and the matter would have been ended.
So now we are supposed to believe that Max Cardoza is saying he does this sort of thing all the time, it is no big deal to dismiss 9 felonies in a single day without any input from Paul or Wes.
I don't know which is worse, it being because of a bribe, or being a matter of course. I sure don't feel any safer if it is a matter of course.
Incredible.
Correct me if I'm wrong, and I may be, but wasn't there a post on one of the local blogs about Bowman calling Gallegos while he was on vacation to get Dikeman reassigned from the Bowman's son's case? I thought someone brought up how Bowman (the dad I think) contacted Gallegos while he was on vacation (out of state) to complain about Dikeman or to get Dikeman pulled off the case or reassigned. Maybe the Times Standard ought to contact Dikeman to get the complete story?
ReplyDeleteOne of the big questions is I have is about the issue of Indian Gambling institutions "donating" big money to political wantabee's? First of all the the Indian gambling institutions are "special interest groups" and the money comes from gambling, which preys upon peoples weaknesses just as certain as drugs do. And Indian casinos are considered, or called, soverign nations right? Then wouldn't that mean that the wantabe politicians are accepting money from "foriegn" governments? Would it be OK to accept money from Hugo Chavez ? Or Mamoudahua Whackoscrewball?
So now we are supposed to believe that Max Cardoza is saying he does this sort of thing all the time, it is no big deal to dismiss 9 felonies in a single day without any input from Paul or Wes.
ReplyDelete- NO WAY!!!! Cardoza is a liar. Who would believe this guy?
Rose knows the truth. Tell us Rose, please tell us more.
Referring to the want ad, does PG really believe what was posted? If so, he's not only corrupt, he's a sick, delusional man. He's gotta go. I like the idea about a local inquest. The AG has not been helpful with requests for help or information recently, but then what do you expect? He endorsed PG! Doesn't want to be dragged into any untidy business during HIS campaign. And he was the top law enforcement officer in the state? And now Jerry Brown wants that spot? Don't get me started. Oh, but I digress.
ReplyDeleteAttorney General Bill Lockyer has a stack of complaints against Paul Gallegos including complaints from the Humboldt County Grand Jury about his handling of the Debi August persecution - er, I mean P-r-o-secution.
ReplyDeleteBill Lockyer is apparently oblivious.
NO Lockyer is saving everyone. He just sued Honda, Toyota, Ford, GM, and whatever! Wow he is really addrressing our needs!
ReplyDeleteJust remember when you see the Name Bill Lockyer on a ballot you should check the other box, even if the other box is Micky Mouse.
Lockyer will have to pay attention to this one, the tribes are a statewide issue, maybe even a federal issue.
ReplyDeleteJust for the record, I know Max Cardoza, and you can trust me: He is telling the truth. The "scandal" of this story is over, in my opinion. It is unfortunate the Eureka Reporter, my favorite newspaper, did not wait to get all the answers. But now we need to just give this a rest.
ReplyDeleteAddendum to the above--the Arcata Eye is my favorite newspaper; the Eureka Reporter is beloved; and the Times-Standard is simply necessary, like putting gas in your car is necessary.
ReplyDeleteBut why did this little ganster criminal get away with no jail time and most of the charges dropped?
ReplyDeleteHe got imunity for testifying in the murder case, that means he was somehow involved and he continues to get special treatment! Why? The murderer is in prison.
The whole thing still stinks! The public wouldn't know about this stuff if it wasn't for the Eureka Reporter!
Nice try Sunnybrae Girl, but no cigar. This Bowman issue is just the "tip of the iceburg". We're just getting warmed up. I tried warning Salzman to jettison Pablo last week, but to no avail. Follow the yellow brick road over the next few weeks and you too will see the light. "Speak truth to power".
ReplyDeleteI really think we're on the same team . . . it's just that I trust Max. He's good, like Worth. You can believe what he says, and if he states he made the decisions on these cases--in which the defendant now stands convicted of two felonies--it's the truth. Derek Bowman is now on felony probation and is facing prison time if he violates probation.
ReplyDeleteIt took three Times Standard reporters to print Paul's statement, but what questions did they actually ask?
ReplyDeleteTrust. But verify.
An after the fact recusal, and reference to an "approval" from a lazy disinterested Attorney General, who had already endorsed Paul as one of the "best" in the state, and no questions asked? Doesn't add up.
I'm sad for Max. But, The pattern continues.
Doesn't add up.
ReplyDeleteIt never will, in your obsessed mind. The pattern continues.
And you think I'm obsessed, Richard. How's the weather?
ReplyDeleteFor the birds, lately. Speaking of which, you'd be better off focusing on them, instead of politics. Who knows? You might spot another yellow-billed cuckoo.
ReplyDeleteThis must be "bigger than I can possibly imagine."
ReplyDeleteYe doth protest too much, dear Richard.
There must be more to this little story.
Ye hath guessed right, intrepid sleuth. 'Tis bigger than the sky is high, and deeper than the ocean sea. Verily, this rabbit hole goeth all the way to the darkest depths of Mordor. To the lair of the Evil One himself!
ReplyDeleteThe lair of Salza-man?
ReplyDeleteJa, Salza-man is een flexibele, betrouwbare, maatschappelijke organisatie met kennis op het gebied van de mens en zijn directe woon- en leefklimaat. Salza-man werkt in opdracht van gemeenten, corporaties, institutionele beleggers en anderen en biedt uiteenlopende diensten en producten aan, van kinderopvang tot popoefenruimtes en van wijkactiviteiten tot vergaderfaciliteiten. Salza-man is gespecialiseerd in maatwerk.
ReplyDeleteCardoza is not corrupt but he is not like Worth. Worth was a very dedicated and hard working prosecutor, not to mention talented. Because he had the nerve to run against Salzman and PG he has been slimed. And it would appear that the money to finance PG's re-election came from .......... dubious sources?
ReplyDeleteIt's just not right to compare Cardoza to Dikeman. There is no comparison.