SB County corruption continues

George Watson, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 07/01/2008 10:31:52 PM PDT

So apparently this is progress, San Bernardino County style

Nearly a decade after the embarrassing debacle that was Supervisor Jerry Eaves and his cohorts in the county administrative office, now comes news of another top official headed to jail.

Adam Aleman, the 25-year-old assistant assessor who got hired by his longtime friend, Assessor Bill Postmus, and given a six-figure salary, walked out of his Rancho Cucamonga condo near Victoria Gardens in handcuffs Monday.

Shortly after, he was charged with six felonies for allegedly altering documents sought by the county's grand jury and destroying evidence.

Nice.

But here in San Bernardino County, we have turned the page, as Supervisors Paul Biane, Gary Ovitt, Dennis Hansberger, Brad Mitzelfelt and Josie Gonzales so often tell us. Those days, they have said time and again, are over.

Sure they are.

That's why Aleman was running a political operation out of the Assessor's Office, a clear violation of state law. That's why, when the grand jury got wind of it and asked for a bunch of documents, Aleman allegedly doctored them before turning the paperwork over.

And that's why Aleman in 2006 (when Postmus was a supervisor) apparently tore out the hard drive from his boss's county-issued laptop and destroyed it. What, did it have a virus and Aleman was saving the world from letting it get out? (Please keep reading once you're done chuckling).

So, what exactly was Aleman doing, and, was he operating alone? What does his boss/best friend think about that? Who knows? Postmus has refused to talk about any of it for months, other than issuing some press releases.

The question - "Was Aleman disciplined for the vandalism?" - has been posed to the Assessor's spokesman. The answer? No comment because it's part of the investigation.

I know that if I destroyed Editor Steve Lambert's laptop, there would be repercussions.

Whether anything happened, it certainly didn't hamper Aleman's friendship with Postmus. His work continued uninterrupted. He remained a close political adviser, and of course, Postmus hired him in 2007 to be an assistant assessor despite not having any experience in the industry.

Over the years, most county officials I have spoken to have known about the shenanigans that have gone on under Postmus' watch.

Which leads to what is probably the most important question: What are your supervisors going to do?

For years, they have - at best - looked the other way. In other cases, some have been enablers, such as when they have fought public records requests into Postmus.

There are indeed similarities to the late 1990s, actually, when Eaves was indicted on perjury, accepting illegal gifts and influencing decisions that he had a financial interest in. He later pleaded guilty to many of the charges, save for perjury.

Clearly, corruption today has not disappeared. How else can one explain the Postmus case?

Or, for that matter, the recent indictment of Ontario businessman Mark Leggio for campaign finance violations? Authorities say Leggio, a close benefactor to many top local Republicans, was maxxing out his contributions to local and state candidates, having friends and employees contribute, too, and then repaid them.

Leggio, like Aleman, now faces felony charges.

So, how exactly are things better?