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THE GENE FORTE SAGA
by David Bresnahan
PART
4 --
Forte: Crystal Powser Declaration Shows
Pattern of Corruption
PART 3
-- Newspaper's Mis-statement Of Fact Distorts Public
Perception
PART 2 -- Man Acting As His Own Attorney
Holds Corrupt Courts At Bay
PART 1 -- Forced
To Be His Own Lawyer
Forte: Crystal Powser
Declaration
Shows Pattern Of Corruption
PART 4
by David Bresnahan
MONTEREY, Calif. -- A dramatic
declaration filed in Gene Forte vs. Judge Robert O'Farrell
resulted in an historic halt to an unrelated Commission on
Judicial Performance (CJP) hearing of Santa Barbara Superior
Court Judge Diana R. Hall.
Forte alleges corruption within the Monterey County Superior Court, and
the sworn declaration by Crystal Powser was submitted in his
case as supporting evidence.
The CJP stopped the Hall inquiry after learning of the alleged comments
by Monterey County Superior Court Judges Michael S. Fields
about Judge Russell Scott and Judge Robert O'Farrell contained
in the Powser declaration. Fields is one of three judges,
known as "special masters," investigating the conduct of Hall.
The other two are San Mateo Superior Court Judge Mark Forcum
and Santa Clara Superior Court Judge George Abdallah.
Powser claims she was invited by Fields to the Pierpoint Inn in
Ventura, where he and the other
special masters were meeting.
"Judge Fields said that they already decided she (Judge Hall) was guilty
of all three allegations," said Powser in her declaration. She
also described sexual advances she claims Fields made, which
she spurned.
Fields, Scott and O'Farrell have declined comment on the allegations,
according to media reports.
The declaration caused a legal reaction that sent a tsunami through the
entire California legal
system, not because of the sexual allegations as described in
media reports, but because of the description of court case
fixing, according to Forte. The reaction was to bring a
judicial hearing to a halt, dismiss the special masters, and
the declaration was stricken from the record and sealed.
The judicial commission chairman,
Santa Monica attorney Marshall B. Grossman, wrote in his order
that the allegations "suggest at least the appearance of
impropriety." He said it was necessary to appoint new masters
so that the case may "proceed free of questions concerning
their fundamental fairness to all concerned."
"The declaration by Crystal Powser was so damaging to the ‘good old boy
network' that they had to eliminate it from the record, yet at
the same time they dismissed all the special masters. Fear and
intimidation are the tools used by the judicial system to
maintain their positions of control and power. They are
learning those tactics do not work with me," commented Forte.
"The reaction of California Attorney
General Bill Lockyer was not to
conduct an investigation into the allegations in my case and
in the Powser declaration, but instead he took immediate
action to cover up that evidence and prevent it from becoming
public knowledge," said Forte.
Lockyer successfully filed on behalf of Judge O'Farrell, defendant in
Forte vs. O'Farrell, an ex parte application to strike the
declaration as "irrelevant and scandalous." Forte says, "It
was a sham ruling that now has implicated Judge Golden in the
cabal. Any legal scholar looking at it wouldn't agree with the
ruling"
This is not the first time Powser has provided evidence of wrong-doing
by court officials.
In an unrelated complaint by Powser, former Monterey Superior Court
Commissioner Richard Rutledge resigned when Powser claimed
Rutledge was involved in fixing traffic tickets for friends.
No charges were ever filed against Rutledge, but the
investigating committee had announced there was sufficient
cause to refer the case to the CJP.
Powser worked as a clerk in the Monterey County Courts for 16 years and
received meritorious commendations for her excellent service.
For radio interviews or comments, contact:
David@Bresnahan.com
Newspaper's Misstatement Of Fact
Distorts Public Perception
PART 3
by David Bresnahan
Despite
reports in the Monterey Herald,
Gene Forte was not declared a vexatious litigant by the
Monterey Superior Court.
"Court
records indicate they, in turn, have questioned his mental
stability and labeled him a ‘vexatious litigant,' limiting his
ability to file future lawsuits," reported the Monterey Herald
on Dec. 4, 2005.
