Prosecutor's Wife and Paris Have Something in Common

46. great! TMZ did a good job this time exposing this (and great choice of the pictures, the laughing Paris in particular).

advice:

if you're looking for publicity and spot-lights then you better check your background, or somebody else will.

well done, LA times and TMZ.

Posted at 7:47PM on Jun 9th 2007 by mark nyc

47. Its just a crying shame that all this attention has to be put on this. Yes, Paris broke the law by driving drunk and then driving with a suspended license, but if she has done her time like all the others before her than I dont understand why she was released and then put back in. It seems as though she is being made to be the lamb that is slaughtered just so a judge and a city attorney can get their 15 minutes of fame. I also find it ironice that the city attorneys wife received a slap on the hand for driving under suspension. Poppy cock that she didnt know it had been suspended, I am sure she is a little bit smarter than her husband, but I could be wrong there.

Posted at 7:53PM on Jun 9th 2007 by Lynda

48. I've lost respect for TMZ--Paris was on probation & had already been warned once before. These are serious infractions! Shame on you TMZ & whatever the editors name is!

Posted at 10:34AM on Jun 10th 2007 by Carrie

49. The City Attorney's wife driving around with a suspended license for A YEAR is OUTRAGEOUS! Driving with a suspended license is illegal, either way, and so is making illegal turns. In light of this startling revelation, I think Delgadillo had a lot of nerve to go rabid after Paris Hilton, when his own house wasn't in order!

Posted at 7:53PM on Jun 9th 2007 by dttown

50. Hey HARVEY LEVIN!!!! Your tilt towards Paris is getting really REALLY old.

NO COMPARISON between being on probation and Michelle Delgadillo.

SHAME on you to bring in his wife - SHAME

Posted at 8:50PM on Jun 9th 2007 by Markus

51. Paris is a drunken whore!
Paris, has no respect for any ordinary person or rule. For all you Paris lovers, she wouldnt wipe her snobby-ass on you.

Hey T.M.Z, why not check Mr. Levin's back ground- maybe a former drunk. Could this be why he is such a paris supporter?

Posted at 7:53PM on Jun 9th 2007 by L.B

52. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/06/09/BACA.TMP&type=printable

Sheriff stepped on PR land mine
Experts say Hilton's release could have been handled better
Carla Marinucci, Chronicle Political Writer

Saturday, June 9, 2007


When Los Angeles Sheriff Lee Baca gave Paris Hilton her "get out of jail" card this week, he bought himself a ticket to the doghouse -- just like a long parade of other scorned public officials who have learned the phrase "politically tone deaf" the hard way.

Baca found himself buried under an avalanche of criticism that erupted on blogs and talk radio and in living rooms around the country after his decision to let the errant heiress take a walk from her cold and lonely jail cell.

That infuriated Superior Court Judge Michael T. Sauer, who wanted Hilton to serve her time -- literally -- for a parole violation related to reckless driving. Los Angeles city attorney Rocky Delgadillo also weighed in and demanded Baca be held in contempt.

And the contempt didn't stop there: By the time Sauer publicly humiliated Baca in court Friday and sent the bawling heiress back to the slammer, Average Joes and critics were unloading on the sheriff who couldn't shoot straight, politically speaking.

"Lee Baca is the most tone deaf politician to come down the pike," said GOP consultant Patrick Dorinson, who said it's clear that the sheriff "has his head screwed on wrong."

Dorinson said Baca should have been prepared for fallout because "there was an outcry when (Hilton's) sentence was reduced to 23 days" if she met standards for good behavior in jail. He said the sheriff's decision to cut her loose put him in the "what was he thinking" realm, a place visited by elected officials all the time.

"Down the road from where his office is, there's a place called Fantasy Land," Dorinson said. "Maybe that's where he ought to be sheriff."

In a high-profile case that combined a volatile and combustible mix of wealth, celebrity, justice, morality and politics, consultants and crisis communications experts alike said Baca's misstep represented a textbook case of bad political communication in action.

