A victory for El Segundo residents and residential property owners (house or 2 units)

Posted on June 19, 2011 by Mike

by Michael D. Robbins
Director, Public Safety Project, PublicSafetyProject.org

January 19, 2011

Congratulations! We won again! Thank you for sending in your Proposition 218 Trash Fee Protest Ballots before the deadline. A total of 1,850 unverified protest ballots were sent to City Hall, and only a total of 1,439 verified protest ballots were needed to defeat the new residential trash collection fee. The City Council voted 3-2 at its January 18, 2011 meeting, to accept the unverified protest ballots as sufficient without having the City Clerk’s staff spend the time to open all the envelopes, verify that the ballots were properly completed and signed, and count the valid ones that are not duplicates from owners and tenants of the same property.

City Council member Don Brann made the motion to accept the unverified protest ballots as sufficient. Mayor Eric Busch tried to ignore the motion and said that the City Clerk would come back to the City Council with the results after the protest ballots were verified and counted. Council member Don Brann caught this apparent maneuver to avoid a vote and move on to the next agenda item, and he stated that he made a motion. Council member Carl Jacobson seconded the motion for discussion. After brief discussion, Council member Don Brann asked for a vote. Mayor Eric Busch and Mayor Pro Tem Bill Fisher voted “NO”, and Council members Don Brann, Carl Jacobson, and Suzanne Fuentes voted “Yes” on the motion.

This vote by mail election used a strange system where properties for which no Protest Ballot is completed, signed, and returned before the deadline COUNT AS YES VOTES, and Protest Ballots from both the owner and tenant(s) of the same property COUNT AS ONLY ONE NO VOTE.

The first year of the trash fee would have cost residents an estimated $560,700, which is less than the estimated $596,657 total compensation paid to former El Segundo Police Chief David Cummings in 2009 from all sources – including his city contract and pension income while working for the city after his retirement. This is an enormous amount of compensation for any city, but especially for the City of El Segundo, California, which has about 5.5 square miles and about 16,000 or 17,000 population.

This is our second victory in our effort to stop the City Council majority from imposing City of Bell-style taxes and fees on businesses and residents to pay to continue enriching City employee union members and their managers – especially the firefighter and police union members and their managers – with wildly excessive and unsustainable salaries, benefits, and pensions that threaten to bankrupt our city.

Our first victory was the defeat of Measure O on the November 2, 2010 election ballot by 55% “NO” to 45% “YES”. Measure O was the $4 million business Utility Users Tax increase that would have been passed on to the customers as a cost of doing business. Measure O would have increased business electricity, water, gas, and telephone Utility Users Taxes by $2 million per year for two years and then it would have sunset. It was put on the ballot by a 5-0 vote of the City Council as a misguided attempt to balance the city budget, and resolve a more than $8 million budget shortfall that was caused primarily by the wildly excessive and unsustainable salaries, benefits, and compensation of the firefighter and police union members and their managers.

Posted in El Segundo News, El Segundo Tax and Fee Increases | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on A victory for El Segundo residents and residential property owners (house or 2 units)

Just the Facts – Letter to The Beach Reporter by Michael D. Robbins

Posted on June 3, 2011 by Mike

The following letter to the editor was published in The Beach Reporter newspaper (TBRnews.com) on Thursday, June 3, 2011 in the Letters section. The Beach Reporter has a strict 250-word limit.

Just the Facts

As Ronald Reagan said, “facts are stubborn things.” Unlike the extremist rants against me, which now include calls for censorship and threats of death by withholding emergency services, I just deal with the facts in order to prevent my city’s bankruptcy and loss of vital services. The people attacking me resort to these sorts of threats because they have no facts on their side. My information comes from official sources as documented at PublicSafetyProject.org.

If Measure P succeeds in liquidating the El Segundo Fire Department, then all other South Bay Cities will suffer reduced mutual aid emergency services. Even worse, if the voters are deceived into passing Measure P, it’s likely to start a trend of union takeovers of other South Bay cities.

The out-of-control spending crisis exists at all levels of government. For the July 12 Special General Election, the choice is between Janice Hahn, a member of the failed Los Angeles City Council, and Craig Huey, a self-made entrepreneur who understands there is a federal debt crisis, and who knows it is necessary to start fixing it now. Clearly, Craig Huey is the best choice. A visit to his Web site at CraigHuey.com will tell you where he stands, why he is the best choice and how you can help.

Michael D. Robbins
El Segundo

Posted in Beach Reporter Letters, California, El Segundo, Firefighter Union Corruption, Letters to the Editor, Police Union Corruption, Political Corruption, Union Corruption | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Just the Facts – Letter to The Beach Reporter by Michael D. Robbins

Unsustainable – Letter to The Beach Reporter by Bill Barks

Posted on June 3, 2011 by Mike

The following letter to the editor was published in The Beach Reporter newspaper (TBRnews.com) on Thursday, June 3, 2011 in the Letters section. The Beach Reporter has a strict 250-word limit.

