CaliforniaALL Part 6: Fraud on the Public; Tax Fraud;Sub-Part #3;Public Corruption; The Sweet Smell of Roses
CaliforniaALL, a Section 501(c)(3) charitable entity, was the brainchild of Ruthe Ashley – the former Vice-President of the State Bar of California who was employed as a Diversity Officer at CalPERS.
In its brief existence from January 2008 to July 2010, CaliforniaALL collected close to $2 million from various utility companies (AT&T;, PG&E;, Verizon, Sempra.) In addition, CaliforniaALL obtained a sub rosa contribution of $769,247 from the State Bar of California Foundation (dba California Bar Foundation.)
CaliforniaALL was abruptly dissolved on July 12, 2010. (See Facebook posting, below, and letter from Victor Miramontes, CaliforniaALL Chairman of the Board.)
Sub-Part #3
According to confidential sources, the multi-prong investigation is rapidly expanding and encompasses broader inquiries than had been acknowledged up to now to The Leslie Brodie Report.
A source maintains that one aspect of the inquiry involves 3 subparts:
1) Circumstances surrounding events relating to the CPUC.
2) Circumstances surrounding actions taken by CaliforniaALL and Ashley
3) Circumstances surrounding the sub-rosa transfer of $769,247 from the State Bar of California Foundation to CaliforniaALL.
In connection with Sub-Part#3, special attention is being paid to the examination of fraud, constructive fraud, misrepresentation, breach of fiduciary duty, aiding and abetting in the breach of fiduciary duty, violation of trust and self-dealing, as well misrepresentations made to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service (IRS); and related irregularities.
According to the sources, Sub-Part #3 is being carefully reviewed because it involves "Public Corruption," which according to the sources poses a fundamental threat to our way of life. Such wrongdoing impacts everything from how well our neighborhoods are protected to verdicts handed down in courts, as well as the quality of our roads and schools, and other government services. This, the sources maintain, can take a significant toll on the American way of life.
Specifically, sources maintain, Sub-Part #3 examines the actions of Howard, Rice, Nemerovski, Canady, Falk & Rabkin's Douglas Winthrop; Foundation Executive Director Leslie Hatamiya; Patricia Lee; Judy Johnson; Robert Hawley; and Buchalter Nemer's Holly Fujie – a sophisticated attorney who concurrently served as a member of the Board of Governors (“BOG”) AND as a director for the Foundation Board of Directors in 2008.
Under the Roses
The Latin phrase sub-rosa means "Under the Rose," and is used in English to denote secrecy, much like the terms “under the table,” “incognito,” and “hush-hush.”
The transfer of $769,247 from the State Bar of California to
CaliforniaALL involved much secrecy, an attempt to defraud the public, and is therefore suspicious in the extreme; and serves as a basis to allege criminal conduct when coupled with other factors and circumstantial evidence.
As we previously mentioned, other than in Foundation tax records and a 2 by 2 inch blurb in its 2008 annual report, the contribution was never mentioned again – not by the State Bar of California, not in the Cal Bar Journal, not in the Foundation's "newsroom," and not by anyone or any publication of CaliforniaALL.
Clearly, there was an attempt to mislead the public, mislead those who donated to the Foundation, and mislead members of the State Bar of California who normally read such publications.
Furthermore, it is an indication of an "inside job" as only those inside the State Bar have control over those mediums. It also gives credence to allegations that criminal activities were taking place – otherwise, why all the secrecy?
From Left, Holly Fujie, Judy Johnson, Leslie Hatamiya, Ruthe Ashley.
Sources maintain that Ruthe Ashley, Leslie Hatamiya, Judy Johnson, Holly Fujie, Douglas Winthrop, and Robert Hawley are under heavy scrutiny as a result of these hush-hush activities.
In 2008, serving as President of the Foundation was Mario Camara. A joint letter published and signed by Camara and Hatamiya also made no mention of the hush-hush transfer. Wasn't Mr. Camara proud of it, just like he was proud of other money which went to support "pipelines?" After all, CaliforniaALL was also intended to support "pipelines". See below:
According to our sources, secrecy and omissions around CaliforniaALL (initially named CaAAL) were the norm from the time the concept was presented to the BOG by Patricia Lee and Ruthe Ashely, during closed meetings conducted by some members of the BOG and its sub-committees, and in the callous manner in which the BOG was informed that CaliforniaALL was dissolved. Patricia Lee made sure of that, as did Robert A. Hawley, who was present at most of the meetings and had an ethical as well as professional obligation to step forward and speak up.
See below, an example of one such closed meeting :
Once CaliforniaALL was dissolved, the only attention it received was only was one line of text (see below).
Clearly, Robert Hawley, not a stranger to controversy having faced a similar scenario in the matter of Sharon Pearl – where close to $700,000 was embezzled from the State Bar, something he knew or should have known and, as usual, offered plenty excuses.
The Sweet Smell of Roses
[ “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet.”
R. Scott Wylie, who served as both the Vice-President of the State Bar of California and the President of the Foundation of State Bar of California, quoted the above in an article that appeared in the April 2007 edition of the California Bar Journal see http://tinyurl.com/romeoandjulietlink
According to Mr. Wylie, "The California Bar Foundation was created in 1990 to serve as the charitable giving arm of the State Bar of California."
He stated: “There were lots of ofs in the name ‘The Foundation of the State Bar of California’ so the name was changed to ‘California Bar Foundation’.” Mr. Wylie observed that this is a “much sweeter sounding name,” and one which is “easier to fit on a check.”]
The above paragraph was taken from a story published here three months ago. See http://tinyurl.com/Stratford-upon-Avon .
Serving as CaliforniaALL's chairman of the board was Victor Miramontes, a resident of San Antonio, Texas for the past 20 years.
Mario Camara served as President of the Foundation in 2008, and no doubt knows Mr. Miramontes; he may also have been involved in various real estate transactions with Miramontes, Cisneros, and CityView. In addition, connections can be found via a separate entity – The Urban Land Institute.
According to the sources, while Namara and Miramontes are of interest as sources of information, after a careful examination the sources are hard-pressed to point fingers at Miramontes and Camara.
Despite his Texas residency, Miramontes, a successful and dynamic business person, traveled to California on multiple occasions and exhibited genuine care for the welfare and success of the youths in the Saturday Law Academy, which CaliforniaALL sponsored in part.
According to sources, circumstances surrounding Camara and Miramontes point to a "low probability" of intentional wrongdoing on their parts. Both enjoy financial stability; additionally, Miramontes is a partner of Henry Cisneros, who is now extremely cautious not to engage in any shenanigans .
In addition, circumstantial evidence surrounding events, as well as the modus operandi typical to the State Bar, makes it appear as though this was an “inside job,” as was stated above.
According to the sources, an examination is underway to determine whether Camara and Miramontes were somehow taken advantage of and duped by the primary wrongdoers.
While the Foundation represented in its 2008 annual report that Mario Camara served as President in 2008, no such representation was made to the IRS.
Rather, the IRS was misled to believe, under penalty of perjury, that the President of the Foundation in 2008 was R. Scott Wiley.
According to our sources, the perjerious tax return – which was reviewed by all of the Foundation Board members for accuracy and bears the signature of Leslie Hatamiya – as well as the act of misleading the IRS, is viewed as further circumstantial evidence of criminal activities and an attempt to conceal the truth from the IRS and the public.
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