El Dorado County DA messing with lives without showing evidence
By Kathryn Reed
People with knowledge of the lingering investigation into potential criminal activity by South Lake Tahoe officials in connection with Gino DiMatteo have told Lake Tahoe News there are ulterior motives involved.
No longer is the El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office using the word “bribery” or naming names in its investigation.
The district attorney, Vern Pierson, refuses to address the media in any way other than press releases. Only his secretary, Nancy Anderson, is allowed to speak for him.
El Dorado County District Attorney Vern Pierson
Anderson this week emphatically told Lake Tahoe News her agency did not use the word bribery to describe what DA investigators are currently probing. Nor would she say what the focus is or who the focus is on.
A Nov. 2 press release from Pierson’s office says, “… the investigation into certain South Lake Tahoe City officials as to their dealings with DiMatteo is ongoing.”
Former South Lake Tahoe City Manager Tony O’Rourke told Lake Tahoe News, “No one has ever contacted me in any way shape or form. So any investigation is not thorough or comprehensive. I don’t think there was anything there. I think [Pierson] has hung [City Councilwoman Angela Swanson] out to dry. He needs to buy time to look like he did something.”
Swanson had previously been named by the DA’s office as the city official DiMatteo is accused of bribing. But no evidence has been presented to the public, to Swanson or to DiMatteo’s attorneys to substantiate the allegation.
O’Rourke was at many of the meetings where the city’s pot ordinances were being written. Those meetings also included DiMatteo, who at the time owned the medical marijuana dispensary City of Angels II.
O’Rourke thought it would be fine for DiMatteo to move his business last summer to accommodate his landlord wanting him out. But the council changed its mind after O’Rourke left the city and information was presented about some questionable activities pertaining to DiMatteo’s business.
(Swanson is no longer talking to the media. She continues to fulfill her duties on the council.)
At one time she had aspirations of running for El Dorado County supervisor. Keeping her name tied to a criminal investigation would thwart the likelihood of her being elected.
Swanson has been outspoken in her support for medical marijuana, so bribing her would not likely alter a vote. Those close to the case say if DiMatteo were to have bribed anyone, it would likely have been one of the men on the council because of their views about the pot clubs.
It is not known how much taxpayer money has been spent to-date on the various investigations involving DiMatteo.
Criminal complaint
DiMatteo at his first appearance in U.S. District Court in Sacramento on Nov. 6 was released on a $500,000 bond and GPS monitoring. It was on Nov. 2 that the county dropped the state charges and federal charges were levied against DiMatteo. However, this does not mean state charges will not be reinstated. That is what happened in the Karsten Gronwold child molestation case that rocked the South Shore a few years ago.
The five-page complaint does not say a word about bribery.
DiMatteo faces two counts – possession with intent to distribute marijuana and manufacturing at least 100 plants.
Here is the full complaint.
“Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed: everything else is public relations.” ― George Orwell
This article by Kathryn Reed is what real journalism is supposed to be about. The issues she raises and the information she provides to this community are valuable and necessary to a free and informed society.
Why go after real criminals and drugs that actually do cause major problems like heroin and meth when you can take the easy way out AND get plenty of publicity going after the non-violent herb gardener?
This whole debacle is a COMPLETE waste of El Dorado County taxpayer dollars!
Last I checked, marijuana was just as illegal as meth and heroin!
And “non-violent”. Then why all of the guns and ammunition?
‘Last I checked, marijuana was just as illegal as meth and heroin!’
Tahoe Mom, I know, it’s completely unbelievable that marijuana is lumped in with EXTREMELY dangerous drugs like heroin and meth!
And how many folks, loaded for bear with guns and ammunition, keep in their houses AND drink copious amounts of alcohol?
With hidden rooms under their houses and storage units for illegal activities…okay, that’s ALMOST the same!
Tahoe Mom you are way off base. No one has died of an overdose of cannibis. Washington and Colorado have legalized All use of Marijuana. The trend is clear. Now go have a glass of wine and chill or light up a fattie.