Unsustainable

I wish to applaud and express support for frequent letter writer Michael D. Robbins of El Segundo. Mr. Robbins is exactly correct in his comments regarding the firefighter/police unions and the fantastic compensation packages they have been able to carve out of various ill-advised city councils in the beach cities over several years. Let it also be clear that I applaud the skill and dedication of most of the firefighter and police professionals. However, this unsustainable compensation policy has to be brought under control.

Bill Barks
Manhattan Beach

Posted in Beach Reporter Letters, California, El Segundo, Firefighter Union Corruption, Letters to the Editor, Police Union Corruption, Political Corruption, Union Corruption | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Unsustainable – Letter to The Beach Reporter by Bill Barks

Rich Fireman Named in Shoplifting by Paul Teetor – LA Weekly

Posted on May 26, 2011 by Mike

Original article (page 1):
http://www.laweekly.com/2011-05-26/news/rich-fireman-named-in-shoplifting/

Original article (page 2):
http://www.laweekly.com/2011-05-26/news/rich-fireman-named-in-shoplifting/2/

Original article, printer-friendly version:
http://www.laweekly.com/content/printVersion/1280967

Rich Fireman Named in Shoplifting

In El Segundo, where firefighters make $210,000 a year, anger spills over

By Paul Teetor
published: Thursday, May 26 2011

Firefighter Michael Archambault is presumed innocent until proven guilty. But the bizarre shoplifting arrest of the El Segundo firefighter, wealthy enough to own a home in exclusive Rolling Hills Estates, has sparked a furious battle.

The hero-turns-heel allegations have made Archambault a metaphor for the El Segundo firefighters’ union, its members’ staggering $210,000 average compensation in a town so sleepy that fires are rare, and the union’s push to merge with the Los Angeles County Fire Department in order to preserve its outsized pay scale.

“Everything about this shoplifting case illustrates what we’ve been saying for years: These public safety unions have invaded our little town and taken over the political system to enrich themselves,” says Michael Robbins, a former El Segundo councilman turned civic watchdog.

“The police and fire unions have developed an incredible sense of entitlement, a feeling that they are royalty and we are just here to fund their grossly inflated salaries and lavish lifestyles. Look at the facts.”


PHOTO BY TED SOQUI
Michael Robbins, former El Segundo councilman turned civic watchdog, is fighting City Hall.

Archambault, 52, was arrested on April 12 by Torrance police after he allegedly stole $375 in electronics from a Costco in Torrance. He owns a $1 million ranch-style rambler in Rolling Hills Estates, one of the priciest suburbs in the United States.

El Segundo City Councilwoman Suzanne Fuentes says Archambault typifies the strange problem that residents of this small, middle-class L.A. suburb are confronting: “Only one of 50 members of the El Segundo firefighters’ union actually lives in this city. Yet they’re trying to control our little Mayberry-by-the-sea.”

Archambault earned $208,000 in total compensation last year. According to his arrest report, he was spotted by loss-prevention officers at the Costco at 2751 Skypark Drive in Torrance as he surreptitiously opened a box containing a trash can and stuffed it with a Belkin router, a Motorola modem, earbuds, ink cartridges and a Waterpik Water Flosser.

The fireman then allegedly purchased the trash can for $47.99 — with the electronics hidden inside. He was detained outside the store and handed over to Torrance police. A few hours later he posted $1,000 bail.

No longer blue-collar, El Segundo firefighters — who require only a GED to enter the 10-week firefighter academy program — are among L.A. County’s richest citizens.

Their total annual compensation averages $210,000 in a low-crime town of 16,000 residents, which averages fewer than two structure fires a year. Essentially, they are very well paid paramedics. More than 90 percent of their calls are for medical transports.

Robbins says of the alleged shoplifter, “What kind of grueling work schedule does he endure for all this taxpayer money?”

Thanks to lucrative deals granted to the El Segundo Firefighters Association union by the City Council, firefighters must work only two of every six days.

Archambault’s workweek is typical: During two consecutive days, amounting to 48 hours, he is paid to sleep for 16 hours, and some of his sleeping is paid as “overtime.” He gets the next four days off and the cycle begins again. It’s a beautiful government job.

Archambault did not return calls from L.A. Weekly seeking comment. But Robbins says, “He gets to spend most of his time hanging out at home. He drives down to El Segundo once a week, sleeps a big chunk of his working time, and leaves two days later.”

