Aggressive search of DiMatteo residence caught on video
By Kathryn Reed
Officers in full SWAT gear with assault rifles using a flash-bang to enter Gino DiMatteo’s South Lake Tahoe home was caught on video by his neighbors.
DiMatteo’s civil defense attorney, Ted Long, has released the video to Lake Tahoe News and KRNV-TV in Reno. The latter is seen here.
“We are expecting the whole thing to blow up in their face. It’s been weeks now and we have not seen a lick of evidence,” Long told Lake Tahoe News.
DiMatteo’s residence and business – Push Fitness – were searched on Aug. 31, the same day he was arrested on a variety of drug charges as well as bribery. However, Angela Swanson, the South Lake Tahoe City Council member he is accused of bribing, has yet to be charged. Instead, the El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office is letting her name be associated with a crime she has never been charged with.
She remains on the council and is actively participating on the boards she is assigned to. Swanson was not available for comment Oct. 1.
Gino DiMatteo returns to court Oct. 3 in Placerville.
Long doesn’t believe Swanson will be charged because he doesn’t believe she or DiMatteo did what the DA investigators are alleging.
It has come out that Swanson was the catalyst for a donation from DiMatteo to the Lake Tahoe Educational Foundation, of which Swanson is a board member. This cash donation of more than $1,000 came on the same day the council agreed to allow DiMatteo to move his medical marijuana dispensary. That decision was later rescinded by the majority of the council.
It is also one of the issues in which Long is representing DiMatteo. Long says his client has a letter from the city attorney that says go ahead and spend money to move. DiMatteo did – $60,000, according to Long.
Long, who is a former city councilman, said his first course of action is to go to federal court to get the city’s decision to ban DiMatteo from moving overturned. He says the odds are 50-50. At a minimum, he wants the city to pay DiMatteo so he can recoup his loses for tenant improvements that were for naught.
Long also wants the DA and El Dorado County Sheriff’s Department to pay for the more than $30,000 in damages to DiMatteo’s home when officers stormed it in August.
DiMatteo was already detained when officers ransacked the residence, Long said, so there was no need for the forceful entrance.
“What if his two teenage daughters had been there? It could have caused serious injury, if not death,” Long said of the flash-bang. “It was totally unnecessary. I could have unlocked the door.”
(Rob Wolfel – who was not available Oct. 1 – is DiMatteo’s criminal defense attorney.)
DiMatteo will be in court in Placerville on Oct. 3. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. He also wants a speedy trial – to which he is entitled to 45 days after being arraigned.
“We want to force them to produce something and then force them to go to trial,” Long said of the prosecution. “If there was some evidence, we would have seen it.”
Long also told Lake Tahoe News that at no time has DiMatteo been in the witness protection program, as has been rumored.
The guy is a convicted felon with gun charges and numerous criminal ties. Why wouldn’t they raid his house the way they did. For all they know someone could have been waiting in the home, or getting rid of evidence. To play this card is laughable. Gino plays with fire, gets burned and then has his Atty. snivel about it. A true SNITCH move. Gino you are a coward and if you can’t take the consequences for your criminal lifestyle maybe you shouldn’t try so hard to be a criminal
Here we go again. Another installment of the DiMatteo trial in the court of public opinion, sans any decorum!
I have no opinion in this but feel that Cesspit’s foul mouth is not necessary.
Clean it up CESSPIT
45 day rule doesn’t apply when you waive
your time for a hearing. I guess ted doesn’t read the P.C.
Actually, Ted is incorrect. If DiMatteo is charged with a felony, which appears to be the case, his right to a speedy trial does not attach until he is held to answer after a preliminary hearing. He has a right to a preliminary hearing within 10 court days and 60 calendar days of his initial arraignment. If a judge finds that there is probable cause to believe that a felony offense was committed by DiMatteo, an arraignment date will be set, and his speedy trial rights attach from that day, unless he waives time for trial. In felony cases, defendants have a right to be tried within 60 days of their arraignment on the information, which is the document filed after the preliminary hearing.
I think the Lawyer said it all.
Some day it might be you.
A flash bang? while he was being detained?
Is he a convicted felon, or has been charged with a felony?
Both. Convicted and charged. Not to mention the drugs he was in possesion of which are essentially a version of extasy, only 10x’s stronger than whats normally confiscated
At least they got the correct house.
This has nothing to do with Mr. DiMattteo’s guilt or innocence. This is about local law enforcement being, well the kindest word I can use is, silly. I guess when you’re bored and have nothing better to do, they decided to go ‘all out’, when the situation clearly didn’t call for it!
