TWO YEAR UNDERCOVER INVESTIGATIONAPRIL 2011
District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis
THE $20,000,000.00 DOLLAR EVIDENCE TAMPERING CONSPIRACY BY DISTRICT ATTORNEY BONNIE DUMANIS, DDA LAURA GUNN, THE SAN DIEGO COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, AND "THE BLUE WALL"
District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis's and DDA Laura Gunn's obstruction of justice and prosecutorial misconduct connected to the Cynthia Sommer murder prosecution was not the first, or the last occurrence of public criminal corruption in the San Diego DA's Office. The Sommer case was the type of case that could makes the careers of ambitious District Attorneys. However, when Sommer's conviction was thrown out by the court, and a new trial ordered, it set into motion a conspiracy of public corruption and cover up, that has continued for more than three years, and it involves the cover up of massive police and DA evidence tampering, police and fire election fraud for profit, and obstruction of justice in hundreds of criminal prosecutions, if not thousands.
Case 3:09-cv-02093-WQH -WMC Document 36 Filed 05/10/10
District Judge William Q. Hayes' ruling, states:
"Accepting as true all facts alleged in the Complaint and drawing all reasonable inferences in favor of Plaintiff, the Court concludes that the Complaint contains sufficient factual allegations to support a... due process claim against Dumanis and Gunn for deliberate fabrication of evidence during the investigation of Todd Sommer's death."
THE SUMMER MURDER CASE CORRUPTION
Cynthia Sommer's husband, Marine Sgt. Todd Sommer, died in 2002. Three years later, in November of 2005, Cynthia Sommer was arrested for the alleged arsenic poisoning murder of Todd Sommer. The extremely high levels of arsenic poison was described by the DA's office and medical examiners as 1,250% higher than any lever ever reported. Cynthia Sommer was convicted in January of 2007 and sent to prison. In November of 2007 the conviction was thrown out by the San Diego Courts, and a new trial ordered, when independent testing of Todd Sommer's remains disclosed no evidence of any arsenic poison in the tissues or fluids of the body.
Cynthia Sommer had been prosecuted, convicted, and served almost two and a half years in prison for a crime she did not commit, and there was extensive evidence of misconduct by prosecutors Dumanis and Gunn, medical examiners, and others involved in the Sommer investigation and prosecution. Sommer was released from prison, however, through out 2008 and into 2009 there has been no new charges filed, no new trial scheduled, and the DA's Office was actively opposing all motions from Sommer's attorneys to finalize the case, and clear Sommer's name.
The DA's intense opposition to motions had two major legal goals. Exposure of the public corruption, with adverse court decisions, could lead to a public demand for arrest and prosecution of DA's Dumanis and Gunn, Medical examiners, and even Naval Criminal Investigation Agents. It could also provide evidence, that could be used against DA's and law enforcement in other on going criminal operations. The extensive self protection in our legal system, commonly called "The Blue Wall" would make such investigations difficult, but it could destroy the political and legal careers of DAs Dumanis, Gunn, and others in the process.
The DA's second legal goal was to block or obstruct any future Civil Litigation from Sommer and her attorneys, and to avoid civil liability in the tens of millions of dollars. Litigation that could expose other DA and law enforcement corruption, that would directly impact law enforcement's public image, and their public union's access to, and control of, public financial resources. Dumanis's and others involved in the corruption had election campaigns heavily supported by union money, and Dumanis was already covering up election fraud and conspiracy by the Oceanside Police and Fire Departments and their public unions, as well as protecting an internal criminal insurance fraud scheme in the DA's Insurance fraud Investigation Division.
