What did we learn from the Debi August case?
A Grand Jury Accusation Proceeding is a "100-year-old procedure is a rarely used method for removing corrupt government officials from office. The last time it was applied in Humboldt County was 1975." (TS May 22, 2005)
And now, Humboldt County sees its second accusation proceeding under Paul Gallegos. For what? Blue Lake Police Chief Dave Gundersen may have checked the wrong box on a DMV form when referring a driver for a medical exam. Can't wait to see how this one unfolds - and whether or not Gallegos will put Dollison in charge of the prosecution.
Court provides grand jury proceeding transcripts to attorney
UPDATED:
◼ Former Blue Lake Police Chief David Gundersen has been cleared of all major charges first filed against him in 2008. - Arcata Eye
Wow this is some heavy crime. Or I guess I should say "alledged" crime?
ReplyDeleteAnother abuse of power ! An abuse of authority. Not unlike the run at Debi August. The DA is using the grand jury as a weapon against his enemies, real and imagined, and will use the GJ as an excuse when the whole case goes south.
The DA is just warming up to his attack on EPD. Still no ruling on the Moore shooting! Why not? That was last April ! Over eight months ago. How many vacations has the DA been on since then ? How many times has he gone surfing on duty or hung out with his ....... buddies ? What the fuck does this guy do with his time ?
I'm so happy that Rose is keeping a running account of the District Attorney and SOME of his associates.
Has that top pay step Deputy DA Swartz done anything lately ? Other than just collecting a paycheck and hanging out in the courtroon occaisionally? Has he filed any child molesting cases ? Taken a criminal to trial and won ? Or is it that all the local molesters, preverts, and sicko's quit their evil ways after Yougofree.com took over ? That must be it.
ReplyDeleteDebi August was guilty as sin. She shouldve stepped down and hung her head in shame. She advocated a project in front of the planning commission both as a private citizen AND as a council member. This, on a project that she was the agent of record for. I am not making this up, its all in the grand jury transcripts. Gallegos and Stoen really screwed things up, but she was guilty, she apologized at a council meeting and the very next week was back before the planning commission advocating for the project.
ReplyDeleteWhich Grand Jury transcripts are you referring to?
ReplyDeleteAt least there is an admission that Gallegos and Stoen screwed things up.
ReplyDeleteAnd that they did
Rose, I am referring to the grand jury transcripts of the debi august case.
ReplyDeleteAnd 6:01, I am certainly no fan of Gallegos & company, but what Debi August did was wrong, she was warned about it by city staff as well as other council members; I am not ready to annoint her for sainthood just yet.
I'm just curious whether you are referring to the transcripts that were made public as a result of Hank Sims and Emily Gurnon following the Accusation - or the ones that were never supposed to be made public or discussed by Grand Jury members - or the ones which were may have been exculpatory which may have been withheld from the defense either by Stoen or someone on the Grand Jury.
ReplyDeleteSeems to me there were alot of people writing "My Word's" during that time who shouldn't have been.
And, weren't 4 of the 5 counts thrown out? At least one of those counts had to do with FPPC filings? The full weight of the law was thrown at Debi August, and none was even tossed at Paul Gallegos (except for the FPPC itself, which fined him for the same or worse "mistakes").
See, I have a hard time with the whole thing because when I was considering going to the Grand Jury about the whole "Alliance for Ethical Business" thing, I was told not to. I was told that Gallegos/Salzman/Stoen had stacked the Grand Jury. True or not, it kept me from coming forward. And when I saw Richard Salzman using his listserve to solicit letters to the editor against Debi August, I saw that as confirmation that the rumors might be true.
I don't think we will ever know, because the Grand Jury testimony and transcripts are forever sealed away. But what is clear is in the transcripts of the last day of the almost-was trial is that Gallegos and Stoen manipulated the Grand Jury into the Accusation process.
Otherwise, the worst that would have happened would have been a scathing Grand Jury report - (as happened to Gallegos the next year) - and her fellow City Council members could have chosen to sanction her.
Well done Rose.
ReplyDeleteRose, I have(had) access to ALL of the transcripts. Cant really say much more than that.
ReplyDeleteI kinda thought so.
ReplyDeleteso, what exactly do you mean your 240 comment rose, i mean when one of Gallegos's employees, or soon to be ex's is a whistleblower, he or she is a hero, but, in this case, all it merits from you is a snide comment. Oh, she was guilty, she was a bully and should have been rode out on a rail,its too bad we havd(had) such an inept district attorney in place. Like I said, dont go putting August up for sainthood just yet.
