TRU LIES VIII or is it IX?: Trutanich Lies About "His" ACE Program

Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen "Nuch" Trutanich must be getting desperate if reports that he blatantly lied about the origins of the ACE Program that he has been pushing "like a snake-oil salesman" are true. The ACE Program promises to elevate Trutanich to the top of the Los Angeles City Hall power pile, with vast ranging powers attendant with the police state style of law enforcement that Trutanich appears to favor.

But the ACE program is not without critics, and the lies told by Trutanich on June 5, 2011 to The Kevin James Show audience, could be a sign that the City Council is finally waking up to the "End of Days" scenario that could result from empowering Trutanich the "judge and jury" powers he seeks.

Trutanich's lies about "his" ACE Program are seen as just the
latest of a series of lies that Trutanich followers are being fed
as the former Plaintiff's Attorney steps up his campaign for DA.
(Credit: Los Angeles Dragnet)

Trutanich's desperation may be due to the fact that the ACE Program is inching closer and closer to a vote by the full City Council. As it gets closer to that vote, Trutanich seems to be ratcheting up the hyperbole with his followers, promising a more efficient way of obtaining "compliance" from municipal code violators, as well as a new stream of revenue for the cash strapped City Council from the "Administrative Penalties" that Trutanich says will be as simple as "traffic tickets." Simple for who? The City in collecting the money, or those hit with traffic ticket-like fines with no real hope of fighting them?

But as to the lies themselves, Trutanich appears to have told at least two; the first was that the ACE Program was an idea he had when he became City Attorney. He didn't say it once, he said it twice, so there's no excuse about misunderstanding exactly what he said.

Trutanich's claim that the ACE Program was an idea he had when he became City Attorney
appears to be completely false based on the original motion instructing Trutanich to
create an administrative citation ordinance. 

But documents on file at the City Clerk's office show that the idea for the ACE Program came from Councilmember Paul Koretz, and as the Los Angeles Dragnet is reporting, it was an idea that Koretz's Chief of Staff, Richard Llewellyn (a former aide to City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo) had long before Trutanich ran for City Attorney.

The second lie that Trutanich told, is that he had shared his idea with other cities. Trutanich specifically mention the cities of San Diego and Santa Monica, and implied that they had implemented his plan and that it was "working just fine." But both of those cities already had their own administrative citation programs in force long before Trutanich was asked by CM Koretz to write LA's version of those ordinances, indeed, Trutanich despatched three of his top aides to San Diego to study and copy the San Diego program.

For those doubting these startling revelations, Trutanich's lies can be heard on YouTube or using the embedded player here:



TRU is False was one of the first to question the motives and desirability of allowing Trutanich to be given the extensive powers that are embedded deep inside the proposed ordinance, and there now seems to be a general acceptance that whilst the concept of and Administrative Citation Enforcement program could be a benefit to Los Angeles, the notion of giving Trutanich control over it is definitely not a good idea.

Sharp eyed observers will note that the latest iteration of ACE Program has stripped away Trutanich's control over where the administrative penalty money will go. But the all-important subpoena power remains, and if Trutanich succeeds in retaining this power he will have made fools of his enemies in City Hall who quashed of his Grand Jury plans last year.

Critics still believe that the City Council needs to remove Trutanich from having any involvement with the ACE Program because it still could be used just like traffic tickets - to raise money, rather than to promote public safety. As the Los Angeles Dragnet observed, "if you cannot trust the City Attorney to be truthful about where it came from, how can you trust him when he tells you where it's going?"

Credits for this report:

City Attorney Carmen Trutanich Accused of Lies and Plagiarism over ACE Program - Politics Without Mercy

Los Angeles City Attorney Lies About His ACE Program - Los Angeles Dragnet

City Attorney Carmen Trutanich Accused of Lies & Plagiarism over ACE Program - Political Pantloads

Trutanich Tells Tales To Tout ACE Program - Los Angeles News Alerts


Developing ...

Trutanich Transparency Questioned As ContractGate Unfolds

City Attorney Carmen Trutanich's commitment to transparency is coming under fire from sources other than TRU is False! Actions taken by Trutanich staffers to remove a search tool that allows the public to search contracts awarded by Trutanich as City Attorney were revealed last week by Fishbowl LA.