"These sorts of situations present both opportunity and risk for elected officials," said political consultant Dan Newman.

"It's an opportunity to get your mug on the tube for people obsessively following this story, but it's got to be done right," said Newman, who is director of public affairs for the Southern California-based law firm of Lerach Coughlin. "You've got to have a coherent response to people's suspicions that celebrities are treated differently."

Indeed, while the Los Angeles sheriff may have been fully justified in jettisoning the heiress to make room for real bad girls in his crowded jail, he neither explained himself nor prepared the public for Hilton's 2 a.m. trip back to her mansion to serve her sentence at home, many said.

The result: The sheriff appeared to confirm the belief that the rich get a break on justice, and the public -- which heard the breaking story on entertainment news outlets like TMZ.com -- felt duped.

The Hilton case isn't the first time the Los Angeles sheriff has made headlines.

Just last month, Baca raised eyebrows by approving five new reality shows based on the doings of his 9,000-employee department, including its crime lab, patrol cars and homicide unit.

Last year, Baca's Homeland Security Support Unit -- a 50-member team of business leaders who included political donors -- was a subject of inquiries after it was revealed that they received official-looking badges with Sheriff's Department emblems and photo identifications bearing Baca's signature. Attorney General Jerry Brown's office said Friday that a legal opinion on the matter of whether state agencies can issue official-looking identification is now pending.

San Francisco Sheriff Michael Hennessey, who has had his share of politically delicate cases, said the Hilton debacle illustrates how public figures must balance a number of factors as they weigh controversial matters. Sometimes, the factor of making a public statement about equal justice for rich and poor is one of them, he said.

"In this case, Paris Hilton is a very typical, low-risk, non-danger to the community -- admittedly a bad driver -- (who) would be an absolutely perfect candidate for home detention," Hennessey said. "It's one less person you have in your jail, and you have to get rid of prisoners to meet the (federal) mandates."

But he said he thinks "personally, the sheriff did the wrong thing" and was "pushing his luck" by appearing to disregard a judge's specific order.

"I probably would have kept her in jail a little longer," maybe until halfway through her sentence, he said.

Chris Lehane, one of the country's best-known crisis communications gurus, said Baca faced unusual pressures.

"If there was a legitimate, genuine concern about someone's health, particularly a suicide issue, the worst possible thing was to have a tragedy like that take place on your watch,'' said Lehane, the Clinton White House spokesman during the Monica Lewinsky scandal and spokesman for Al Gore's 2000 presidential campaign.

But Baca also had to make sure he addressed concerns that he didn't say one thing -- in this case, about equal justice -- and do another, he said.

"Elected officials face that issue all the time and a whole range of issues: how they fly, their haircuts, their speaking fees, what they eat and how they treat folks," he said. "Smart politicians often learn the hard way that you have to be cognizant about the standards the public holds you to."

Worse, Baca appeared to ignore the single most important rule of public life by not explaining his actions, Lehane said.

"Any time you're dealing with a challenge, it's better to do it on your own terms and be very up front, because if you don't, events overtake you," he said.

"You define the issue on your terms, explain the issue on your terms, and tell people why and how you're doing something -- or you lose control."

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/06/09/BACA.TMP

This article appeared on page A - 6 of the San Francisco Chronicle

Posted at 8:00PM on Jun 9th 2007 by Ler's focus on the guy who let her loose...

53.
http://people.monstersandcritics.com/news/article_1315552.php/Sheriff_Baca_Hilton_cash_Scientology_and_alleged_celebrity_coverups

From Monsters and Critics.com

People News
Sheriff Baca: Hilton cash, Scientology and alleged celebrity coverups
By Stone Martindale
Jun 9, 2007, 15:14 GMT



The smoke is clearing in the Hilton do-over for her jail sentence, and the story emerging that seems to be much more intriguing, is the spotlight now on Sheriff Lee Baca.