THE LEGAL TACTICS OF PUBLIC CORRUPTION PROTECTION & COVER UP
When law enforcement and the criminal justice system is penetrated at the highest levels by public criminal corruption, as in the People Vs. Sommer case, the People Vs. Shields case, and the People Vs. Shippee case, the law enforcement system can become a dangerous, and even lethal weapon when it is used against the public, to protect the corruption in the system. The "Blue Wall Of The Badge" will automatically activate to protect the criminal legal system, which produces both good and bad results depending on the people involved. Corrupt law enforcement officials depend on that automatic protection of the "Blue Wall" to block and obstruct the normal criminal complaint, and criminal investigation of corrupt badge carrying members. When the corruption involves high level members, like DA Dumanis, and the DA's Office and the corruption is ignored by higher authority, other elected officials, and protected by local law enforcement, a corrupt DA has the legal and financial resources to bury all citizen based legal challenges. If no one is watching, and reporting, the average innocent citizen like Cynthia Sommer and others, have little or no chance against such public criminal corruption. This is especially true when the news media is involved in the corruption.
The Mike Shields False Prosecution
The Eric Lido False Prosecution
North County Times News Media Police & Fire Election Fraud Corruption
The Civil Litigations system is the only option a citizens has when the corruption involves self protecting public law enforcement agencies, and the civil system is loaded against the citizen. In general the party with the most money and legal resources will win the day, nine out of ten times, and the DA's Office has unlimited legal and financial resources supported by tax dollars. Less than 10% of american citizens can afford to pay for a major civil litigation. The high cost of civil litigation is used as a weapon, by the financially strong party, to bankrupt the financially weak party, and force a settlement. Settlements always involve no admission of responsibility, and most have secrecy agreements providing the perfect protection for public criminal corruption. This is why criminal corruption in public agencies is always pushed into the civil litigation system, whenever possible.
THE CONSPIRACY
DA Dumanis and DDA Gunn, as experienced attorneys, recognized the danger to their careers, and possibly their freedom, that were associated with the courts new trial order for Cynthia Sommer. Especially with a new trial based on evidence fabrication and misconduct by prosecutors. It was only a matter of time before Sommer's attorneys expanded their investigations of the DA's Office, and that would be followed by a Civil Complaint for damages that would be substantial. There had already been many local news stories on other San Diego District Attorneys tampering with evidence in criminal prosecutions, and a few San Diego Court Judges were even questioning DA Dumanis and other DAs on their handling of evidence in multiple criminal prosecution case.
DA Dumanis's and DDA Gunn's plan of attack and self protection in the Sommer Case corruption was time tested, and the DA's Office legal and financial resources were available. Step one would be to oppose all legal motions from Sommer's attorneys that could provide additional evidence that could be used against Dumanis, Gunn, or others in any future criminal or civil actions. The DA's Office would use the legal process to stress and deplete the financial resources of Sommer and her attorneys. Any money spent on the motion process would reduce the available finances for Sommer to pursue any future civil litigation. If a civil complaint is filed, the DA's Office would use all legal and financial resources to get the civil complaint thrown out, financially bankrupt Plaintiff Sommer, or force a settlement, paid for with tax dollars, that could be used to hide the public criminal corruption.
Step two would be to keep evidence of other public criminal corruption and evidence tampering by the DA's Office, out of the hands of Sommer's attorneys. A documented pattern of evidence tampering and cover up would be the worst possible occurrence for DA Dumanis, DDA Gunn, the DA's Office, and local law enforcement.
THE MURDER EVIDENCE TAMPERING PROTECTION
In late April of 2009, DA Dumanis's worst nightmares started occurring in broad daylight. The Oceanside Police Officer Damon Smith Evidence Tampering was discovered in the North County Courts. The motion hearing process in the Sommer's case had been active since early 2008, and it was continuing. Oceanside Officer Damon Smith had been secretly recording criminal investigations on audio tapes for the past eight (8) years, and hiding the tapes from the criminal justice system. Eight years of secret audio tape evidence tampering in a small police department could not have gone undetected unless other officer were also involved in evidence tampering, or covering it up. DA Dumanis had eight years of corrupted criminal prosecutions with just one Oceanside police officer, and the knowledge to know that any arrest or prosecution of Officer Smith would surely lead to the names of other Police Officer and even District Attorneys, which later proved to be the case.