The ContractGate scandal started when the Fishbowl LA news piece was published last week. Their website posts "LA Media News, Unspooled," and it is curious that their news piece featuring a San Diego based effort called "Flashlight" (which makes information concerning contributions to politicians and the contracts that politicians award easier for the public to find) chose to use City Attorney Trutanich as the poster child for what not to do.

Fishbowl LA states that: "So long as Flashlight keeps its link index fresh, the site could prove extremely useful as a reporting tool. That said, keeping public information links fresh is not easy. For instance, when LA City Attorney Carmen Trutanich took office, his staff removed a handy search tool from the city attorney’s website that allowed the public to search through various city contracts."


Fishbowl LA's allegation appears to be partially borne out by a quick look at the City Attorney's website which has a very untidy and disorganized appearance compared to other City websites. Of course photo-ops of Trutanich feature most prominently, perhaps underlying Trutanich's main goal - self promotion. But if there is a Contract Search Tool, it is well hidden, and we could not find it.

So what is it that Trutanich is trying to make harder to find? Could there be awkward and embarrassing contracts that the City Attorney's Office has awarded?

Trutanich was known to be highly critical of his predecessor, Rocky Delgadillo, for hiring 'politicals' who engaged in fundraising and media promotion on the taxpayer dime, and removal of a contract search tool might make it harder for the public to research precisely why certain people are employed by Trutanich.

It seems that, increasingly, the media are discovering more and more reasons why Trutanich is not the person he claimed to be, and even the Los Angeles Dragnet published a story on ContractGate last week.  The Dragnet has been a strong supporter of Trutanich, however, recently the Dragnet started linking to articles written here revealing less than favorable pieces about the onetime "People's Lawyer."

Whatever the reason, for someone who promised 'Transparency' prominently in his campaign and well into his administration, it seems that FishBowl LA has unearthed yet another reason to believe TRU is False!

Tru Secret Weapons - Puppet Judges

Carmen "The Clown" Trutanich's attempts to plant a "friendly" judge in office number 117 of the Los Angeles Superior Court failed dismally when Tom Griego failed to gain enough votes to win a judicial appointment in the November mid-term elections. Trutanich had endorsed Griego, and had even enabled Griego to obtain a misleading ballot designation of "Criminal Prosecutor," through the use of a controversial internal transfer, as previously reported.

But it seems Trutanich's plans to control the administration of justice went beyond trying to sick an "Unqualified" judge on voters. Thanks to an anonymous tip, TRU is False can reveal that Trutanich had planned to set up his own Kangaroo Courts where Deputy City Attorneys - "Criminal Prosecutors" according to Trutanich's Griego standard, would sit as Judge and Jury in cases involving "Administrative Penalties."

Better yet, there would be no right to a public defender to represent those forced to appear before Trutanich's version of the Star Chamber, thereby ensuring that Trutanich's Supreme Court would not have to bother with pesky details like Constitutional rights including those established in the Fourth, Fifth or Sixth Amendments.

Trutanich's secret weapon was designed to generate vast sums of revenue from the Administrative Penalties which would be shared with the City of Los Angeles and the City Attorney's Office, and was believed to be one of several money generating weapons that the Trutanich regime were designing in order to fight the budget cuts by imposing Administrative Penalties on homeowners and businesses who dared to violate the Los Angeles Municipal Code by, for example, not obtaining permits for new water heaters, or allowing the grass to grow too high in their front yard.

Although many within the Trutanich regime were said to be "horrified" and "appalled" at Trutanich's apparent ignorance of basic notions of Fairness, Due Process and Conflict of Interest, the nighttime law school graduate could not be convinced that the idea was basically unconstitutional, if not downright insane.

Trutanich assigned a Special Assistant to oversee the task force of attorneys who would develop this, the first of several similar, stunning secret weapons.  Unfortunately, early tests were not successful. Those commanded to sell the thinly disguised assault on the rights of homeowners and businesses as a simple "Regulatory Ordinance," reported that they were quite unable to keep a straight face when explaining Trutanich's vision to others.

When news of the test failures were reported to Trutanich in one of his routine secret briefings, raised voices were heard outside the closed doors of the Eighth Floor "TruBunker,"apparently similar to the ravings of a dictator who accuses those who "do not obey orders" to be "traitors."