@ Parker, do you know specifically that local law enforcement was boared and had nothing better to do? Do you know the exact reasons for why the entered the residence the way they did? Why does everyone feel it is okay to bash law enforcement when they are dealing with a convicted felon?
To Parker: The only one “bored and silly” is you!!! You have no inside information regarding how and why law enforcement approached the house the way they did. I certainly don’t know their reasoning but I’m very certain it was not due to them being “silly”. Give the District Attorney and Sheriff a shade of credit for their reasoning. On the surface it appears they are dealing with a convicted felon and drug dealer, who knows what intelligence they had before serving the warrent. Lighten up Parker.
Not to mention the fact that there are two highly trained attack dogs that live at Ginos house.
Yeah, okay, a SWAT Team v. 2 dogs. As someone who has no convictions of any kind, I’ve had to deal w/ local law enforcement bugging me about the silliest things! Why? Because it’s clear they have nothing better to do! And I’ve first hand witnessed things such as 6 officers! dealing with the huge crime of an underage kid using a fake id!
And Centurion, I’m definitely not bored as I struggle to pay all the taxes & fees to support our bloated govt!
Not to mention the opinionated “attack dogs” that comment on here – the less obvious situation has more to do with ‘innocent ’til proven guilty’, even if a person has been a “felon” at some time in the past.
The El Dorado legal “meat grinder” is somewhat prone to thinking the way some of these “commenters” do: shoot first, ask later. . .and hope they’re right. That way, a hanging judge can vindicate their behavior
Not to mention the opinionated “attack dogs” that comment on here – the less obvious situation has more to do with ‘innocent ’til proven guilty’, even if a person has been a “felon” at some time in the past.
The El Dorado legal “meat grinder” is somewhat prone to thinking the way some of these “commenters” do: shoot first, ask later. . .and hope they’re right. That way, a hanging judge can vindicate their behavior. . .
Come on Garry, we are going to give him a fair trial right before the hangin’.
Hey they need the practice
someday they might kick in the door of the real drug dealers
then it could get exciting
any one remember the shoot out on Ski Run back in 75
Bowen you obviously speak on things that you have no clue about. Have you met his dog Excalibur?lol. Maybe you should. Doing so might assist you in realizing that people are commenting more firsthand knowledge (as a result of direct interaction with Gino) than opinion. ;)
$30,000 in damage from a single flash bang? A busted door and a swat team for a house with someone already incarcerated… This all seems like our local swat team using this as an excuse to practice. I’m sure Long will contest it and I’m sure we will end up paying for a busted door and some cleaning because whoever approved this didn’t expect a neighbor with a camera to video tape this lunacy.
Thanks for not including commentary and sticking to quotes from the people involved. Good article.
Even if DiMatteo is a felon and a drug dealer, he was in custody. The swat team was sent on a fools errand and we all get to pay for it and tip Long for their efforts. Amateur hour for whoever approve this.
Until charges are filed and evidence is shown this will continue to be a popularity contest and not a case of justice being served.
Long’s efforts to poison the jury ahead of the case will hopefully not only persuade the DA to get things wrapped up but also ensure Gino gets his speedy trial so he doesn’t have to worry about his house anymore when he’s locked up in the big house.
Frank, seems to me that there are a lot more people (at least here on these threads) that are trying to poison the jury pool with outlandish speculative negative comments ABOUT Mr. DiMatteo! I have no dog in this fight (no pun intended), but would rather the legal system take it’s course as opposed to many here that really do seem to want to get a rope and hang him (some possibly because their business dealings with Mr. DiMatteo were not as beneficial to them as they saw fit, or in other words they have a score to settle for their own business shortcomings!).
AS to the SWAT team involvement, that seems a WEE bit excessive! Couldn’t Animal Control have dealt with those dogs before the search? Isn’t that what THEY are trained to do?
Local Yokle, charges were filed on September 4, 2012, in El Dorado County Superior Court, case P12CRF0452. This is public information available on the court’s website.
“anyone remember the shoot out on ski run in ’75?”
I do. That was back when the media actually reported on real crimes here.
Aaron, Are you really insinuating that there hasn’t been any ‘real crimes’ here in SLT since ’75? Or that the media HASN’T reported on ‘real crimes’ here on the South Shore?
And are you REALLY equating to the DiMatteo debacle to ‘real crime’?
That’s a stretch in both directions!