DA Dumanis and the DA's Office was already obstructing complaints against the Oceanside Police and Fire Departments and their public unions for election fraud, and for the Police Departments involvement in the criminal insurance fraud scheme in the DA's Insurance Fraud Division. DA Dumanis knew that any public criminal investigation of Officer Smith's evidence tampering would lead straight back to the DA's office and directly into the hands of Cynthia Sommer and her attorneys.
The Officer Smith evidence tampering was already in the press and a large number of audio tapes had already been recovered. DA Dumanis knew that an investigation could not be avoided. The only way for DA Dumanis to control, and suppress the Officer Smith evidence tampering investigation was to have it brought into the DA's Special Operations Office, even though it was a major conflict of interest. Dumanis also knew that the head of the investigation had to be someone with a vested interest in protecting Dumanis and the DA's Office. That person was DDA Laura Gunn. DDA Gunn was the lead prosecutor in the Sommer Murder prosecution and she would be the co-defendant in any future criminal or civil actions for evidence tampering. DDA Gunn, like Dumanis was named in the court filings for the new trial and accused of being involved in fabricating evidence and prosecutorial misconduct. DDA Gunn was the perfect choice to head up, obstruct, and suppress the Officer Smith evidence tampering investigation, to avoid providing addition hard evidence of police and DA evidence tampering to the on going Sommer motion hearings.
Starting in May of 2009 DA Dumanis actively supported the obstruction of justice by protecting Officer Smith from arrest and prosecution, while making statements to the press that Officer Smith had not violated any laws and would not be prosecuted. Statements that started three weeks after the discovery of the Smith evidence tampering, and just as DDA Gunn was appointed to head up the investigation. The investigation has just started and Dumanis is already supporting the innocence of Smith to keep his mouth shut about the involvement of other Oceanside Police Officers in massive public criminal corruption. The Oceanside Police are happy to support the criminal cover up to protect the on going election fraud for profit scheme, and to protect their public image which is critical to the on going new union contract negotiations, which is the goal of the election fraud. The Officer Smith investigation is buried in the DA's Special Operations Division for the next 7 months with "No Comment due to an on going investigation". The cover up works great, and all of the local news press, for a variety of self serving reasons, moves onto other stories. The primary reasons being the corruption involves Police Officer, Firemen, District Attorneys, their public unions, and the cash flow from the public unions into the advertising departments of the news organizations.
In September 2009 Sommer's attorneys file a $20 Million Dollar civil suit against Dumanis, Gunn, and others for Violations Of Constitutional And Civil Right And Damages. There is no evidence that Sommer's attorneys are aware of the Officer Damon Smith evidence tampering cover up by Dumanis and Gunn. DA Dumanis then activate her next line of protection. The financial and legal resources of the DA Office's are geared up to get the civil suit thrown out, and further reduce the financial resources of Sommer and her attorneys, to try and force a quiet settlement, in the event the suit is not thrown out by the courts.
In October 2009 this reporter discovered a witness to the involvement of other Oceanside Police Officers in the Officer Smith evidence tampering. A witness, and officer of the court, that was easily found, and he had never been contacted by anyone. As there was no observable evidence that any DA investigation of Smith had ever occurred, this reporter decided to test the investigation. The witness information was given to DDA Gunn and the Oceanside Police to see if they would follow up. DDA Gunn and the Oceanside Police Department suppressed the witness information, and never follow up. Approximately two weeks later 35+ of the audio tapes recovered from Officer Smith were released to the Public Defenders Office, and DA Dumanis once again affirmed the innocence of Officer Smith and the investigation was quietly closed with no further comment.