Trutanich recently confirmed the existence of his "Secret Weapons" program when he told LA Times Reporter Jim Newton that "... suggestions from the city attorney's office on how to raise revenue — by, say, giving the office the power to collect city debts and oversee fines for violating administrative codes — are routinely allowed to "age nicely," as Trutanich put it."

Perhaps the City Council has more sense than we often credit them with - putting the brakes on a power crazed egomaniac seems like one of their better moves.

Trutanich Is The New McCarthy

Joseph McCarthy and Carmen "The Clown" Trutanich
Can you tell the difference?

Both the Los Angeles Times and the LA Weekly yesterday published articles about Trutanich. The Los Angeles City Attorney is running for District Attorney and has secured the services of John Shallman as campaign manager. This was previously reported on Political Pantloads, as was the LA Weekly's observation that the relationship between former supporter Steve Cooley and the Clown of City Hall is over; "Cooley was livid"said the LA Weekly, when he found out that Trutanich was running for District Attorney - the Clown didn't even have the guts to tell Cooley, he had to hear about it second hand.

Comments to the LA Times Op-Ed piece were interesting, especially this one from anonymous blogger "Truth and Justice for All," we repeat it here because it has some highly insightful comments on the real Trutanich and probably explains why Jim Newton's Op-Ed piece was not as complete an excoriation of Trutanich as it should have been - Newton got swayed by Trutanich's double-speak rambling and teary-eyed false sincerity:

"The truth about Trutanich is really disturbing. I believe he's a con man of the first order. Just look at how he tried to play you Jim - first he bambozzles you with rambling responses to questions, then, when you see through the "BS," he plays the emotion card and does the teary eyed "I'm just trying to do the right thing" act. What you may not realize is that every moment of his affable bumbling emotional fool routine, is just that; an act. It's designed to fool you, designed to disarm your criticism and he is a master at doing it. 


After lunch I bet he gave you a bear hug and a slap on the back after luch, and promised you would be "friends for life." Sorry, but it's the line he uses all the time and he delivers it beautifully, but while you're all overcome with this extragavent expression of emotion, he's looking at you with eyes colder than an aligator's, hoping he can turn you and use you. 


It's not really surprising; 20 years as a successful defense attorney, Trutanich learnt how to use distraction and deception to be an effective advocate for his client. That's no disrespect to defense attorneys, it's what they have to do to give their often guilty clients the zealous representation that the law demands. But it's not duty of a prosecutor to win at all costs - we don't want another McCarthy in power."


"Truth and Justice for All" writes with a passion an insight that can only come from someone close enough to Trutanich to know his modus operandi, his "schtick" - distraction, disarmament and utter insincerity.

Both the LA Times and the LA Weekly mentioned Trutanich's failed bid to get his own Grand Jury, but it was "Truth and Justice for All" who made the darkest connection of all; "We don't want another McCarthy in power."

The comparison to Joseph McCarthy is not without merit. Trutanich wanted his own Grand Jury to be a veritable Star Chamber, where Trutanich could grill and grind his enemies on the flimsiest of evidence, much like McCarthy did with his inquisition. It's not hard to imagine the long line of Trutanich's enemies outside his secret Grand Jury room, and it's not hard to imagine just how abusive Trutanich's use of that power might be. We got a glimpse of that over the billboard issue when Trutanich jailed a businessman on a $1M arrest warrant that a court later reduced to $150k - still well above the schedule bail for a misdemeanor violation of the City Code.

Interesting, if you look at the timing of Trutanich's bid to get his Star Chamber, it was around the time that he began to realize that his "criminal aspects" investigation into the Michael Jackson memorial was going nowhere. There was no evidence to back-up Trutanich's bombshell statement to the City Council that there were "criminal aspects" to anything.

But if Trutanich had Grand Jury powers he could haul AEG's Tim Leiweke in to his secret court and subpoena every shred of paper that might prove a connection to some "criminal aspect" to what most people believe was an appropriate, if expensive, memorial to one of America's greatest musical talents.

This is the TRUe threat of Trutanich gaining Grand Jury powers, and while the City Council put an end to that nightmare violation of civil rights, it's only a temporary fix. If Trutanich succeeds in his bid to become District Attorney he gets instant access to not one but two secret Grand Juries, and you can bet they will be in session 24/7.

TRUTANICH RUNS FOR COVER

Carmen "The Clown" Trutanich hides behind Chief Deputy Bill Carter
to deliver another empty threat - this time to stop prosecuting crimes due to budget cuts.

