SHOCKED, SHOCKED TO FIND OUT THAT POLITICS TOOK PLACE IN THAT GOVERNMENT OFFICE…

It must feel pretty heady for Chula Vista mayor Cheryl Cox to get away
with obstruction of justice, and at the same time get District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis to indict others for the very same crime. Cheryl has played rough for a long time, but she turns out to be more vindictive than I had imagined.

San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis decided it was okay for
(http://www.mauralarkins.com/LawEnforcement.html) Cheryl Cox’s
agent Richard Werlin to commit obstruction of justice on behalf of Chula Vista Elementary School District. She rejected my official complaint. But it was a different story when the shoe was on the other foot. Dumanis kowtowed to Cox and brought felony charges against a young man who tried to photograph Cox with Cox's disgraced family friend David Malcolm. Bonnie claims the young man committed perjury when he said he had taken leave from his job to go to the Cox political fundraiser, where Cox and Malcolm were socializing. Dumanis says the young man was actually being paid by the City of Chula Vista at the time he was at the Cox luncheon.

For Cheryl Cox, having political power means she is above the law.

It is clear that the prosecution of Jason Moore is politically
motivated. Perjury is, sadly, an extremely common crime in our legal
system. Cox's former lawyers, Stutz, Artiano, Shinoff & Holtz, used it on her behalf, and with her approval, as a knee-jerk response to true allegations. It was not surprising that Bonnie Dumanis refused to investigate the felonies of Cheryl Cox and Rick Werlin. Dumanis’ prosecution of Jason Moore is shocking, and in view of her willingness to overlook more serious wrongdoing in Chula Vista, is also very troubling.

Cheryl Cox put the Sheriff of Santa Barbara in a difficult
position when she covered up crimes at CVESD. Cheryl weaved a tangled
web of deceit after deciding to cover up Robin Donlan and Richard Werlin’s
crimes at Castle Park Elementary. Law officers were pressured by Cox's
decision to commit perjury. Documents proving perjury by law officers are at http://www.mauralarkins.com/originalcarlsonperjurycomplaint.html.
Maura Larkins

This story has taken a leap forward.

On May 4, 2007 teacher Robin Donlan, whose crimes at Castle Park Elementary were covered up at great expense to the taxpayers by current Chula Vista mayor Cheryl Cox and her former fellow school board members, was served with a $7.7 million lawsuit. Donlan's husband Vence, who once worked at Wireless Facilites in San Diego, transferred company stock options to himself and his wife, and then the couple sold the stocks at a profit.

Cheryl Cox never valued honesty or competence in teachers, judging from her highly political personnel decisions.

It seems incredible to me that Cheryl Cox regularly spends large amounts of public funds to protect people who have no respect for the law, then demands that even more public money be spent prosecuting a worker for taking a two-hour leave--simply because he supported Cox's Democratic opponent.

It is even harder for me to understand why San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis allows her office to be abused for political purposes. It appears Dumanis wants to prove herself a loyal right-winger who believes that politics rules all of government, even the justice system.

The antics of Cheryl Cox and her associates got another stamp of approval from the San Diego County District Attorney recently. Yesterday I received a letter from the DA saying that there would be no investigation of my complaint against Cheryl Cox and her associates. Below is my response to that letter.

May 18, 2007

Richard Monroy
Jesus Rodriguez
Bonnie Dumanis
San Diego County District Attorney’s Office

Dear Sirs and Madam:

Yesterday I received a letter from Richard Monroy, dated May 10, 2007. I am deeply concerned by a sentence in the last paragraph: “Our office cannot be used in civil disputes to leverage one side against another.”

Mr. Monroy seems to imply that my complaint constituted an attempt at extortion. If you believe that, Mr. Monroy, you have an obligation to investigate ME.

Of course, since Bonnie Dumanis so pointedly ignored my complaint about Richard Werlin in February 2005, Mr. Monroy’s ugly implication seems pretty silly. My report of a very serious crime resulted in absolutely no action from the San Diego District Attorney. I couldn’t extort a corroded cent out of Cheryl Cox and her powerful associates even if I wanted to. They, not I, are able to dictate who gets investigated. They, not I, are capable of committing extortion.

In fact, Cheryl Cox and her associates committed extortion when they had me threatened by law enforcement when I filed a PERB charge, and again when I filed a San Diego Superior Court lawsuit. Every time I tried to exercise my rights under the law, Cheryl Cox and her associates intimidated me in every way they could.

Finally, Cheryl Cox and every member of the Chula Vista Elementary School District Board violated Labor Code 1102.5 by firing me for reporting wrongdoing. Their dismissal decision clearly states that I was fired for filing grievances and a lawsuit. They wanted my silence and my livelihood. All they got was my livelihood.

Mr. Monroy’s discussion of extortion is particularly bogus because it would be impossible for a person like me who is not politically-connected to cause the prosecution of defendants who are politically connected. Cheryl Cox’s campaign can get a prosecution started against a low-level employee like Jason Moore for taking two hours off work, but I can’t get a prosecution started against Cheryl Cox. I knew long before I made my first complaint about Richard Werlin that the San Diego District Attorney would never investigate, much less prosecute, Cheryl Cox or her criminal co-conspirators.

Mr. Monroy’s letter says, “Experience has shown that there are always two sides to each story.” And the Cheryl Cox side is the only one you are interested in, isn’t it? My side gets short shrift from the D.A.’s office. It’s obvious that the investigation of crimes committed by Cheryl Cox and her associates was completely ruled out by your office before you ever received any communication from me.

Please don’t hesitate to call me in the unlikely event that you have any questions about this matter.

Yours truly,
Maura Larkins

The Jason Moore case reached a conclusion on June 20, 2007.

Tanya Mannes of the San Diego Union Tribune wrote on June 20, 2007:

"Patrick O'Toole, a Public Integrity Unit prosecutor, spent months investigating Jason Moore, who had been an aide to former [Chula Vista] Mayor Steve Padilla... He concluded that Moore ultimately took the two hours off. But he believed Moore lied about the timing of when he turned in a request for personal leave... Yesterday, Moore, 36, pleaded guilty to one count of contempt of court, a misdemeanor."

“People can't come into the grand jury, swear to tell the truth, and then lie,” O'Toole said.

Well, yes. And they can't obstruct justice, suborn perjury, falsify court documents, or violate the Labor Code. But that is exactly what current Chula Vista mayor Cheryl Cox has done.

Which makes it all the stranger that San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis has refused to investigate Richard Werlin and other Chula Vista Elementary School District figures who have sworn to tell the truth, and then lied--about more important issues than two hours off work.

Ironically, Moore was accused of taking two hours off work to spy on Cheryl Cox and David Malcolm at a Cox fundraiser. The irony is particularly heavy in this case because Cheryl Cox herself pressured a whole slew of public employees at Chula Vista Elementary School District to commit perjury--apparently in order to protect her political career. Much of the perjury was done to cover up falsification of documents, which CVESD board members Cheryl Cox, Patrick Judd, Larry Cunningham, Pamela Smith and Bertha Lopez made necessary when they voted to cover up crimes by dismissing a teacher. The dismissal was itself a violation of Labor Code section 1102.5

The Chula Vista Elementary School District board chose lawyers, Parham & Rajcic, and Stutz, Artiano Shinoff & Holtz, who could be depended upon to use illegal tactics to cover up the board's wrondoing. Obstruction of justice is all in a day's work for these law firms.

The fact that Cheryl Cox has more power now than when she was a CVESD board member makes it all the more important that she be answerable for her crimes.

I'm sure Cheryl Cox would plead guilty to a misdemeanor if she were investigated.

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