"Judge
John Golden ruled that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney
General Bill Lockyer had no legal standing to even bring the
motion in the first place. They did not succeed in their
effort to declare me a vexatious litigant. The Monterey Herald
has shown that they are in collusion with Schwarzenegger and
Lockyer by their failure to report accurately, and by their
failure to print a correction," said Forte.
Forte vs.
O'Farrell is a lawsuit Forte filed against Monterey Superior
Court Judge Robert O'Farrell, Dist. Attorney Dean Flippo, and
others with charges of corruption.
"Lockyer
should be investigating O'Farrell and others, but instead he
has come to their defense as their lawyer. I am not
intimidated when the ‘good old boys' team up against me," said
Forte.
Forte
filed his suit in Dec. 2004, and a few weeks later Lockyer
came in to defend O'Farrell.
"They are
trying every trick in the book to avoid actually responding to
the facts in the case. They do not want to have to defend
themselves against the corruption activities I have charged
them with, because there is no defense. They think they can
use their influence to get the case dismissed. They have never
faced someone like me who has the facts, and support from his
family and the determination to fight all the way," said
Forte, who is a nationally prominent executive recruiter.
The report
in the Monterey Herald implied that Forte's source of income
was in question, even that paper published an article about
him previously which stated that he is an executive recruiter.
Schwarzenegger and Lockyer, in their individual capacity filed
the court document to have Forte declared a vexatious litigant
in May, 2005. It was not only a futile effort but an improper
one, according to the court and Forte.
Golden
ruled in favor of Forte. It was a major legal victory for an
average citizen with no attorney who was representing himself,
but the Monterey Herald reported exactly the opposite. Golden
refused to correct what even he called a misleading title of
the order denying Forte a vexatious litigant. Forte says it
was a set up between Golden and the good old boys to try and
conceal the truth from the public.
Although
his foes have tried to declare him a vexatious litigant they
failed. Contrary to the report in the Monterey Herald, Forte
has not been limited in his ability or right to file a lawsuit
in any way.
"The
Monterey Herald had several documents and letters in their
hands since
June 30, 2005 that informed them that I had not been declared a
vexatious litigant. It was a wanton reckless disregard of the
truth by Knight Ridder, similar to what Dan Rather was forced
into retirement for," said Forte.
The report
in the Monterey Herald was carried on the front page of a
Sunday edition. In the article Forte is portrayed as mentally
unstable. O'Farrell is quoted making disparaging remarks
against Forte, with no response from Forte. O'Farrell's
remarks appear to be used only to further paint an inaccurate
picture to the public of Forte's character and the facts in
the case, according to Forte.
"It is
very likely the Monterey Herald will learn first-hand that I
have not been limited in my ability, because I am very likely
to take legal action against them for what they are trying to
do to my reputation and character," said Forte.
On
Friday, Dec. 16, 2005 the Monterey Herald printed a correction to the story,
blaming court records for the error. However, a reading of the
court records resulted in the correction. It was not an error
in the records, but a disregard of the truth by the reporter
that produced an inaccurate story, said Forte.
The
correction stated: "Due to an error in court records, an
article on page A1 on Dec. 4 regarding allegations against a
local judge incorrectly stated that Eugene Forte had been
declared a vexatious litigant in Monterey County Superior
Court. The state Attorney General's Office filed a motion
asking that Forte be declared a vexatious litigant, and that
his ability to file future lawsuits be restricted. The motion
was denied. A subsequent entry in the court record erroneously
indicated the motion was granted."
There was
no clarification made by the paper regarding statements about
Forte's mental ability, his source of income, or his
character. Although the original story was carried on the
front page on a Sunday, the correction was hidden away deep
within a Friday edition where it would not be noticed by the
average reader.
For radio interviews or comments, contact:
David@Bresnahan.com
Man Acting As His Own Attorney
Holds Corrupt Courts At Bay
PART 2
by David Bresnahan
Summary: Sometimes it is the little things that defeat the
bad guys, says Gene Forte. He compares the evidence he now has
about public officials and judicial corruption to what put Al
Capone behind bars.
MONTEREY,
Calif.