Carmen "the Clown" Trutanich apparently choose "duck and cover" as a strategy to once again bemoan proposed budget cuts to the City Attorney's Office, perhaps he should be re-named Carmen "the Coward" Trutanich?

Last year, when told that the City Attorney's Office would have to share the pain of everyone else in the recession, the Clown chose Special Assistant Jane Usher to deliver a sharply worded email to attack the Mayor for cutting his budget. That didn't work out too well for the Clown, so this year he choose his Chief Deputy Bill Carter, to deliver the message. Carter told the LA Times that "the cuts could lead to fewer prosecutions of misdemeanor crimes."

According to the LA Times, Carter's belief is that a $1M reduction in the City Attorney's budget will cause him to have to "... prioritize those cases in which suspects need to be held and cases filed," Carter said. That's political double-speak for a threat not to prosecute cases in retaliation for the budget cut.

It's not really a change of tactics for the Clown; the use of threats seems to be Trutanich's answer to everything, but threatening not to prosecute crimes might work for the Clown, just as threatening not to imprison criminals, or give them an early release, has worked for the Sheriff in the past.

Of course, many might be wondering why Trutanich chose to once again deploy an operative to deliver the message. Perhaps it's because he made such a fool of himself the last time he opened his mouth in City Hall - that was over the "criminal aspects" he claimed to have found in the case of the Michael Jackson memorial. If Trutanich now were to cry foul to the City Council, they probably would laugh him out of the Chamber.

Another reason why Trutanich might have kept his mouth shut over the budget cuts, might be because he believes the reduced budget constitutes a "changed circumstance," and that might give him an excuse to renege on his sworn promise not to run for DA. As the Political Pantloads blog is reporting, Trutanich has retained the services of John Sallman as campaign manager for a run at the DA's Office.

Trutanich mentioned "changed circumstances" when he told the LA Times that he was "keeping his options open" about running for DA, and that he did not feel bound by his sworn promise because "circumstances had changed."

Once again, Carmen "The Clown" Trutanich reveals his shallow grasp of law, doubtless the result of a fourth rate part-time law school education. The concept of "changed circumstances" might sound impressive, but has nothing to do with relieving a party to a contract from a sworn promise.

That's the problem with Trutanich; you cannot trust anything he says to be TRUe, and when he does open his mouth, there's not telling what nonsense will come out. It must be very frustrating for Chief Deputy Bill Carter and Special Assistant Jane Usher, to have to work for someone who is a constant source of embarrassment and ridicule. Perhaps that's why they both rather like the idea of Trutanich leaving the office and running for DA?

Carmen The Clown Trutanich - The "Criminal Aspects" Bombshell.... Bombs

He had not been in office a week before Carmen 'the Clown' Trutanich started bellyaching about the costs of the Micheal Jackson memorial. The idea that his city should honor the memory of Michael Jackson, who unquestionably led a controversial life, but had directly and indirectly contributed millions, if not billions to the the city's music and entertainment industry, was seemingly disgusting to Trutanich.

So incensed was LA's new City Attorney, the so-called "People's Lawyer," that you can almost imagine him seething with anger, screaming "Honoring a child molesting pedophile drug adict! Not on my watch!" to his bewildered staff.

Nobody else in City Hall seemed to have any doubts that the memorial an appropriate if expensive civic event, but Trutanich could talk of little else, and did so publicly through a media always willing to get a sound bite from the equally willing new City Attorney.

As the days rolled by Trutanich apparently became increasingly convinced that some laws must have been broken to allow the memorial to take place at AEG's Downtown Los Angeles Staples Center and LA Live, and he made no secret that he was going to throw all the weight and might of his new Bureau of Investigations behind his suspicions.

On July 21, 2009, just three weeks into his tenure, Trutanich made it known that he was going to personally address the assembled councilmembers, and in a statement broadcast all over the world, Trutanich dropped the bombshell ...




Trutanich kept a solemn, stern face as he addressed the crowded City Hall Chamber with a carefully prepared statement:
"The City Attorney's Office Bureau of Investigations is continuing to actively review the events leading up to the events held at the Staples Center and at LA Live venues downtown. My investigators have already interviewed numerous witnesses and gathered significant evidence. We are still collecting information and developing a timeline of events and we are identifying the key players involved. To that extent I invite other, others to also come forward and to provide additional information and documents relating to this matter, by contacting our office."