Radar online has posted information that Hilton money was donated to the cause of electing Baca to his office in the last election.

It gets even more complex. Apparently Baca is a high level Scientologist, and has appeared at numerous Scientology fund-raising events and functions, according to Janet Charlton.

Baca is allegedly a big promoter of Scientology's front group Narconon, and Charlton reports that "last year was picketed at his home by residents of Leona Valley who didn't want a Narconon facility in their town."

Charlton has posted a photo of Baca on the Scientology float in the Hollywood Christmas parade on her website. link

Says Charlton: "Makes us wonder what Scientology is doing for our Sheriff Baca. What will likely happen: Baca will be investigated by the California courts. and probably they will find out how he was bribed big time by the Hiltons. Paris' grandfather contributed 1000. and more to Baca's election campaign."

Other bloggers following the Baca-Hilton money-Scientology story muse what Scientology will do is find out which people are investigating Baca, and they will most likely initiate a smear campaign against the critics of Baca.

Charlton's post says the Scientologists call this "fair game".

Baca, who ordered Hilton released from jail after serving only three days in her 45-day sentence, accepted a $1,000 campaign donation last year from William Barron Hilton—Paris's grandfather.

That was the maximum amount allowable under California campaign rules.

Baca has come under heavy fire for deciding to let Hilton serve out the remainder of her sentence at home, in apparent defiance of the court orders given by the judge who sentenced her last month.

Paris Hilton isn't the first celebrity given white glove treatment by the seemingly star struck Sheriff Lee Baca.

When Mel Gibson was busted for DUI last summer, Los Angeles County's Office of Independent Review probed the Sheriff's Office to see if it had broken any rules to make things easy for the Jew-ranting star, reports the New York Post.

The Post reports that ex-federal prosecutor Michael Gennaco "found no wrongdoing but could not explain why the case had two different reports."

The valid second copy of the two reports-the one TMZ chieftain Harvey Levin got his hands on, included all the salacious sugar-tit, jew spew details that we all have seen, and that made Baca very angry.

Now the New York Post has uncovered that since taking office in 1998, "Baca has accepted more that $42,000 in gifts, including tickets to sporting events," citing the The Los Angeles Times as their source. post-source

Last year, the Los Angeles Times reported Baca put one of his closest friends on the payroll as a $105,000-a-year adviser.

The LAT said he had accepted more than $42,000 in gifts since taking office, including some from those who do business with his department.

In 2004, according to Michael Blood, an AP reporter, "he (Baca) took more gifts than California's other 57 sheriffs combined."

Now, after the Gibson debacle, and the Sheriff's handling of the arresting officer and his "reassignment", Malibu Surfside News has reported on the interesting legal fallout:

The California "Mel Gibson Bill," aka AM 920, has changed the playing field for leaked celebrity arrests.

The LA Sheriff's department "has been conducting an internal investigation of how the material was leaked to TMZ. LASD Chief Roberta Abner, who now heads the division that is overseeing the investigation previously stated that its conclusion is expected shortly."

Reporter Anne Soble of the Malibu Surfside News claims "computer files and other records belonging to the arresting officer, Deputy James Mee, were removed from his home under court order but the department has not disclosed the results of their analysis or any other aspects of the internal review. Mee is now reportedly back on assignment in the field, but not in Malibu."

Soble reports "Brownley has stated that she does not know whether information was sold in the Gibson case, but stressed that the LASD is concerned about the possibility that scoop-hungry media outlets are offering to pay public safety officers for information, spurring her concern that such sales could 'taint the right to a fair trial.' "

The bill, AB 920, would make it a crime for public safety employees to be a party to so-called "checkbook journalism, especially celebrity news," to broadcast, print and Internet media outlets, and it has passed the state Assembly by a vote of 74 to 0.