Those generous rules and huge salaries were set when the City Council handed a new contract to the union in 2008, in the depths of the recession. Among other things, the City Council awarded the firefighters an 11.25 percent raise over three years. El Segundo Mayor Eric Busch defends the steep raises as being given in exchange for other, long-term concessions.

El Segundo’s police and fire unions are two of the largest campaign contributors to City Council candidates. “That’s how the public safety game is played,” Robbins says. “You elect the people who negotiate your contracts. And then they’re supposed to represent the taxpayer when they’re already indebted to you?”

About 55 percent of El Segundo Fire Department retirees in the past decade have been awarded either partial or full disability status by the city — a high figure for men who spend most of their workday hanging around a firehouse eating, sleeping or exercising.

Robbins says, “It doesn’t make sense.”

The economic reward for wangling a “disabled” ruling from El Segundo city officials is huge: Half of your pension income becomes tax-free, both state and federal.

El Segundo Fire Chief Kevin Smith made $357,609 in total compensation last year, although it’s not a demanding job. Smith has very little actual firefighting to oversee. But he has never spent time probing the 55 percent “disability” retirements awarded to his force.

Smith insists there isn’t any medical fraud in the El Segundo Firefighters Association.

“Heart disease is the No. 1 medical problem for firefighters,” he says, although the illness is more associated with hereditary factors, poor eating habits and lack of exercise. “And then come bad backs. It’s a tough, physical job that takes its toll on our bodies.”

Chris Thomason, president of the El Segundo Firefighters Association, made $256,132 in total compensation last year. Like Smith, he couldn’t explain the high disability rate. He laughed at the notion that any union member would engage in medical fraud.

“That’s absurd,” he tells the Weekly. “Ridiculous. Never happen.”

Neither Smith, Thomason, Fuentes nor anyone else in City Hall will reveal if Archambault is still working his regular shift. Smith even refused to release the shift schedule — a public document.

“The city attorney strongly admonished me not to talk about it because Mr. Archambault is entitled to his privacy,” Smith tells L.A. Weekly.

City Attorney Mark Hensley confirms that he instructed elected and nonelected officials to maintain silence. He claims Archambault’s right to privacy trumps the public’s right to know his employment status. “It’s an alleged shoplifting case,” Hensley says.

It is plainly illegal for a California city attorney such as Hensley to suppress public documents when a government employee is under investigation — a once-common subterfuge by officials that is banned under California’s Brown Act.

But special treatment for El Segundo firefighters is not unusual.

“I think they’re used to feeling the love from everybody,” Fuentes says.

Robbins says the alleged Costco shoplifting incident is an example of the union’s culture of entitlement. He says their greedy mindset is behind the union’s push to merge with the L.A. County Fire Department.

Last August, the City Council voted 4-1 to reject the merger notion. But the firefighters gathered enough signatures to place it on next year’s ballot. The merger would preserve the firefighters’ sky-high salaries even if El Segundo has to make budget cuts.

Voters don’t know much about this — yet.

But now, the seaside suburb’s fiscal watchdogs have a poster boy they can use to educate voters about city employees who, with just a GED and 10 weeks of training, can nail a lucrative career that involves sleeping, going on medical-transport calls and waiting for rare fires.

When the firefighter merger issue appears on the city ballot next spring, Michael Archambault will have stood trial for stealing $375 worth of electronic goodies, or reached a plea deal.

He could have paid for the allegedly stolen Costco items with just eight hours of El Segundo–style firefighting duties. Even fewer, if you count overtime for sleeping.

Contact the writer at paulteetor@verizon.net.

Posted in El Segundo News, Firefighter and Police Union Compensation and Pensions, Firefighter Union Corruption, Firefighters Commiting Crimes, Government Employee Compensation and Pensions, Police Union Corruption | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Rich Fireman Named in Shoplifting by Paul Teetor – LA Weekly

El Segundo firefighter Michael Archambault arrested at Costco for allegedly shoplifting five products worth $354.95 (Booking Photo)

Posted on May 25, 2011 by Mike

by Michael D. Robbins
Director, Public Safety Project, PublicSafetyProject.org

May 25, 2011


Michael Archambault

El Segundo firefighter Michael Joseph Archambault was arrested on April 12, 2011, for allegedly shoplifting $354.95 worth of merchandise ($389.56 counting tax) from Costco. He allegedly concealed five products in a trash can that was inside a box, paid only for the trash can, and then exited the store where he was detained and arrested.

Michael Archambault is entitled to a presumption of innocence until proven guilty. However, the information against him appears quite damning. As a sworn employee, will he be given a “professional courtesy” that is not available to every other citizen in similar circumstances? Shoplifting is a crime of moral turpitude, a disqualification for many government jobs and positions of authority and public trust. If Archambault is guilty, then the circumstances beg the question, how many times has he shoplifted or stolen hundreds of dollars worth of property at a time and gotten away with it?