Los Angeles City Attorney, Carmen The Clown Trutanich smiles as he drops
the bombshell - There are "criminal aspects" to the Michael Jackson memorial.

 Despite his calm staccato delivery, Trutanich couldn't suppress a wry smile and a look of glee as he paused for effect, and then said "Our investigation has taken an unanticipated turn that raises both civil and criminal aspects." 

You could have heard a pin drop as he delivered those words. The new sheriff in town had cracked the case in less than three weeks, and he had found "criminal aspects" to the Micheal Jackson memorial.

Although Trutanich never directly stated that AEG, the owners of the Staples Center and LA Live, were the prime suspects in his criminal and civil investigation, most people could not think of any other suspect.

It was a suspicion quickly confirmed when Trutanich stated that his investigators had been in contact with attorneys for AEG to request papers.

But that was all Trutanich was prepared to say, at least publicly. To add to the solemnity and seriousness of his investigation, Trutanich stated "Ethical considerations and the need to protect the integrity of the investigation prevent me from discussing anything related to the criminal investigation." In other words, this is so important, so serious, he can no longer talk about it. It must be a huge crime, a conspiracy of gigantic proportions, and the City Attorney has the evidence and will not "publicly discus any matters that could potentially jeopardize the effectiveness of our ongoing investigation."

And so, on July 21, 2009, Trutanich left little doubt that he had the dirt, the evidence, the proof he needed to criminally prosecute those who dared hold a "criminal aspect" memorial for Michael Jackson in "his City."

Despite the weight of evidence that Trutanich must have had as a result of unleashing the awesome might and investigative power of his Bureau of Investigations on AEG, and the interviews with "numerous witnesses"  and the gathering of "significant evidence" against those responsible for the memorial, nothing more was ever heard about Trutanich's "criminal aspects."

For almost a year, as the world waited for news, no case was ever filed, no arrests were ever made.

Not even a civil case, the one that Trutanich had said "... rest assured that before I file any lawsuit to recoup taxpayers costs, I will confer with you in closed session, to brief you and obtain your concurrence on any decision that is made."

It was almost a year later, on June 18, 2010 that the LA Times that dropped the next bombshell:

LA Times reports a 'deal's been done.' AEG will pay $1.3M of the
$5M or $6M that Trutanich said had been used for the memorial.

"Last year, AEG President and CEO Tim Leiweke accused City Atty. Carmen Trutanich of demanding $6 million to pay for the cost of the event. Trutanich said he asked for $2 million to $3 million at the time." according to a report filed by David Zahniser at the LA Times.

There was no statement from Trutanich about what looked like a payoff. It seems incredulous that for a man sworn to uphold the laws of the State of Californina, to enforce the laws of the City, to guard the coffers of the City Treasury, who had a case so strong that he could publicly claim had "criminal aspects" could simply 'go away' without a public statement from the "People's Lawyer." It's not as if Trutanich is camera or media shy, so why no explanation? Where's all that "transparency' that Trutanich promised to bring? Gone in flash of cash?

Perhaps justice has a price when placed in the hands of the "People's Lawyer?" A token payment of less than one fifth of what  Trutanich claimed was expended with "criminal aspects" and the whole thing never happened. It stinks. If there was crime, there should have been a criminal case. If there was a civil wrong, then file a civil case. But there was no case filed either criminal or civil, and no comment from Trutanich, so who can blame the public for thinking something very, very wrong had happened?

Interestingly, around this time, Illinois Governor, Rod Blagojevich, was being castigated for an alleged attempted shakedown to sell President Obama's US Senate seat, yet not a word about Trutanich's apparently abandoned "Criminal Aspects" investigation?

One thing did surface on August 12, 2010, after the dust died down. Thanks to a degree of transparency provided by the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission; a report of an interesting  campaign contribution to Trutanich's Officeholder Committee.

Trutanich's Officeholder Committee received a non-monetary contribution
from AEG, according to a reported contribution on the City Ethics Commission website.

If there's anything one can be sure of regarding Trutanich's "criminal aspects" investigation, it is that Trutanich should not be allowed to become District Attorney, an ambition is widely believed to be next on the "People's Lawyer's" wish list.