This bill is aimed at sheriff’s deputies, police and California Highway Patrol officers, as well as law enforcement agency staff employees who sell privileged information, in addition to reporters or other media reps who offer to pay for information.

Violators could be charged with a misdemeanor and fined up to $1000.

Brownley said to Soble: “In the age of instant information and Internet sites...the pressure to ‘break a story’ has raised concerns that some of these news websites may attempt to gain inside information on a story of a breaking event by paying a peace officer to obtain the information prior to its proper legal and timely release.”

source



© Copyright 2006,2007 by monstersandcritics.com.
This notice cannot be removed without permission.

Posted at 8:11PM on Jun 9th 2007 by Baca Should be Investigated...

54. Until the media finds an identical case with which to make comparisons on equal justice, we simply won't know if her sentence was for what she did or who she is.

Posted at 8:13PM on Jun 9th 2007 by xnuzboss

55. What's with TMZ turning coats in this whole thing? First they're for Paris going to the slammer and then they're not. Everyone knows Paris is where she should be because she's no more special than anyone's wife. She violated probation for a DUI twice and is STILL getting special treatment. What a rich bitch.

Someone must have gotten paid pretty good to turn coats though...huh Harvey? ;)

Posted at 8:18PM on Jun 9th 2007 by Ashley

56. well Rocky's wife doesn't stick her crotch in my face 24-7. I don't care what her sentance was. muhahahahaha!

Posted at 10:17PM on Jun 9th 2007 by teresa

57. I guess I have to explain how the law works to some stupid people who don't know it or just to plain star struck and have no life to see through it. When you get pulled over by the police and you have no insurance you don't get your car towed. You get a ticket to show up to court and show proof by your court date. The police will let you go and when you drive you are taking the chance of getting pulled over again and just getting another ticket. When you show up to court and you show proof of insurance the judge normally fines you and that is it. You can have insurance but you might not have the paperwork in your car so you have to be cited for that . If you show proof that you had insurance at the time of the accident and it was dated before that the judge normally drops the failure to show proof of insurance. To the losers who support paris hilton I feel sorry for you losers who have no life that you have to worship and idol a sl*t to fill the pathetic existence of your sorry life. This is what I am hoping for. The ones who think paris hilton is your idol. I hope when she does get her license back that she is driving drunk once again and kills one or more of your family members and then I want to see if you still think she is your idol and that she is being unfairly treated. You might be so stupid or that much of a loser you will think it is an honor that one of you family members were killed by paris hilton. You will probably frame the news clipping. So keep on worshiping your idol you losers.

Posted at 8:28PM on Jun 9th 2007 by Paris hilton supporters are losers big time!!!

58. State probes group tied to sheriff; Officials are looking into charity fundraising by the body, many of whose members have financially backed Baca.

Los Angeles Times
January 29, 2007 Monday

BY: Stuart Pfeifer, Times Staff Writer

A state attorney general's investigation of a private group associated with Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca is focusing on its charitable fundraising, according to documents obtained by The Times.

Members of the Homeland Security Support Unit -- made up of local businessmen, many of them contributors to Baca's political campaigns -- have been asked to supply the attorney general with evidence of any payments made to the group or its leaders.

Baca suspended the unit last year amid concern about identification cards that had been issued to members, a department spokesman said.

The cards included Baca's name and made the group appear to be an official part of the Sheriff's Department.

The attorney general's office, which oversees charity organizations in California, has sent group members questionnaires that ask whether they donated to Baca's group or to two similar civilian law enforcement support groups in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. The questionnaire, a copy of which was obtained by The Times, also asks for copies of any checks that were written to the groups or their directors.

A spokeswoman for the attorney general declined to discuss the investigation. The agency has the authority to pursue monetary damages from charities that mismanage contributions.

The Homeland Security Support Unit held fundraising events but was not registered as a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization, records show. Contributors at those events were asked to make checks payable to Armenian Vision Outreach, a nonprofit that is also a subject of the investigation, according to documents reviewed by The Times.