Could El Segundo firefighter Michael Archambault’s arrest be the result of a culture of entitlement fostered by the firefighters’ union? Is this another example of the firefighters acting like a royal family that is entitled to whatever they want, no matter how excessive and unreasonable, where the rest of us are mere peasants who must provide it for them? They have demonstrated their sense of entitlement for at least two decades as they ratcheted up their salaries, benefits, and pensions to wildly excessive and unsustainable levels by aggressively campaigning to elect the City Council members who would determine their contract increases after becoming indebted to their union.

CLICK HERE to read the full story on El Segundo firefighter Michael Archambault’s arrest, and see a larger photo and the related documentation.

Posted in El Segundo News, Firefighters Commiting Crimes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on El Segundo firefighter Michael Archambault arrested at Costco for allegedly shoplifting five products worth $354.95 (Booking Photo)

Could Firefighter’s Arrest be the Result of a Culture of Entitlement?

Posted on May 25, 2011 by Mike

by Michael D. Robbins
Director, Public Safety Project, PublicSafetyProject.org

May 25, 2011


Booking photo of El Segundo firefighter Michael Joseph Archambault
Archambault was arrested for shoplifting nearly $400 in merchandise from the Costco store in Torrance, California. Click on the thumbnail image for a larger photo.

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATON:

Click HERE to download or view the Los Angeles County Superior Court Criminal Defendant Index search result. (17.2 KB HTML file)

Click HERE to download or view the Los Angeles County Superior Court Criminal Defendant Index search result. (92.0 KB PDF file)

Click HERE to download or view the Torrance, CA Police Department response to the Notice of Violation of the California Public Records Act sent by Mike Robbins. (130 KB PDF file)

CULTURE OF ENTITLEMENT

El Segundo firefighters and police officers have developed a culture of entitlement that has been fomented by their unions since at least the early 1990’s, if not earlier. This sense of entitlement appears even stronger among the firefighters than the police officers, although both the firefighters and police officers feel entitled to wildly excessive and unsustainable salaries, benefits, and pensions unheard of in the real world of the private sector, all on the backs of the overburdened taxpayers.

The firefighter and police unions aggressively campaign for the City Council candidates who will give them the largest salary, benefits, and pension increases in their union contracts, no matter how excessive and unsustainable, and they aggressively campaign against the candidates who support fiscal responsibility.

The El Segundo Firefighters Association (the firefighter union) has even used fear and intimidation to pressure voters into supporting their endorsed candidates. They sent out a Senior Scare Letter to elderly voters, threatening them with “the possibility of our paramedics not being available when you need them” if the three candidates they endorsed were not elected!

FIREFIGHTER ARRESTED FOR SHOPLIFTING

El Segundo firefighter Michael Joseph Archambault was arrested by city of Torrance police on April 12, 2011, for allegedly shoplifting $354.95 worth of merchandise ($389.56 if you include $34.64 sales tax at 9.75%) from the Costco warehouse store in Torrance, California. He allegedly concealed five products including four computer/electronic items and a Waterpik Flosser in a trash can that was inside a box, while Costco loss prevention officers were watching, paid only $47.99 for the trash can inside the box without disclosing the five concealed items, and then exited the store where he was detained and arrested.

This arrest was reported in the excellent May 26, 2011 LA Weekly article by Paul Teetor, titled “Rich Fireman Named in Shoplifting”. It was also reported in the Daily Breeze newspaper, but the article disappeared rather quickly.

Michael Archambault is fully entitled to a presumption of innocence until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law, and I hope he is truly not guilty. However, the information against him appears quite damning, and if he is in fact guilty, then he should not be given a “professional courtesy” that is not available to every other citizen in similar circumstances. Shoplifting is a crime of moral turpitude, a disqualification for many government jobs and positions of authority and public trust. If he is guilty, then the circumstances beg the question, how many times has he shoplifted or stolen hundreds of dollars worth of property at a time and gotten away with it?

It is troubling that, if guilty, he targeted Costco, a store with a business model of being extremely fair to its customers by providing good to excellent quality products at very competitive prices, combined with a superior return policy. Shoplifting is wrong regardless of the victim, but to victimize a very fair business adds insult to injury. Furthermore, if guilty, was he planning on returning the trash can for a refund after emptying all the booty from it?

Even more troubling is the fact that Michael Archambault is a lavishly overpaid El Segundo firefighter with 2009 total compensation of about $208,902 and a home in the very affluent South Bay city of Rolling Hills Estates, California, 90274. His home is in the “Rolling Hills Country Club” neighborhood, according to BlockShopper.com.