Either Trutanich was grandstanding and had no case against AEG, or he abandoned a case with "both civil and criminal aspects" for a $1.3M payoff. Whichever it was, it looks like the worst kind of ethics, and Los Angelenos must demand more from their top cop.

TRU Lies V: Trutanich Starts Trying To Talk His Way Out Of Promises

As predicted, Carmen "The Clown" Trutanich gave a clear indication that his word is worth about as much as a plugged nickel; nothing.

In a statement to the LA Times concerning the rumors that Trutanich has already started bragging to people that he's running for District Attorney, the Times reported that Trutanich "said he declined to rule out running for the position but said he would only think about joining the race if Cooley was not seeking reelection."

"I am keeping my options open," Trutanich told the Times, and then went on to deliver one of his infamous double-speak, nonsensical, rhetorical statements that always leaves you scratching your head wondering what the hell he means, or whether he even knows what he said. "Am I going home and saying, 'Dear, call me Mr. D.A.?' No, I'm the city attorney of Los Angeles and I'm very proud to be holding this job."

As for the signed pledge NOT to run for DA before serving a full first term and seeking a second, the legal lummox of City Hall has clearly been doing a little spin doctoring to try to find a way out of this promises. You can read them yourself in the Times, but what it basically amounts to is "What I said was only for the purposes of my campaign against Jack Weiss, it was a stunt. And anyway, things have changed. Do you want to believe me, or your lying eyes?"

Clearly Trutanich cannot be believed about anything he says concerning his campaign, so let's see how that works for him. His opponents will remind him about it every time he opens his mouth.

TRU LIES IV: TRUTANICH TO RENEGE ON PLEDGE NOT TO RUN FOR DA

Anonymous sources in the City Attorney's Office have confirmed what has been suspected for some time; Carmen "The Clown" Trutanich is going to run for District Attorney in the February 2012 primary election and renege on his $100,000 pledge to serve two terms as City Attorney.

Those familiar with Carmen the Clown's sleazy style of deception will be not be surprised at the news, just horrified that someone who campaigned on a platform of honesty, transparency and integrity could be so arrogant as to think himself fit to be DA when he cannot even be trusted stick to his signed, sworn and written pledge, which you can read in full by clicking here.

The highlights of Trutanich's pledge are:

1. Serve out his elected term in its entirety.
2. Seek a second term.
3. Specifically will not seek the position of District Attorney.
4. Pay a $100,000 fine from personal funds if he violates the pledge.
5. Pay for a full page advert in every LA newspaper with a headshot and the words "I AM A LIAR" in large block print.

Trutanich must be so drunk on power that he has forgotten the main reason why he was elected; because he was not Jack Weiss. In fact it was Councilman Dennis Zine who first said "Vote for anyone but Weiss," which Trutanich took as an endorsement.

If his past antics aren't enough to convince voters that Trutanich is no different to lying career politicians like Weiss, then this will seal the deal with even the most hard core republicans. In violating his sworn oath, Trutanich shows the same arrogance and disdain for voters that he and his sycophantic lap-dog blogger, David Berger (who we know is the "City Hall Insider"), used to contrast themselves from "Career Politicians."

Interestingly, Dennis Zine has endorsed Deputy District Attorney Alan Jackson's candidacy for District Attorney. It's probably only a question of time before Zine says that Trutanich is an "egotistical individual who will do anything to try to convince voters to elect him to public office," it's what Zine said about Weiss. Seems the shoe fits Trutanich too.

TRU LIES - RENEGES ON PROMISE TO GET TOUGH ON VENICE RV DUMPERS

Remember the headlines back in August of 2010 about homeless people living in recreational vehicles dumping human feces on the streets of Venice? The typically tolerant and progressive residents in Venice had enough and wanted action, and City Attorney Carmen "The Clown" Trutanich promised to "Get tough" and lock up the RV dumpers to let them know just how seriously he took residents' complaints.

Well things didn't turn out quite so well for the residents, but certainly went well for the RV dumpers. Trutanich reneged on his demand for "90 days in jail" and instead agreed to a "slap on the wrist" for the dumpers, dumped the residents of Venice, and then tried to blame a soft on crime judge for the less has satisfactory result (the dumpers got community service, not jail).