Thank you for this very thoughtful well worked out article, we need more of this. What’s at issue here is not DiMatteo or even marijuana. What’s at issue is the misuse of power by the government. No wants to be paranoid or overly conspiracy minded but lets face it the police have the guns and they can take you away any time they want with out justification, Gino’s wife is an excellent example, four days in jail over the long weekend, released with no charges and no explanation. As have said before, what really separates us (this country) from the middle east and much of Africa is not our cars and television sets, but the fact that we can go to bed at night with out fear of arrest to silence us or to be the victim of some one in power. The district attorney way over step his authority, Gino agreed to cooperate instead they came down on him, destroying Angela, destroying his very illegitimate business, destroying his home and costing the tax payers well over $200,000.00 with damage claims yet to come. I have always maintained that it was done to get even with him for the years of the legal dispensary, and yes, I have heard the rumors from at least a dozen separate people that he also was acting for friends to keep Angela out of the Supervisors race. Till know I didn’t think much about it, but it needs to be looked at. With redistricting the 5th district know moves off the hill, the center of the DA’s support and a republican strong hold. Let’s follow the money. We can not be too vigilant in controlling the power of the State, remember Rodney King, does it really matter if he violate a traffic law, if he is beaten by the police? Same with Gino, is the petty offense more important then the method of enforcement? The police have all the power don’t kid yourself, remember how you felt when you look up in the rear view mirror and see a police car behind you, you know what I mean.
Have no idea of the facts of the case against Mr. DiMatteo or Ms. Swanson. I do know that there’s so much crime & corruption that the DA does not pursue, that this is at best a case of selective enforcement!
Petty offense, Ted?
Felon with guns, selling marijuana, growing marijuana, being introduced to high school kids as some kind of hero? Petty offense? That’s not what this article was about, but throwing that line in tainted your whole letter.
Ted,
Just once it would be nice to see you respond with language that actually makes sense. For as long as you have been a lawyer, one would think you should be able to speak/write something that makes sense! Just sayin…
Art,
You actually have proof that there hasn’t been a death as a result of cannabis (you can’t even spell it right!)? If so, where did you obtain this info?
@ Tahoemom, you think you and your kids are safer … well look around and you will see that pot is not as trendy anymore, pills, heroin and alcohol are the real problem. Heroin is even cheaper than pot! What you gonna do about it?
@ Ted, you are absolutely right but the fight you’re in is a lost battle as most people are too scared, ignorant or selfish to realize we live in a police state. The difference with some third world countries is that over there, it’s a fact of life and people know it; here, we are too proud to realize we are not much different because we have big trucks and flat screens.
Washington and Colorado just legalized medical marihuana, what’s the point? it is clear that the feds overrules state law. Anyway, it’s not about the pot but our way and desire to conceive society. Prop 37 is another example, where are we going?
Go to google Mom.
Here is a source from webMD.
http://www.webmd.com/smoking-cessation/news/20030918/marijuana-smoking-doesnt-kill
Marijuana is the least harmful drug I can think of.
Wow people still think marijuana is dangerous? It is 2012….
Bad decisions by doctors and medical staff, and infections contracted while being provided health services are now the #3 killer in the US (CDC stat)
The physiological effects of tobacco account for 464,000 deaths in the US EVERY YEAR! (CDC stat)
The physiological effects of alcohol account for 160,000+ deaths in the US EVERY YEAR! (CDC stat)
Physiologically effects of marijuana accounts for ZERO deaths every year in the US!
And as a side note, the physiological effects of ALL illicit drugs COMBINED account for only roughly 17,000 deaths a year in the US.
So where do our society’s real problems lie? With pot?
I THINK NOT!
Just a few weeks ago many of those that post here were accusing Angela of misdoings without knowing the real story. Raking her over the coals and asking for her to resign based on a few words and opinions you read on line.
Now where are all of you, apologizing to Angela and her family?
@ tahonymous – I never said anything about me or my kids being safer, so please don’t put words in my mouth.
@ thing fish – so just because a webmd article says they currently don’t have evidence that marijuana causes cancer is concrete proof that marijuana has never been responsible for the death of someone? Okay, you go with that if that’s all you’ve got!
Marijuana is ILLEGAL. It doesn’t matter if there are drugs that are more dangerous. Anyone or state can vote on whatever they want, that doesn’t change the authority of the Feds who have the ultimate say and whose regulations supersede those of any state or otherwise. If it’s ILLEGAL, it’s ILLEGAL. Period. End of story. Even in 2012!
If you chose to be involved in ILLEGAL activities then you are also choosing to suffer the consequences when caught. Also remember that if you are ever in a situation where you need law enforcement, all of you law enforcement bashers will be the first ones dialing 911 and law enforcement will still show up to protect you.
tahoe mom===delusional and simple minded position. and i have to pay taxes for your kids education
Tahoe Mom-
“Also remember that if you are ever in a situation where you need law enforcement, all of you law enforcement bashers will be the first ones dialing 911 and law enforcement will still show up to protect you.”
Only call 911 here is South Lake Tahoe if you want a cocaine using, steroid shooting police officer at your home “to protect you” while whipping his/her noise to avoid the drip from the line they just did in their police car. Come on. Police here are useless to this community.