Given Michael Archambault’s hire date of 9/13/1987 and his birth date of 10/06/1958, he should be eligible to retire at age 55 on 10/6/2013 with a lavish CalPERS defined benefit plan pension of about 78% of his single highest year earnings (3% per year of service), guaranteed by the taxpayers, with COLAs, and city-paid medical insurance for himself and one dependent, all for life. He should be eligible to retire with the maximum CalPERS pension benefit of 90% of his single highest year earnings at about age 59 on 9/13/2017. However, if he claims a disability retirement, whether or not he is disabled, then half his pension income will be free of state and federal income tax, and there are or may be rules that allow an earlier than normal retirement. Over the last ten years, about 55 percent of El Segundo firefighters and police officers have claimed disability retirements, which seems excessive given the fact that El Segundo is a city with few fires and little crime.

El Segundo is a small city of about 16,000 residents, 60,000 daytime population due to businesses in the city, and 5.5 square miles. El Segundo has few fires and even fewer structure fires. Most of the fire department calls are paramedic calls. Out of a total of 2,170 incidents in 2010, there were only seven structure fires, and only one or two had damage estimated at more than $35,000. Thus, all structure fires combined made up only 0.32% of all incidents. Firefighters have a cushy job where they are paid to work for 48 hours, including paid sleeping time, meal time, exercise time, and time waiting for calls to come in. And then they are off duty for the next four days, allowing them plenty of time to work other jobs and run their own businesses.

So why would a lavishly overpaid firefighter, in a position of authority and public trust, with access to citizens’ homes, cash, gold, jewelry, and other valuables in the course of his normal job duties, who gets a lavish defined benefit plan pension guaranteed by the taxpayers at age 55 and a full pension after only 30 years of service, and medical insurance for life, and who owns a million dollar plus home, risk his career and possibly a significant portion of his pension to steal $389.56 in merchandise that he could have paid for with only about eight or nine hours of work including paid sleeping time?

If he did the crime, what was he thinking?

The answer may be quite simple. This may be another example of the culture of entitlement that is prevalent among El Segundo firefighters. This culture is fostered by both the firefighters union and by the City Council members who give them wildly excessive and unsustainable salaries, benefits, and pensions in return for their campaign endorsements, monetary contributions, and other campaign support. The more excessively and lavishly they are compensated, the more entitled they become, until they reach their present state – where they act as a royal family entitled to everything they want, and they treat everyone else as peasants who must provide it for them.

CASE INFORMATION

The arrest of Michael Archambault is Torrance Police Department case number 110020483, and Los Angeles County Superior Court case number SBA1SY03435-01. According to a check of the Los Angeles County Superior Court Criminal Defendant Index made on Monday, May 23, 2011 at 11:42:23 AM, a charge of one count of violating California Penal Code Section 484(a) was filed against Michael Joseph Archambault with Date Of Birth 10/06/58 in Superior Court at the Torrance Courthouse on 05/11/2011, and there was no disposition of the court case at that time.

The Los Angeles County Superior Court Criminal Defendant Index can be searched online for criminal charges and disposition by first and last name, or by first and last name and date of birth for greater accuracy, for a fee of $4.75 per search (whether or not any records are found), at the following web site pages:

WITH WEB PAGE FRAMES:
https://www.lasuperiorcourt.org/OnlineServices/criminalindex/

WITHOUT WEB PAGE FRAMES:
https://www.lasuperiorcourt.org/onlineservices/criminalIndex/publicmain.aspx

ARREST INFORMATION

Mike Robbins made a California Public Records Act request for the public record arrest information from the city of Torrance, California Police Department under the California Public Records Act, California Government Code Sections 6250 et seq. The Torrance Police Department refused to release any arrest information, in what may have been an inappropriate “professional courtesy” extended to a sworn public safety employee of another South Bay agency.

However, the following arrest information was provided by the Torrance Police Department in response to a follow-up Notice of Violation of the California Public Records Act sent to the Torrance Police Department, the entire City Council including the Mayor, the City Clerk, the City Attorney, the City Manager, and the Police Chief, which explicitly cited the California Government Code sections that required release of the arrest information and the legal recourse available for failure to comply with the law. Pursuant to California Government Code Section 6254(f), all of the following information is public record, “except to the extent that disclosure of a particular item of information would endanger the safety of a person involved in an investigation or would endanger the successful completion of the investigation or a related investigation.” The Torrance Police department could not reasonably make a claim for such an exemption.