On November 4, 2009, as a citizen, this reporter met with Deputy District Attorney Damon Mosler, head of DA Internal Affairs, and filed multiple felony criminal complaints, with documentation, against DDA Laura Gunn for witness suppression, evidence tampering, and obstruction of justice. Other criminal complaints were filed against various supporters of the Oceanside Police & Fire Department, and their unions for election fraud, conspiracy, and falsification of campaign finance records. The complaint process was recorded to verify submission.
On March 25, 2010 this reporter was contacted by Michael Shields. The investigation lead to the discovery of more evidence tampering by Oceanside Police Officer Jon Domonique, DDA Daniel Rodriguez, and DDA Elizabeth Silva all of which would cross the desk of DDA Damon Mosler in the Special Operation Division. Michael Shields, like Cynthia Sommer, was arrested for a felony crime he did not commit. On February 25, 2009 Shields was arrested for Assault With A Deadly Weapon at a traffic accident scene. Audio tape evidence that would prove his innocence was hidden by the Oceanside Police Department and the San Diego District Attorneys Office for a year. This was done to protect Officer Domonique and corrupt Deputy District Attorney Daniel Rodriguez from arrest and prosecution. More importantly the cover up was to hide more evidence from the Cynthia Sommer civil litigation. The Officer Domonique and DDA Rodriguez audio tape evidence tampering was identical to the Officer Damon Smith audio tape evidence tampering. Recorded audio evidence tapes that would prove the innocence of Michael shields were hidden while DDA's Rodriguez and Silva pushed Shields to accept a plea bargain in exchange for less prison time, for a crime Shields did not commit. Shields, out of pure fear of prison, considered suicide in instead of going to prison for a crime he did not commit.
This reporters investigation disclosed that in August of 2009 DDA Rodriguez was removed from the Shields prosecution and suspended from the DA's Office, for hiding audio tape evidence in another felony prosecution case know as the People Vs. Shippee. Once again, as in the Sommer Murder prosecution, and the Shields Assault With A Deadly Weapon prosecution, evidence of innocence was hidden while District Attorneys pushed the prosecution of people they knew were innocent of the charges. Shields and his attorney stated that in late August 2009 when DDA Rodriguez was replaced on the Shields prosecution by DDA Elizabeth Silva, she continued to deny the existence of the audio tape statement evidence until the day of trial. The Officer Domonique and DDA Rodriguez cover up was occurring at exactly the same time as the Officer Damon Smith Evidence Tampering cover up in 2009 and continuing into 2010. If Michael Shields had committed suicide as a result of the false prosecution and cover up, man slaughter, and possibly murder charges would have been appropriate for DA Dumanis, Officer Domonique, DDA Gunn, DDA Rodriguez, and others.
Between November of 2009 and February of 2010 multiple phone calls to DDA Damon Mosler requesting information on the felony criminal complaints filed in November of 2009 against DDA Gunn where received with no comment, or no reply to the phone call messages and e-mails. On February 9, 2010 a written criminal complaint with full documentation on DDA Gunn, and detailing the felony complaints given to DDA Mosler in November of 2009, was sent to DA Dumanis and Gary Schons of the San Diego Attorney Generals Office, with signatures required to confirm delivery.
On March 23, 2010 at 1430 hrs, with no response from DDA Mosler, or the Oceanside Police regarding the criminal complaints filed in November 2009 and February 2010, this reporter again called DDA Damon Mosler. Mosler stated that DDA Laura Gunn no longer worked for the District Attorneys office, and there would be no criminal investigation. The termination of DDA Laura Gunn, as usual, was now declared to be a personnel problem, and privacy laws were cited to block all information. All Public Records Request were blocked as not being in the publics best interest. The filing of a criminal complaint with documentation against DDA Gunn for suppressing a witness, and obstructing the Officer Smith investigation, had made her too much of a liability for DA Dumanis, the Officer Smith evidence tampering cover up, and the Cynthia Summer murder prosecution corruption cover up.