Gary Nalbandian, owner of a Glendora tire store, served as director of Baca's Homeland Security Support Unit. Before he was named to that position, he had been instrumental in raising political contributions for Baca.

The attorney general's questionnaire asks members whether they wrote checks or paid cash to Nalbandian or assistant directors Gary Jerjerian and Ramzi Bader while "believing that all or a portion of the money was to be used for charitable purposes, for example: for scholarships, grants, orphanages [or] equipment for law enforcement."

Nalbandian declined last week to discuss details of the investigation.

"The attorney general [investigators] are the experts. If there is something, they'll find it," Nalbandian said. "I have nothing to talk about."

Baca said the homeland security group, which included many members from the Armenian American community, was intended to provide tips about potential terror threats and assistance with translating foreign-language documents.

The group was one of more than a dozen citizens' groups that Baca launched to help the Sheriff's Department reach out to the community. It was not incorporated or authorized by anyone other than Baca.

The attorney general's office, which opened the financial review last fall, also is preparing an opinion on whether law enforcement officials in California can issue souvenir badges or identification cards to civilians. State law makes it a misdemeanor to distribute badges to the public that could be confused with those issued to sworn law enforcement officers.

In addition to Baca's homeland security unit, Nalbandian launched the civilian Bureau of Justice for San Bernardino County Dist. Atty. Mike Ramos and the Sheriff's Executive Council for Riverside County Sheriff Bob Doyle.

Baca, Ramos and Doyle accepted thousands of dollars in political contributions from members of the groups. Ramos and Doyle issued badges to members but later revoked them.

Baca did not issue badges; members of his group received laminated identification cards.

Critics said the badges and identification cards appeared to be rewards for political contributions and had the potential for abuse. Two members told The Times last year that they flashed their badges to law enforcement officials, one to gain access to a secure area at Bob Hope Airport, the other when he became the subject of a criminal investigation.

Raffi Mesrobian said he displayed both his Los Angeles County sheriff's ID card and Riverside County sheriff's executive council badge when state agents served a search warrant at his Glendale naturopathy office during a 2005 investigation. He was charged last year with grand theft, fraud and practicing medicine without a license. Mesrobian pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department opened an internal affairs investigation of Nalbandian, who is also a volunteer reserve deputy, more than six months ago and has not decided whether to suspend him while the inquiries are pending, department spokesman Steve Whitmore said.

Nalbandian also holds a sheriff's concealed weapons permit. The department has not tried to revoke that.

"The Sheriff's Department wanted to wait until the conclusion of our own investigation and the attorney general's inquiry and then take it from there," Whitmore said of the concealed weapons permit.

Concern about official-looking badges escalated last month when a Compton man was arrested on suspicion of impersonating a state official after flashing a badge that had been issued by the office of Assemblyman Mervyn Dymally (D-Compton). The man allegedly showed the badge, which identified him as an "assembly commissioner," to Redondo Beach police officers who were attempting to question him about playing loud music.

In response to that incident, Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez (D-Los Angeles) this month banned the distribution of Assembly badges to the public.

The attorney general's office, responding to a request from the Riverside County district attorney, is expected to issue a legal opinion this spring about whether sheriffs and police chiefs can issue badges to the public as Doyle and Ramos did.

*

stuart.pfeifer@latimes.com

Posted at 8:28PM on Jun 9th 2007 by Baca Should be Investigated...

59. My son was in an accident and he didn't have the current insurance paper in the car but it was no big deal. He had insurance so why would she have a suspended license for not being able to show proof of insurance??? Married to an attorney I am sure she had insurance.. Something is not right there and more to this story. So why should Paris go to jail and not her?? Could it be special treatment?? Probably!

Posted at 8:37PM on Jun 9th 2007 by 24

60. That not even riight they should kiick briicks

Posted at 10:33PM on Jun 9th 2007 by Crazycool010