Arrest Information for El Segundo Firefighter Michael Joseph Archambault:

  1. The time of complaint: 16:44:11
  2. Substance of complaint: In Custody
  3. Location of complaint: 2751 Skypark Dr; Costco
  4. Time of response: 16:59:18
  5. Nature of response: Law enforcement, Priority 3
  6. Time of report: 16:44:11
  7. Date of report: 04/12/11
  8. Name of victim: Costco, Inc.
  9. Age of victim: N/A
  10. Factual circumstances surrounding the crime or incident: During daytime hours, a subject enters Costco retail store, conceals merchandise inside a trash can, pays for the trash can and exits the store without paying for the concealed merchandise.
  11. Description of injuries: No injuries were reported
  12. Description of property:
    1. One (1) Philips Ear Phones $29.99
    2. One (1) at one (1) HP Ink Cartridge $82.99
    3. One (1) Belkin Router $89.99
    4. One (1) Motorola Modem $74.99
    5. One (1) Waterpik Flosser $76.99

  13. Description of weapons: No weapons were reported
  14. The full name of every individual arrested by Torrance Police Department: Michael Joseph Archambault
  15. Occupation of every individual arrested by the Torrance Police Department: Firefighter
  16. Individual’s date of birth: 10/06/58
  17. Individual’s color of eyes: Brown
  18. Individual’s color of eyes: Brown
  19. Individual’s sex: Male
  20. Individuals height: 6’02”
  21. Individuals weight: 175 lbs.
  22. Time and date of arrest: 17:29:00 04/12/11
  23. Time and date of booking: 18:13:00 04/12/11
  24. Location of arrest: 2751 Skypark Dr; Costco
  25. Factual circumstances surrounding the arrest: Costco store security detained a subject outside the exit door and made a citizen’s arrest of the subject.
  26. Amount of bail set: One thousand dollars.
  27. The time and manner of release or the location where the individual is currently being held: The individual was released at 20:00 on his own recognizance.
  28. Charges, holds, or warrants held on 04/13/11: Penal Code Section 484(a)

California Penal Code Section 484(a)

You may search for California Penal Code Section 484(a) on the official California state government web site at the link below. Check the Penal Code box, enter 484 in the text search box, and click the Search button.

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/calaw.html

CALIFORNIA CODES
PENAL CODE
SECTION 484(a)

484. (a) Every person who shall feloniously steal, take, carry, lead, or drive away the personal property of another, or who shall fraudulently appropriate property which has been entrusted to him or her, or who shall knowingly and designedly, by any false or fraudulent representation or pretense, defraud any other person of money, labor or real or personal property, or who causes or procures others to report falsely of his or her wealth or mercantile character and by thus imposing upon any person, obtains credit and thereby fraudulently gets or obtains possession of money, or property or obtains the labor or service of another, is guilty of theft. In determining the value of the property obtained, for the purposes of this section, the reasonable and fair market value shall be the test, and in determining the value of services received the contract price shall be the test. If there be no contract price, the reasonable and going wage for the service rendered shall govern. For the purposes of this section, any false or fraudulent representation or pretense made shall be treated as continuing, so as to cover any money, property or service received as a result thereof, and the complaint, information or indictment may charge that the crime was committed on any date during the particular period in question. The hiring of any additional employee or employees without advising each of them of every labor claim due and unpaid and every judgment that the employer has been unable to meet shall be prima facie evidence of intent to defraud.

Posted in El Segundo, Firefighter and Police Union Compensation and Pensions, Firefighter Union Corruption, Firefighters Commiting Crimes, Government Employee Compensation and Pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

We Already Have Mutual Aid – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Michael D. Robbins

Posted on March 21, 2011 by Mike

The following letter to the editor was published in the El Segundo Herald newspaper (HeraldPublications.com) on Thursday, March 21, 2011 in the Letters section on page 3. The El Segundo Herald has a strict 250-word limit.

We Already Have Mutual Aid

The March 13 emergency response to the helicopter crash into Raytheon Building E-1 in El Segundo proves two significant points. First, it proves our existing Fire Department mutual aid system works exceptionally well. El Segundo Fire Chief Kevin Smith answered questions during a press conference attended by ABC, KTLA, and FOX television news, and myself.

Chief Smith stated that 70 firefighters responded to this incident, including mutual aid from the L.A. County Fire Department and all South Bay fire departments, including Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, and Torrance.

Second, the quick and effective emergency response by 70 firefighters proves that Measure P, the firefighter union’s initiative, is absolutely unnecessary because we already have effective mutual aid. It shows how deceptive the firefighters’ claims are. It debunks their fundamental ballot argument claim that Measure P will “put 72 firefighters on call” (including out-of-town stations). Interestingly, Chief Smith signed the ballot argument for Measure P, along with the only (or one of two) firefighter union member who lives in El Segundo, and Councilman Don Brann, the most enthusiastic advocate of tax and fee increases on businesses and residents.