DDA Mosler declined to discuss any of the felony criminal complaints this reporter filed with him on November 4, 2009 and sent to DA Dumanis in writing in February 2010. The DDA Rodriguez and Officer Domonique evidence tampering complaint previously sent via e-mail, was reviewed with DDA Mosler. Mosler refused comment on the DDA Rodriguez and Officer Domonique evidence tampering, and advised me to contact Paul Levikow in DA Dumanis's Office regarding DDA Rodriguez.
At 1443 hrs, this reporter contacted Paul Levikow in DA Dumanis's office. Levikow stated that DDA Rodriguez, like DDA Gunn, no longer worked for the DA's Office. Levikow also cited personnel privacy laws to block questions on the DDA Gunn and Officer Smith criminal complaints. When questioned about the Officer Domonique - DDA Rodriguez evidence tampering, and about the involvement of DDA Silva, Levikow became audibly irritated and refused to discuss any of the complaints. Levikow stated I should just send the information to him via e-mail. Levikow refused my request for an interview with DA Dumanis, and ended the interview. DDA Rodriquez, like DDA Gunn, had also become a liability to DA Dumanis, the corruption cover up, and to the DA Office's legal assault to get the Sommer Civil Complaint dismissed. There is no doubt that DDA Gunn and DDA Rodriguez both understand that if they open their mouths, or opposed the terminations, their legal careers would be over, and they would likely go to prison.
On April 5, 2010 this reporter, as requested, filed the DDA Rodriguez and Oceanside Officer Domonique evidence tampering complaints in writing, with documentation. The complaint was filed with the Oceanside Police under criminal complaint #10006794, and copies sent to the attention of DA Dumanis, the San Diego Attorney Generals Office, and the FBI. As usual there was never any follow up or investigation. Dumanis and the Oceanside Police knew that any criminal investigation of the DDA Rodriguez and Oceanside Officer Domonique evidence tampering would lead directly back to the Officer Damon Smith evidence tampering, and the Oceanside police election fraud. Any investigation of any part of the public corruption would pull down the corrupt house of cards, and provide evidence that could be used against Dumanis in the Sommer's motions, and civil trial if the DA's office failed to get the civil suit thrown out. The evidence could also be used against the Oceanside Police and Fire Departments, the Oceanside City Council, and others ending political careers and potentially sending DA's, Police and Fire Officers, and elected officials to prison.
Five days later on April 10, 2010 Dumanis's worst fears became reality. Judge William Hayes Ruling, on the Sommer civil suit, was released. The case was not thrown out of court, and DA Dumanis and DDA Gunn were not protected from the $20 Million Dollar law suit. The situation got even worse when Judge Hayes included the follow in his decision.
Case 3:09-cv-02093-WQH -WMC Document 36 Filed 05/10/10
District Judge William Q. Hayes' ruling, states:
"Accepting as true all facts alleged in the Complaint and drawing all reasonable inferences in favor of Plaintiff, the Court concludes that the Complaint contains sufficient factual allegations to support a... due process claim against Dumanis and Gunn for deliberate fabrication of evidence during the investigation of Todd Sommer's death."
The Sommer civil litigation legal chess match is continuing as of this date, and so is the criminal cover by multiple public agencies. The stakes have increased with each level of public corruption. All of this public criminal corruption could not have occurred without the blind and often greedy support of the "Blue Wall", of corrupt Police Officers, District Attorneys, and their out of control public unions.
In March of 2011 the stakes increased again with DA Dumanis's announcement that she will run for Mayor Of San Diego in 2012. So the arrogant criminal public corruption of DA Dumanis continues, with the hope and plan, that a settlement paid for by tax dollar, can be reached in the Sommer civil litigation, and the hope that the settlement agreement will have a secrecy clause. The public agencies will happily pay, to cover up all of the public criminal corruption, and stay out of prison. After all, it's only tax dollars!
Woodrow L. Higdon, Photo Journalist and Editor