Read it and weep here: https://www.anaheim.net/DocumentCenter/View/50673/Anaheim-redacted-independent-investigation-report-7-31-23
Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken issues this statement:
ANAHEIM MAYOR ASHLEIGH AITKEN RELEASES STATEMENT ON FINDINGS OF ADMINISTRATIVE INVESTIGATION
Anaheim, CA – Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken issued the following statement in response to the release of the City of Anaheim’s Administrative Investigation into corruption at City Hall:
“The report released today is further confirmation that the actions of former Mayor Harry Sidhu and those who enabled him were not reflective of incompetence, but instead conscious acts of fraud, greed, and deception. As a former Federal Prosecutor and a political target of Sidhu, I understand all too well the negative impact his tenure as Mayor had on Anaheim.
“We must ensure that this scandal and the contents of the report lead to meaningful reforms so that corruption never again takes root at City Hall. I am in the process of creating a Mayor’s Advisory Committee – made up of government, community, business, and legal leaders – to thoroughly review the report and bring concrete reforms forward for discussion with the City Council. This will be a public-facing process, and I look forward to discussing it with the residents of our city in the weeks and months ahead. Together, we will rebuild public trust and work to make sure Anaheim’s city government lives up to its obligations to our residents.”
The Voice of OC story is here: https://voiceofoc.org/2023/07/anaheims-own-look-at-city-hall-finds-disneyland-resort-businesses-improperly-steer-policymaking/
I’m still trying to read the report inbetween meetings. But I keep wondering why Harry Sidhu hasn’t been charged with any crime, and it certainly appears that former Anaheim Chamber CEO Todd Ament is in even deeper.
Senator Tom Umberg’s take:
Senator Thomas J. Umberg (D-Santa Ana), Chair of the California Legislature’s Senate Judiciary Committee issued the following statement today in response to JL Group’s Administrative Investigation Report of Findings in the Matter of the City of Anaheim Investigation:
“I just received a copy of this report. Already as a quick scan, it reads like a soap opera: fraud, helicopters, cannabis, cabals…It’s going to take some time to digest the implications, findings, and recommendations and even still, I know another investigation is occurring by the FBI. Going back to the original lease extension for the Anaheim Stadium, there have been missteps and deliberately illegal actions alike taken at every turn.
I’m grateful to the investigators delving into this debacle and these complicated relationships. Angels Stadium is one of the most valuable pieces of municipally-owned properties in the State of California. The taxpayers of Anaheim and Orange County deserve a full accounting of this issue if we have any hope of restoring their faith and trust in government moving forward. I look forward to reading more. No doubt it will yield some accountability recommendations to bolster those already underway (SB 34 and SB 229 (Umberg)). There are lessons here to be learned by every local jurisdiction in California.”
Senator Umberg lastly noted that his legislative measures addressing this issue are currently awaiting a hearing in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
and this….
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if I lived in Anaheim, I’d ask for my money back. This is a HUGE nothing burger.
Really, it makes Todd Ament and Jeff Flint look positively evil…..
True, but wasn’t that widely known?
I mean $1.5 Million to watch traffic patterns and serve buy Donna Ascevedo a Starbucks!!! And what does her son have to do with ANYTHING here?
Is it true they interviewed Diamond and he confirmed he hasn’t seen his penis since 1996?
I’m sure he’s felt it
In another example of Greg Diamonds affluence, position (as EDITOR! of the Orange Juice Blog) and power he:
A) was seemingly unaware of what a PDF is, and it’s editablity.
B) Too poor to subscribe to $19.95 per month for Adobe suite
C) Has enough time in his day to transcribe HUNDREDS of names on the weak JL report
D) Has THREE different readers/commenters other than his partner Vern on his posts
Hey I got an idea: maybe Jose Moreno can start up one of his famous “GO FUND ME” pleas for free shit, or better yet, Donna’s gang could have a carwash like they do for funerals.
What a joke this guy is. He calls himself a citizen journalist. Yet he can not understand nor afford a $19.00 per month .
More and more Greg Diamond are like the bum in front of Von’s that ages one wonder;
“This guy has beenpan handling and without a bed for twenty years, yet he still can’t get it right.”
I almost pity them
Some of his legal filings are late because he didn’t pay his internet bill.
Somebody should ask Judge Smith and Jeff Love how they feel about interviewing Vern and Donna Nelson and Greg Diamond after recieving copies of the more 100 mailers that have been sent out over the years.
It calls their integrity and work product into question. $1.5 Million for a poorly written, grammatically flawed report. But heh Donna got a Grande Starbucks and her dead gang member Son mentioned.
$1.5 Million for report that reads like a 15 year old’s Reddit post.
And now there’s this:
Vern Nelson (5 time DUI and Gang wife) wrote:
“I think Donna maybe overstates our importance to JL. I’m all “Why neither Aitken?” And she’s all, “Well, we didn’t suggest they talk to the Aitkens.” And I’m all, “Really? We need to suggest the Mayor and her major-mover-and-shaker dad?”
But the fact is we suggested they talk to a lot of people, and they talked to everyone we suggested. Duane Roberts, Grant Henninger, Tom Tait, Joanne Sosa, Cynthia Ward… I guess we shoulda been thorough and said Zenger too. And the Aitkens.”
SO the Million dollar+ “investigation” was based on Vern an Donna’s guidance?
The JL groups work product is WEAK at best.
Someone should question the legitimacy of this product from a professional standpoint, thirty pages on a gas station fued in.which they “Staked Out” An intersection TEN YEARS later.
The Voice Of OC has published more than a dozen hit pieces in two weeks not ONCE objectively questioning the JL Groups methods.
$1.5 Million for report that reads like a 15 year old’s Reddit post.
And now there’s this:
Vern Nelson (5 time DUI and Gang wife) wrote:
“I think Donna maybe overstates our importance to JL. I’m all “Why neither Aitken?” And she’s all, “Well, we didn’t suggest they talk to the Aitkens.” And I’m all, “Really? We need to suggest the Mayor and her major-mover-and-shaker dad?”
But the fact is we suggested they talk to a lot of people, and they talked to everyone we suggested. Duane Roberts, Grant Henninger, Tom Tait, Joanne Sosa, Cynthia Ward… I guess we shoulda been thorough and said Zenger too. And the Aitkens.”
SO the Million dollar+ “investigation” was based on Vern an Donna’s guidance?
The JL groups work product is WEAK at best.
Someone should question the legitimacy of this product from a professional standpoint, thirty pages on a gas station fued in.which they “Staked Out” An intersection TEN YEARS later.
The Voice Of OC has published more than a dozen hit pieces in two weeks not ONCE objectively questioning the JL Groups methods.
Great buy Anaheim at least Donna got a Starbucks.
I am sure Vern Nelson’s claim “We got three of our guys on the advisory team” is going to go over well.
This on top of Donna claiming she directed investigators on who the should interview and the mayor’s campaign treasurers Father interviewed makes this whole thing look like a joke. What’s next a finger puppet show or a racist song?