The other claims in their ballot argument are equally false. Measure P is a permanent takeover of our Fire Department by L.A. County that eliminates paramedic ambulances and local control, insulates the firefighters from accountability to any city official, and protects their wildly excessive and unsustainable $150,000 to $350,000 salaries, benefits and pensions that caused El Segundo’s budget problems.

Michael D. Robbins

Posted in El Segundo, El Segundo Election Coverage, El Segundo Herald Letters, El Segundo News, Firefighter and Police Union Compensation and Pensions, Government Employee Compensation and Pensions, Letters to the Editor, Measure P - Firefighters Union Initiative | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on We Already Have Mutual Aid – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Michael D. Robbins

Helicopter crash into Raytheon Buillding E-1 in El Segundo on March 13, 2011 proves that El Segundo already has Mutual Aid and it works

Posted on March 13, 2011 by Mike

by Michael D. Robbins
Director, Public Safety Project, PublicSafetyProject.org

March 13, 2011


A helicopter doing heavy lifting crashed into Raytheon buliding E-1 (legacy Hughes Aircraft Co.) resulting in a fire and significant water and smoke damage. The pilot survived the crash, but the helicopter did not.
Photo from KABC TV 7.


El Segundo Fire Chief Kevin Smith stated in a press conference that 70 firefighters responded to the helicopter crash into Raytheon (legacy Hughes Aircraft Co.) buliding E-1 and the subsequent fire. Click on the thumbnail image for a larger photo.
Photo by Michael D. Robbins, El Segundo, PublicSafetyProject.org.
Copyright © 2011 by Michael D. Robbins.

The emergency response to the helicopter crash into Raytheon Building E-1 in El Segundo last Sunday proves two significant points. First, it proves El Segundo’s existing Fire Department mutual aid system works exceptionally well. El Segundo Fire Chief Kevin Smith answered questions during a press conference attended by ABC, KTLA, and FOX television news, and myself.

Chief Smith stated that 70 firefighters responded to this incident, including mutual aid from the L.A. County Fire Department and all South Bay fire departments, including Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, and Torrance (see photos at PublicSafetyProject.org).

Second, the quick and effective emergency response by 70 firefighters proves that Measure P, the firefighter union’s initiative, is absolutely unnecessary because we already have effective mutual aid. It shows how deceptive the firefighters’ claims are. It debunks their fundamental ballot argument claim that Measure P will “put 72 firefighters on call” (including out-of-town stations). Interestingly, Chief Smith signed the ballot argument for Measure P, along with the only (or one of two) firefighter union member who lives in El Segundo, and Councilman Don Brann, the most enthusiastic advocate of tax and fee increases on businesses and residents.

The other claims in their ballot argument are equally false. Measure P is a permanent takeover of our Fire Department by L.A. County that eliminates paramedic ambulances and local control, insulates the firefighters from accountability to any city official, and protects their wildly excessive and unsustainable $150,000 to $350,000 salaries, benefits, and pensions that caused El Segundo’s budget problems.

The photos below of the helicopter crash scene are from ABC news.

The other photos below were taken by Michael D. Robbins on March 13, 2011, and are copyright © 2011 by Michael D. Robbins. They show El Segundo Fire Chief Kevin Smith, fire vehicles from the Los Angeles County Fire Department and from other fire departments outside El Segundo that provided mutual aid, and the news helicopter above the helicopter crash site.

The helicopter crash occurred between Raytheon Co. (legacy Hughes Aircraft Co.) building E-1, which was struck by the helicopter, and building E-4, which is surrounded by building E-1. Raytheon security prevented access to the crash site, which is understandable, and the only view of the wreckage itself was from above by helicopter. There was one news helicopter overhead, which is shown in the photo below.


There was only one news helicopter overhead, and Raytheon’s security officers would not allow news reporters or photographers inside Raytheon’s perimeter security gates.
Photo by Michael D. Robbins, El Segundo, PublicSafetyProject.org.
Copyright © 2011 by Michael D. Robbins.


The south side of the east wing of Raytheon building E-1 suffered impact, fire, water, and smoke damage as a result of the March 13, 2011 helicopter crash into it while doing heavy lifting. The red, white, and blue painted object is part of the remains of the crashed helicopter.


The south side of the east wing of Raytheon building E-1 suffered impact, fire, water, and smoke damage as a result of the March 13, 2011 helicopter crash into it while doing heavy lifting. The red, white, and blue painted object is part of the remains of the crashed helicopter.


The south side of the east wing of Raytheon building E-1 suffered impact, fire, water, and smoke damage as a result of the March 13, 2011 helicopter crash into it while doing heavy lifting.