Let's be clear, nobody is defending the disgusting and dangerous practice of dumping bio-hazardous human waste on the streets of any community, and just because a person is unfortunate enough to find themselves homeless and forced to live in a RV is no excuse. But is is even worse that the City's "Top Cop" not only doesn't care, but tries to blame others for his actions.

Trutanich originally told Alex of "Yo! Venice" (a Venice community blog) that "they were taking the RV issue very seriously." Alex (who does not use his or her real name in fear of reprisals by the homeless community), had lead the fight against the RV dumpers, and apparently took photographic evidence of the offenders re-offending after being released from custody.

Trutanich also told the LA Times that 'he intended to file criminal charges against a motor home dweller who was arrested but released after serving two days in jail. "When it hits the fan, it hits my office too," Trutanich said of the dumping.'

Trutanich also  appeared on NBC's 'The Filter' where he told host Fred Roggin that "We are going to make sure this doesn't happen again in the city, ever." Roggin wrapped up the interview telling viewers that offenders faced 6 month is jail and $1,000 fine.

So how was it that despite Trutanich's threats of serious jail time, the only punishment was community service?

According to KFI reporter Steve Gregory Trutanich wanted them both to spend 90 days in jail. "The defendants decided they would not accept that offer," said Trutanich. "They plead open to the court on all counts and the judge sentenced them to probation."

Trutanich wants you to believe that the dumpers escaped his "90 days in jail" demand by "pleading open" to a judge who obviously did not take dumping human feces on the streets of Venice as seriously as Trutanich, Alex, or the rest of the Venice community.

But we believe that Trutanich was being less than honest in blaming the judge for the soft on crime sentence. The devil's in the details, so let's look at the details and try to unravel the web.

First of all, what exactly does "pleading open" mean? The short answer is that it means the dumper threw herself on the mercy of the judge and asked for an "indicated sentence." It happens when a person charged with a crime feels that the plea bargain deal being offered by the DA or the City Attorney is too severe.

So in this case, Lindsay Estilette (one of the two dumpers) with the help of her Public Defender must have said something like "Judge 90 days for what I did so too much, I have no record, and I'll never do it again, so what sentence would you give me if I plead guilty?"

Now this is not a one-sided conversation, and it occurs in open court, or at a side-bar conference with both sides. You can be sure that the judge would have asked the City Attorney the reasons for the 90 days in jail sentence. Having heard from both sides, the judge would have said something like "If you plead open to the court, I'll give you no jail time and community service," and the City Attorney can do nothing about it.

We just said the City Attorney can do nothing about it, and usually that is the case. Judges can and do undercut the offers made by DAs and CAs and there's nothing that "the People" can do about it.

Remember, though, we also said the devil's in the details.  In this case, Lindsay Estilette and her co-defendant were not throwing themselves on the mercy of a judge, rather it was a Court Commissioner - Mark Zuckman to be precise. A Court Commissioner is not a judge, and that's a huge detail that Trutanich probably doesn't want you to know.

A Court Commissioner  does not have the same power as a judge. In fact, under the California Constitution Article 6, Section 22 and California Rules of Civil Procedure 259, unless both sides "stipulate" (i.e. agree) to a Commissioner having power, there is very little that a Commissioner can do other than routine non-contested "ministerial" functions.

So in this case there really was something Trutanich could have done to avoid the slap on the wrist; Trutanich could have refused to "stipulate" to Commissioner Zuckman and insist that a Judge hears the case.
Don't forget that Judges are elected by the voters and, perhaps, are more in touch with sentiments in the community and might well have believed that the outrageous actions of the defendants deceives more than a slap on the wrist. What Trutanich could and should have done was insist on a Judge, maybe that way justice would have been done.

But Trutanich didn't insist on a Judge, didn't argue the facts to a Judge, and instead tried to hide behind a so-called "open plea" to a Commissioner that he did not have to agree to. There's a word for that, and you know what it is.

Trutanich's blogger was too busy buying what Trutanich was selling to ask questions and probe the details (the so-called "City Hall Insider" appears to be part of Trutanich's misinformation team). Now, through TRU is False you know the facts and you can decide. We believe that Trutanich just blowing smoke claiming to "Get tough" on the RV dumpers, and that he instead dumped on the residents of Venice.

You might be wondering why Trutanich would chose to dump on his own constituency and not play hard ball with the RV dumpers. We believe Trutanich had his reasons, and you won't like them any more than Trutanich will like you finding out that TRU is False.