Yes you do! Just because our opinions differ doesn’t make me delusional and simple minded! I just prefer to be a law abiding citizen. Didn’t know that was a bad thing!
That isn’t all I have. I picked the most unbiased source I could. Surely if the article was about heroin and risks, it would mention that ‘heroin can kill you if you take too much’.
No one has ever died from marijuana. Ever. And while smoking anything is unhealthy, there isn’t even evidence that smoking marijuana leads to fatal diseases.
Given these facts. If you refuse to incorporate them into your worldview, you are being delusional, as per the definition of delusion ‘… a belief held with strong conviction despite superior evidence to the contrary’.
It isn’t your fault, someone lied to you, there has been a massive disinformation campaign against marijuana for almost a century.
And if you equate legality with ethics/morality, you are being simple minded. Adultery is 100% legal.
Alcohol is also legal.
‘it’s illegal’ isn’t the end of the story. It is the beginning of a larger discussion on drugs and laws. And if you can’t participate in that discussion because you can’t see the big picture you need to remove yourself from the discussion.
“No one has ever died from marijuana. Ever.” Again, I ask for what evidence you have to make such a statement.
Tahoe Mom, the posters you’re dealing with here prefer personal attacks to facts when you stump them. That’s why fromform called you names. No facts. Just rancor.
Thing and Tahoe Mom, you are both being a little extreme. There are clearly adverse health effects caused from daily dope smoking. But, I think we should be a little beyond Reefer Madness stuff.
http://www.ukcia.org/research/AdverseEffectsOfCannabis.pdf
‘At present it is estimated that marijuana’s LD-50 is around 1:20,000 or 1:40,000. In layman terms this means that in order to induce death a marijuana smoker would have to consume 20,000 to 40,000 times as much marijuana as is contained in one marijuana cigarette. NIDA-supplied marijuana cigarettes weigh approximately .9 grams. ****A smoker would theoretically have to consume nearly 1,500 pounds of marijuana within about fifteen minutes to induce a lethal response.****’
Source:
US Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration, “In the Matter of Marijuana Rescheduling Petition” (Docket #86-22), September 6, 1988, p. 56-57.
http://druglibrary.net/olsen/MEDICAL/YOUNG/young4.html
OK so it is theoretically possible.
But it would cost $3million.
yeah nobody is going to die, but by definition the average IQ is 100. Half the population is below that. I dont mean to be cruel, but those folks should not be smoking something that makes them stupid. I am in that crowd so I dont smoke, its just not pretty.
Well I know plenty of very intelligent, motivated, people who smoke regularly and are very successful. I quit smoking many years ago and I didn’t notice any change in my cognitive function or motivation.
Marijuana use and intelligence/success are not mutually exclusive.
There is no rational foundation for how our country treats marijuana and its users. I would argue that making marijuana illegal makes marijuana more dangerous because of the black market.
Drugs are never going away. Our policies have failed.
Anyway. Our drug policies are failing. I saw a graph of DEA budget and the rate of addiction in the US. The DEA budget increased exponentially while the rate of addiction held steady under 2%. If I can find it I will link it.
The case against Gino sounds really weak. The Tribune article said he was associated with a drug gang called The Juggalos. They aren’t a gang, that is a joke on the police. Just a bunch of misunderstood kids who are obsessed with really really terrible music.
Either way, our society won’t be any different if he is convicted.
I will be the first to admit that I dont have a satisfactory solution or even suggestion about drug policy. So really I shouldnt even say anything. But we shouldnt kid ourselves marijuana has significant and very well documented effects on memory and cognitive ability. Saying you didnt notice when you quit is specious. I dont notice my kids growing either. The fact is pot used the way alcohol is used by the vast majority of people has very negative effects on memory. Can people still be successful? well absolutely, but that doesnt mean they are not impaired. I work in Nevada so we can drug test and fire the folks that smoke. Too much risk that they will do something stupid to keep them around.
http://www.springerlink.com/content/b1x80ux5k8g3mh7x/
http://www.neurology.org/content/59/9/1337.short
From my observations…mj is, at the very least, a motivation killer. Plain and simple.
The MOST motivated, seek a very nice short term income, cash business, for minimal investment. No income taxes paid, no damage to their property ( they typically rent and transform/trash the home).
Ask one of those “entrepreneurs” what they plan to do when they “grow up”. Good luck.
PEOPLE JUST LIKE THROWING TIME AND MONEY OUT THE WINDOW AND THE CICLE JUST KEEPS MOVING,NEVER ENDING.
SO AT LEAST SOMEONE GOT A JOB THAT NEVER ENDS AND THE TAX PAYERS KEEP PAYING THE BILL.