The south side of the east wing of Raytheon building E-1 suffered impact, fire, water, and smoke damage as a result of the March 13, 2011 helicopter crash into it while doing heavy lifting.


The remains of the helicopter lays on the ground after it crashed into Raytheon building E-1 in El Segundo.


The remains of the helicopter lays on the ground after it crashed into Raytheon building E-1 in El Segundo.


One of the helicopter wheels lays on the roof as debris from the helicopter crash into Raytheon building E-1.

NOTE: Photos of the mutual aid fire trucks and engines will be added in the near future.

Posted in El Segundo Election Coverage, El Segundo News, Measure P - Firefighters Union Initiative | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Helicopter crash into Raytheon Buillding E-1 in El Segundo on March 13, 2011 proves that El Segundo already has Mutual Aid and it works

Firefighters Broke Their Promises – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Illeen Joscha

Posted on February 24, 2011 by Mike

The following letter to the editor was published in the El Segundo Herald newspaper (HeraldPublications.com) on Thursday, February 24, 2011 in the Letters section on page 3. The El Segundo Herald has a strict 250-word limit.

Firefighters Broke Their Promises

The firefighters convinced voters to sign their initiative petition by promising that signing it would not make it law, but would only get it on the ballot so the people could vote on it. The firefighters also promised their initiative would save tax money and preserve our fire department.

But once voters trusted the firefighters and signed their petition, the firefighters broke their promises. They tried to have their initiative become law without letting people vote on it. At the Feb. 15 City Council meeting, Bryan Partlow, a firefighters’ union member and representative, and Scott Houston, a former and likely future City Council candidate, read similar prepared statements. They demanded the City Council enact Measure P, the firefighters’ union initiative, as an ordinance without letting the people vote on it, citing the signatures as justification.

They also demanded that if the City Council decides to let the people vote on Measure P, they should do so in a proposed June 2011 special congressional election, for higher voter turnout. Hypocritically, the firefighters’ union wanted either nobody voting, or high voter turnout so there would be more uninformed voters.

Measure P actually destroys our fire department. It gives all our fire vehicles and equipment to Los Angeles County, eliminates our paramedic ambulance service forever, has L.A. County provide reduced emergency services for ten years minimum, and makes the firefighters unaccountable to our city.

The promised “cost savings” come from emergency service cutbacks, not reductions in their excessive and unsustainable salaries and pensions.

Illeen Joscha

Posted in El Segundo, El Segundo Herald Letters, El Segundo News, Firefighter and Police Union Compensation and Pensions, Firefighter Union Corruption, Government Employee Compensation and Pensions, Letters to the Editor, Measure P - Firefighters Union Initiative | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Firefighters Broke Their Promises – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Illeen Joscha

Council Votes Save Money and Lives – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Michael D. Robbins

Posted on February 24, 2011 by Mike

The following letter to the editor was published in the El Segundo Herald newspaper (HeraldPublications.com) on Thursday, February 24, 2011 in the Letters section on page 3. The El Segundo Herald has a strict 250-word limit.

Council Votes Save Money and Lives

I want to thank City Council members Bill Fisher, Suzanne Fuentes, and Carl Jacobson for voting on February 15 to put the firefighter union’s Punitive Initiative, Measure P, on the latest possible ballot – in April 2012. Their votes will save taxpayer money by avoiding an unnecessary special election, and much more tax money indirectly. But more importantly, their votes may save lives – especially the lives of our seniors.

The latest election date postpones the time residents will permanently lose their City-operated paramedic transport service, and be forced to use out-of-town ambulance companies with increased hospital transport times and fees, if enough voters are misled into approving the Punitive Initiative.

The union’s Punitive Initiative cuts emergency services to lock-in and pay for their wildly excessive and unsustainable employee salaries, benefits, and pensions. The latest election date can save $90 million over ten years in excess “special compensation” and pension contributions by giving the City Council more time to implement real and superior alternatives that save twice as much money without cutting our emergency services.

I was disheartened when, after I explained these facts, the firefighter union and Council candidate Scott Houston urged the Council to enact the initiative without any election, and Mayor Eric Busch, Councilman Don Brann, and probable 2012 City Council candidates Ron Swanson and Jim Boulgarides advocated the firefighter union’s backup position – a costly special election as soon as possible. Could it be that some union-backed candidates don’t want the Punitive Initiative on the same ballot as themselves?

Michael D. Robbins

Posted in El Segundo, El Segundo Election Coverage, El Segundo Herald Letters, El Segundo News, Firefighter and Police Union Compensation and Pensions, Firefighter Union Corruption, Government Employee Compensation and Pensions, Letters to the Editor, Measure P - Firefighters Union Initiative | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Council Votes Save Money and Lives – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Michael D. Robbins