Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Buying what?

Tune in for the DA's item on the Board of Supervisor's Agenda today

Item D-2 Apr. 14 agenda

District Attorney
2. Approve Appropriation Transfer in District Attorney's Budget Unit 1100 205 to Clear Mid-Year Edits. ($51,112)
RECOMMENDATION: That the Board of Supervisors approve an appropriation transfer to clear mid-year charges by transferring funds from object and fixed asset accounts within the same budget unit.

AND

Item DEPARTMENT REPORTS F-2
District Attorneys
2. Recovery Act: Rural Law Enforcement Assistance Grant.
RECOMMENDATION: That the Board of Supervisors Approve the Attached grant application and sign the attached certificates for the Rural Law Enforcement Assistance grant; and Direct the Clerk of the Board to return the certificates to Chief Michael Hislop so they may be processed with the grant application.

details
"Total one time equipment cost is $172,092.25. The major expense in this component would be a critical crime response vehicle, which needs to be well equipped with radios, evidence collection equipment, computers, and recording devices, it must be big enough to conduct detailed interviews with involved parties of the incident. We estimate the cost of this vehicle to be approximately $160,000.00. Additional equipment cost would be 412,092.25 for a radio communications repeater. This piece of equipment will allow us to more effectively communicate from the rural areas of Humboldt county back to the District Attorney's Office.

The only supplies requested in this grant project would be uniform costs and equipment for the Community Services Officer. the Equipment would include uniforms, badge, flashlight, boots, and utility belt. The cost of this equipment is estimated to be $1,299.00.

Total cost of this grant project is $406,875.00. With the approval of this grant we will be able to more efficiently assist our rural communities in investigating serious and major crimes and increase the likelihood of a successful prosecution. essentially we will be vertically prosecuting these investigations since the District Attorney's Office will have a hands on approach to these investigations from the beginning.


First an assault team complete with uniforms, now this? Hislop likes his toys.



***

Then there was - this back in January: 12. Donation of District Attorney Department Vehicle to the County Motor Pool for Capitalization, Maintenance, and Insurance....

***
added 6/10: On his grant applications, Gallegos routinely states:

...The communities of Humboldt County suffer rom severe socio-economic problems, Historically, the northwest has sustained on primarily timber, commercial fishing and cattle ranching as its main sources of income. In the last two decades, these once abundant industries have been all but eliminated. The reulsts of this economic decline have been a slightly higher than state average unemployment rate (11.4%) and a high level of substance abuse. Because of the overwhelming amount of substance abuse there is an increase in crime such as: drug trafficking, rape, robbery, murder, child abuse, spousal abuse and child pornography....

In this example Gallegos is looking to purchase a "critical crime response vehicle for about $160,000 plus $12,092.25 and more money for uniforms, badge, flashlight, boots and utility belt for $1,299.00 - the total cost to be $406,875.09 - AND he promises that EVENTUALLY we will be VERTICALLY prosecuting these investigations.

So - is crime UP or DOWN?

Guess it just depends on who he is talking to and what he wants at the moment.

Incidentally, it is worth looking into whether or not ANY VERTICAL PROSECUTION happens in the Humboldt County DA's Office as Paul Gallegos has stated that he likes to "move people around." Victims of crimes describe seeing one prosecutor after another thrust into the courtroom un prepared an uninformed.

23 comments:

  1. what the fuck? the DA and Hislop are just flat out nuts. They are not first responders or in charge of any investigations. They are supposed to do follow up after the other agencies refer cases to them. This is wrong, a power grab, delusional, a waste of money and just freakin scary. Paul is completely out there. Put this with his assault rifles and creating his own assault team and the guy needs to go. Now! If this doesn't scare other liberal and dems, I don't know what else would.

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  2. No doubt mresquan will chime in and say this is all a conspiracy by Charles and the ACLU to undermine fluffy lovable liberals like himself, Gallegos and DUHC.

    May the heavens fall on you Rose for questioning the power of HOPE!

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  3. All of the county owned cars are "donated" the same way as the motor pool does the repairs, maintenance and even washes them when they are brought in.

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  4. This is amusing. Maybe PVG could hire some experienced DDA's that will stand their ground and are not scared shitless (or just plaint lazy)and will actually take a case to trial?