-- Gene Forte, who is acting as his own lawyer, believes he
has a strong case to prove corruption in the highest offices
in the State of California.
Forte has
charged Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Attorney General Bill
Lockyer, judges for the Monterey Superior Court, other public
officials, as well as members of the local Monterey media with
corruption. He compares his legal battle with the method used
to ultimately catch Al Capone.
"This is
the Achilles heel of my adversaries. It can be compared to
what happened to Al Capone. He did not go to jail for all of
the murders. He went to jail for tax evasion. What will bring
them down is the fact that the small claims case of Forte vs.
Flippo can be shown without a reasonable doubt to have been
fixed by Flippo and Commissioner Rutledge," said Forte.
Forte
filed a lawsuit against Monterey Superior Court Judge Robert
O'Farrell. Separately, a month before, he had filed a small
claims suit against Monterey District Attorney Dean Flippo and
Assistant Deputy District Attorney Terry Spitz.
Forte
says the dirty tactics used to get his small claims case
dismissed were more than dirty -- they were illegal. He says
those tactics were so blatant, and so easy to document and
prove, that it will ultimately be the undoing of the officials
involved.
The
complicated nature of his corruption charges are simplified by
the Forte vs. Flippo case, which Forte believes will enable
average citizens to more easily understand what has taken
place. The events of this case are many, but summarized below:
Forte
filed the small claims case on Nov. 19, 2004, and the
certified letter to the defendants was mailed to them on Nov.
24, according to court records. Interestingly the defendants
signed for that mailing before it was even mailed. They signed
on Nov. 19, the very same day it was filed.
The case
was assigned to be heard by Commissioner Richard Rutledge on
Jan. 5, 2005. At that time Rutledge refused to disqualify
himself from the case as requested by Forte. According to
Forte the law requires a commissioner not hear a case if both
parties do not agree to the commissioner. This resulted in a
Challenge for Cause to be filed by Forte to seek
disqualification of Rutledge. An order was issued denying the
Challenge for Cause, "by what purports to be a part time judge
or traffic commissioner in
Stanislaus
County. I was not notified in any way who was assigned to
decide the Challenge for Cause," said Forte.
On April
27, 2005 Forte filed with the court a change of address
notice. On May 16, 2005 the court set a trial date for May 23,
2005. The court date was set by Rutledge and a notice was
mailed to Forte's old address. This information is a matter of
record and shows in the court file registry.
Forte was
not at the court on May 23 because he never received the
notice. Rutledge was also not there. Commissioner Diana Baker
took his place and entered a default judgement because of the
non-appearance of Forte. Forte says that setting the court
trial date just 7 days from May 16 to be heard May 23 was
evidence of corruption by setting up a default judgment for
Flippo against Forte. He said it was also a corrupt system
that allegedly sent the trial notice to his old address
instead of the new one. He never received it even though there
was a U.S. Postal forwarding in place to his new address.
Forte also pointed out that Rutledge was not the trial judge
at the hearing and replaced himself with another judge who had
no idea what was going on in order to insure that a default
judgement would be the outcome.
According
to court records on July 18, 2005, a Notice of Entry of
Judgement was mailed to Forte's old address. That notice was
not received by Forte until early September 2005.
Forte
became aware of the default judgment only when he wrote a
letter to Deputy Dist. Attorney Terry Spitz in which he
complained of a conflict of interest of Flippo who was
conducting an investigation of Rutledge concerning ticket
fixing and obstruction of justice in a separate case unrelated
to Forte. Spitz responded with a letter telling Forte of the
default judgement. Rutledge was the judge in Forte's case
against Flippo and Spitz, yet separately, Flippo was
investigating Rutledge.
On Oct.
12, 2005 the files pertaining to Forte vs. Flippo were missing
from the court records, according to Monterey Superior Court
clerk, Diana Valenzuela. On Oct. 21, 2005, the records were
suddenly found after Forte sent letters to the Monterey
Superior Court judges and the District Attorney offices. Still
missing from the file is the change of address notice filed by
Forte. However, Valenzuela, confirmed that the document does
show up as being filed in the file registry of the court.