NOTHING GAINED BUT HELL OF ALOT LOST.
Actually, marijuana does cause deaths in people and animals. Here’s a good example: http://youtu.be/B9Com08ILgQ
It’s not the marijuana that is bad. Thug scumbags like DiMatteo give it a bad name. He is an embarrassment to medical marijuana. He’s a known crook who steals from people.
“Either way, our society won’t be any different if he is convicted”
That is not, nor should it be, the criterion for whether or not criminals are tried, convicted, or punished.
Citizens should not, nor should they be, referred to as “criminals” until they are actually tried, convicted or punished regardless of what lawyer wannabe “criterion” one uses. I’m sure Councilmember Swanson would agree.
The most challenging way to live life is to find self happiness and ultimately self-actualization. At the end of your life can you look back and feel that you lived life to the fullest? Did you have true friends, were you respected, did you help others, did you leave your positive mark on society?
“Highs” that our bodies can create through natural means and not drug induced are hard to come by, that’s why drugs of any kind legal or not, are easy..instant gratification.
Laws are laws and have been created through a democratic process. If you live a life within the boundaries of the law, then one should have nothing to worry about. One can actually thank a police officer for all the negative aspects of society that they have to respond to on a daily basis, trying to uphold public safety. Our Firefighters and Police respond to over 75% drug and alcohol related calls. If you live life outside the boundaries of the law, then you can perceive law enforcement however you want, but its a tainted point of view.
If you enjoy marijuana, how many hours a day do you spend seeking “the precious”, partaking in its preparation and use of it? Even though pot, is the “lessor of evils”, how much of your consciousness/time is controlled by it. Do you have to be “high” to enjoy skiing/boarding and other activities, have you lost the ability to feel a natural high? I’m not against pot, But users need to try to stay objective. (This is true with alcohol and other things as well)
DiMateo is a convicted fellon and found opportunity in medical marijuana sales, it could have been any commodity. It sounds like he is a “bad apple”, and has hurt the legitimacy of “legal marijuana”. I “hear” he has broken conditions of his parole, such as possession of a firearm. I “hear” he has broken many laws, beyond the alleged illegal marijuana sales. A convicted felon on probation does not have the same rights as “law abiding citizens”.
I do not see this as a conspiracy, sounds like law enforcement doing their job. I’m not an attorney/DA privileged to ALL details of his case, so any serious talk of the details is pure speculation.
It is also my understanding that any information pertaining to the case is for the courts, (whose members have been elected in a democratic process and juries who are members of the community), and not for speculative public opinion.
I try not to place judgement on others, just on myself.
Trying to offer an objective opinion.
A real crime that is happening in our community is that ONLY approximately 20% of our residents exercise their constitutional right of voting. Do you really take the time to be an informed citizen, share vision and use imagination on how to make things better and not waste time being negative and dwelling on the past? Do you vote?
great post ‘nicer’
I never said he shouldn’t be address by the justice system. I am was saying that we shouldn’t expect all of the resources we use in the justice system to result in a better society.
So when what would be the purpose of criminal sentencing? To reform the person? Well if the end result is jail, then that isn’t happening.
Which again makes me ask the question, why?
Our society isn’t better off, the person won’t be reformed, and you think we should keep on wasting money in courts?
PS. try using a semi-colon when you write complex sentences.
“Laws are laws and have been created through a democratic process.”
Marijauana laws haven’t. The government refuses to acknowledge the scientific reasons why marijuana should be rescheduled. And they are ignoring popular opinion.
It is naive to think that all laws are legitimate.
The truth about beautiful South Lake Tahoe. Every entity in this community is corrupt. From the D.A’s office to law enforcement to people like Gino and yes, even our City Leaders. There is nothing legitimate about this saucy little town.
I do not know Ms. Reed personally, but on the whole, even the media is corrupt to an extent. Picking and choosing what to report and who to report about. If members of the media have any sort of relationship with someone involved in some not so ethical conduct, thus medias are then biast. Sorry, it’s true and I can certainly give credible examples of that.
In my humble opinion, Gino is a genuine scumbag. This man is as shady as they come. I could care less if he rotted away in prison. However, is he a scapegoat? Did he piss off the wrong people and are they now coming after him in good ‘ole South Tahoe Fashion? I believe so.
Gino is no more of a scumbag than the very people who are in positions of authoirty in this cesspool of a community.
Do you have any idea how many legitimate stories have been covered up by law enforcement and the criminal powers that be? Few people understand that this City has always made examples of some and covered up worse.
Each time I see Gino in the news, and fail to see other worse case stories being exposed, as they should be, I sigh in disgust.
Just another day in corrupt South Lake Tahoe.