ReplyDeleteDon't worry. It doesn't mean anything beyond the fact that I could tell you were someone who had more information than you were letting on.
ReplyDeleteRegardless of the Grand Jury testimony, the fact remains that the judge found that her civil rights had been violated in the Accusation process.
It may be that there are people in Blue Lake who do not like the police chief there. Not liking him is not cause to activate a Grand Jury Accusation.
If you think that something has been done wrong, it is entirely appropriate to go to the Grand Jury, and for them to identify a problem, if they find one exists, so that the problem can be addressed or corrected.
It kicks up into a whole 'nuther level when the DA's office brings the Accusation process into play.
What do you think happened to the documents in the Debi August case? Do you think the Grand Jury gave them to Stoen and Gallegos and they withheld them?
To 6:44pm. I always maintained that the truth never saw the light of day in those transcripts. Stoen manipulated the entire hearings. Why do you think I fought so hard to get this thing to trial? Because I am guilty? Because I just had an extra $158000.00 laying around? What happened to me is nothing more than an incredible abuse of power by both the 2002-03 grand jury and the DA and ADA. PERIOD. Hung by head in shame? Resign? I did nothing that I was accused of and I had no reason to hang my head nor resign. Believe what you will. I know the truth and I can say without doubt that you do not.
ReplyDeleteDebi August
"Why do you think I fought so hard to get this thing to trial?"
ReplyDeleteDear Ms. August (if that really was you posting), you may think you have fooled the public, and perhaps you have fooled yourself, but your comment that you
"fought so hard to get this thing to trial" is absolute rubbish. You were talking out of both sides of your mouth, Ms.August, having your attorneys fight to get the trial delayed and utltimately dismissed, time after time, while going to the press moaning about wanting your day in court.
You may have thought you were doing the right thing on Loop road, ms. august, but I am so glad I now live in Eureka. My neighbors and I were not having our interests protected by a councilperson, in fact she took an active role it trying to ram a project down our throats without proper consideration of our road being widened so our kids wouldnt get run over by the increase in the number of cars that would be travelling that road. Don't look towards that bungling district attorney ms august as the one who brought this upon you, look in the mirror, and then take a walk down loop road, and stop and apologize to those of us who felt compelled to sign a petition about the project, only to be called troublemakers and be bullied by the contractor who was going to be doing the houses. Again Ms august, you owe the residents of loop road an apology.
8:51 My attorneys followed the legal procedure. If you really believe that I wanted it delayed I am sorry but you are wrong. I know that had this gone to trial the truth would have been told. It never was. I am the one who allowed the transcripts to be made public so that the ones who lied would be shown. Who would have to testify, who would be proven to have lied.
ReplyDeleteI drive down Loop Road quite often and I always feel sad that the project was so overburdened that it couldn't go forward. What happened to Carmen Smith ( A K5 Teacher) was nothing short of criminal. Take a look at the other end of Loop Road next time your in town. That is raping a hillside. The Smith project was a good one and I am not one bit ashamed of helping a citzen of Fortuna. I am sorry you feel the way you do but again you are wrong.
Debi August
Dave Gundersen wrote under penalty of perjury that he saw an accident and that he then checked medical records and verified that a driver had suffered seizures during driving. This resulted in a license being suspended.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing about it--none of it was true. And when the citizen complained about it, Gundersen and his boss lied about their "investigation," according to the testimony of the Blue Lake fire chief.
But the Grand Jury ain't so hot, either.
Members of the Grand Jury also perjure themselves willfully. Just ask to see Grand Jury's own Fair Political Practices Form 700's which are slated to be *destroyed* in June, 2007 by Foreman James Snow.
Maybe you would find out that it was in the financial interest of one or more voting members to hurt Blue Lake's image? Accusing a Police Chief of a crime wouldn't depress property values, would they????
One thing I know is that for the last three years the Grand Jury has been illegally obtaining money from the county. Back in July 2004 the Board of Supervisors revoked the grand jury compensation law with Ordinance 2316.
The state law which was reverted to and relevant California State attorney general opinions make it very clear that the Grand Jury could NOT charge the county for travel to training, committee work, and so on.
But the Grand Jury continues to pay itself thousands a month just for these things. Totally illegally.
But does anyone do anything about it? The Grand Jury is an Odd Fellow's lodge with even lower morals that the people it accuses.