Forte points out that the Presiding Judge of the court is none
other than O'Farrell, who Forte is suing in a separate case.
"The
evidence is both reliable and substantial. It indicates that
Dist. Attorney Flippo, Assistant Dist. Attorney Spitz,
Commissioner Rutledge, and other parties conspired to, and in
fact did, obstruct justice in the case. The default judgment
was ‘fixed' by the setting of a trial within seven days of the
order signed by Rutledge. It was then allegedly mailed to an
old address. No judge gives a seven-day notice of a trial,"
explained Forte.
Forte has
issued a demand for federal intervention citing Title 18 U.S.C.
Section 3. He believes the Monterey Superior Court, and the
offices of the Attorney General, Dist. Attorney, and even the
Governor of Calif. have all been involved in a conspiracy to
conceal the public official corruption. Even though Forte has
spent well over $1.5 million dollars and five years in
documenting the fixing of a real estate case, it is the small
claims case fixed by Flippo and Spitz to avoid paying a $35.00
filing fee that is going to be their Achilles Heel for them
all. "It is the same thing that happened to Al Capone, it
wasn’t the major crimes, it was the small stupid one that
nailed him," Forte says. He has asked the federal government
to step in and take control of those offices.
"It will
show the DA covering up the evidence of his own obstruction of
justice in his own case while conducting an investigation of
Rutledge which he could not conduct. It will show that all the
Monterey Superior Court judges knew about it, and it will show
that Gov. Schwarzenegger, AG Lockyer, and State Senator Jeff
Denham knew all about it due to my mailing the information to
them. It will show that the FBI knew about it and confirmed it
was a crime, but did nothing about it. It will show that the
Monterey
media knew about it and said nothing about it. The common man
can understand a small claims action and how it got fixed,"
explained Forte.
Forte
filed a lawsuit against O'Farrell, Flippo, and others with
charges of corruption in the Monterey Superior Court. Such
charges merit an investigation by the Calif. Attorney General,
according to Forte.
"Lockyer
should be investigating O'Farrell and others, but instead he
is their lawyer. He is defending them. O'Farrell has messed up
so badly that he has turned to the head lawyer of the state
for his defense. Maybe he thinks that will intimidate me, but
what it really shows is that he is the one who is scared. That
shows without question that the ‘good o'le boy' network is
taking care of its own," said Forte.
On Aug.
31, 2004 Forte wrote and won an appeal detailing the
corruption of the Monterey Superior Court. He requested that
the Calif. 6th Appellate Court abide by the law and report the
matter to authorities. He was ignored.
"The law
requires that there be an investigation and a referral of the
matter to a State Grand Jury. They have ignored that and did
nothing. That shows that the 6th Appellate Court Justices are
now a party to covering up the corruption I am trying to bring
to light," said Forte. "The system of checks and balances put
in place to protect the people, is inoperative."
On Nov.
16, 2005 Forte made Calif. legal history when a declaration
from a witness was submitted to the court in Forte v.
O'Farrell. The declaration caused so much concern that the
Calif. Attorney General had it stricken from the record and
sealed a few days later.
Why?
Perhaps because the declaration provided sworn testimony from
an eye witness that judges in the Monterey court conspire to
fix the judicial assignments and outcomes of court cases.
"The
declaration by Crystal Powser, among other things, alleged
that she was told by Judge Michael Fields that he and the
other judges involved in the investigation of Santa Barbara
County Judge Diana Hall had determined in advance to find her
guilty. It was clear evidence that case fixing and corruption
was going on as I had charged at the highest levels," said
Forte.
Forte
forwarded copies of the Powser declaration to most of the
Calif. media and sent it out on the press wires prior to
Lockyer having the document sealed. The Calif. media focused
on the claims in the declaration of unwanted sexual advances
towards Powser, and the more significant claims of corruption
were virtually ignored.
"Their
biggest problem is that I won't go away," said Forte. "Their
tactics may work to intimidate others, but not me."
So Gene
Forte, without a lawyer, continues his fight. A "David vs.
Goliath" battle that has Goliath on the run.
Forte
maintains a web site with detailed information and document
pertaining to his legal battle at
www.AttorneyBusters.com.
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