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  5. exrepublican4/14/2009 1:05 PM

    12:47,
    that could be done without any additional money...what is amusing about the requests?

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  6. Well, for one $178,000 (one hundred and seventy eight thousand dollars) is for a vehicle. Evidently Hislop and Gallegos think they are running their own law enforcement agency. This is really a rather bizarre grant request. What other DA in the state has their own 178k evidence collecting, super communications vehicle? Answer = none.

    Hey "ex-R" if this doesn't trouble you, what does? This is just a total waste of resources and money. The Sheriff, EPD, FoPd and Arcata do their own evidence. (Yes, even up in the Hupa area!) Not that many serious felonies that are occurring up in Trinidad or Rio Dell or Ferndale to justify this bizarre expenditure. If one happens then the Sheriff is called in to do the processing.

    I would rather see the money go to hire competent people who take cases to trial and win them. No, this is just plain bizarre, it is not amusing.

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  7. Ex - that is for one vehicle, super duper equiped with more bells and whistles than police forces have. The DA wants a vehicle to transport "all of their equipment to any crime scene," an area for polygraphs, special radios and communications systems, Evidence collection, communications dispatching, radio repeater, property storage and release, citizens appointments,

    Ex - go to page 29 of the application if you doubt this. I totally support law enforcement, but this is utterly ridiculous because the DA doesn't have the jurisdiction to do what the DA and Hislop want to do. They are acting like rambo here.

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  8. Yep. They could always use the Sheriff's Command Center, if need be.

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  9. Fred - the thing is that the it is the Sheriffs jurisdiction by his elected office to cover those county areas. Now the cities can ask for assistance the few times that trinidad or rio dell or ferndale need to. Fortuna collects its own evidence. I have lived my life around law enforcemnt. This is about a bunch of cops wanting more toys which they really won't even be able to use. Hislop and Gallegos both have these wierd delusions of running their own police department via the DA's office.

    the government code 26500 explains what a DA is supposed to do:
    "The district attorney is the public prosecutor, except as otherwise provided by law.
    The public prosecutor shall attend the courts, and within his or her discretion shall initiate and conduct on behalf of the people all prosecutions for public offenses."

    What that means is that the duty of the district attorney does not extend to the arrest and apprehension of persons charged with crimes. That duty, by Cal. devolves upon the sheriff.

    § 26602. Prevention and suppression of affrays, etc.; Investigation of public offenses



    The sheriff shall prevent and suppress any affrays, breaches of the peace, riots, and insurrections that come to his or her knowledge, and investigate public offenses which have been committed. The sheriff may execute all orders of the local health officer issued for the purpose of preventing the spread of any contagious or communicable disease.

    § 26602. Prevention and suppression of affrays, etc.; Investigation of public offenses



    The sheriff shall prevent and suppress any affrays, breaches of the peace, riots, and insurrections that come to his or her knowledge, and investigate public offenses which have been committed. The sheriff may execute all orders of the local health officer issued for the purpose of preventing the spread of any contagious or communicable disease.

    § 26602. Duties of Sheriff - Prevention and suppression of affrays, etc.; Investigation of public offenses

    "The sheriff shall prevent and suppress any affrays, breaches of the peace, riots, and insurrections that come to his or her knowledge, and investigate public offenses which have been committed. The sheriff may execute all orders of the local health officer issued for the purpose of preventing the spread of any contagious or communicable disease."

    Many of you are so hung up on the cost of this ridiculous grant request that nobody is asking the question of whether he has the power to set up his assault team and initiate his own little law enforcment team.

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  10. Sorry for the mispelling and double paste job above. Hate it when I accidently hit send.

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  11. Ummm did anyone else notice that several of the letters are almost exactly the same? Small words changed, but its like a form letter was sent to all departments.
    Would have seemed more sincere if the letters were entirely different....
    Just my random thoughts

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  12. This is just weird. If I am reading this correctly, PVG is looking for a 400K grant (Fed or state?) to equip the Mystery Machine so he and his elite corp of investigators can roam the hinterlands, fighting crime and stuff. Will the uniforms have a cape? That's something along the way of being a huge expansion of his office. Could even be construed as a power grab vs. the SO. Not for the first time when confronted with PVG's antics I ask, WTF?

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  13. Rose #1 remember to tell everyone to come to the Tea Party noon tomorrow at the court house. It's up to us to stand up for our country. #2. shit can that idiot Greg/Ex. No one needs to heard/read/listen/what ever to crap like he spews #3 we come here for rational stuff,if we want slobbering down our chin numb-nuts drivel we can view heraldo/cobb/spreen/miller/evans............

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  14. The conservatives look to be off their meds this week. Oxycotin anyone?

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  15. There are grants available for specific purposes...should anyone have paid attention - there was a grant available...likely an equipment grant...someone wrote up the grant and the office apparently is a recipient of said grant. By way of county gov't structure, the BOS must still approve the grant acceptance. The DA office should be congratulated on taking the initiative to seek out this type of funding.

    As far as hiring das that go to trial etc...I happen to work in the courthouse and there are criminal jury trials happening all of the time. PVG has a really dedicated and hard working group of attorneys in his office; despite what anyone may or may not think about PVG the attys in that office are, for the most part, a great group of folks. As a member of our community it causes me some dismay that there are routine posts on this site that are simply ignorant of what actually happens in a courtroom. No, I don't work for PVG - I'm just a courthouse employee who finds this website occasionally entertaining...but never informative.

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  16. B.S. 7:45PM

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  17. MAKE IT STOP ROSE MAKE IT STOP!

    MY GOD I CANNOT HANDLE THE CORRUPT DEGENERATE CONSPIRACIES OF THIS MAN! MAKE IT STOP, I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT ROSE! IF THE BOARD WILL NOT STOP THIS MADMAN WE WILL DO WHAT WE CAN. ROSE, WILL YOU COME WITH ME TO THE COURTHOUSE AND TOGETHER WE WILL POUR GASOLINE OVER OUR BODIES AND LITE THEM ON FIRE IN PROTEST OF THIS MADMAN! MADMAN!! ROSE WE MUST DO SOMETHING. PERHAPS PEOPLE WILL LISTEN TO OUR PLEAS!

    GOD HELP THE GOOD PEOPLE OF THIS COMMUNITY!

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  18. Oh, knock it off 9:44.

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  19. Look. You get all up at arms over Gundersen having guns and his own arsenal. He at least is a cop, and some of that can be justified.

    Yet you're not concerned about Gallegos and Hislop building an assault team, with semiautomatic rifles, and now a nice high powered transport...

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  20. 7:45, grants just don't randomly happen. An entity has to apply for a grant, it is a fairly complicated and deliberate process. Just because there is an equipment grant available doesn't mean the DA has to apply for it. That is a choice PVG made. And this choice raises a lot of questions. For example, why does PVG think this is necessary? Does he have people in place trained to use the equipment? How does he plan to pay for the upkeep of the equipment? If his investigators are off at a crime scene, who is going to do the stuff his investigators have been doing? Since DA investigators are not normally tied into dispatch, how are they going to find out that a major crime has been reported? Is there some sort of arrangement with the Sheriff about this? If not, what happens if the Mystery Machine shows up at an SO crime scene and the SO tells them to bugger off? That's just the stuff I can come up with before my coffee. It is impossible to see this as anything but some kind of power grab.And it is certainly true that PVG HAD a dedicated group of hardworking attorneys - Alison Jackson, Heather Gimle, Rob Wade, Worth Dikemen, Drew Isaac, and so on - but he drove them away. That kind of experience can not be replaced. If he does have anyone competent working for him that is clearly random chance, based upon some of his hires.

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  21. I thought DA investigators job was to serve supeonas and fetch lunch for attorneys?

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  22. 7:45 writes like Arnie Klien. a $200,000 supervehicle for DA crime fighting is a Humboldt's own "bridge to nowhere." Flat out stupid and juvenile.

    Hey Red - you nailed it...

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  23. Uh, PVG famously stated, after he lost a DV grant, that he was
    weaning off grants. Are we back on grants? Which is it, weaning, whining, weaseling, wheedling, waffling?

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Comments are closed for the time-being.