Steve Collins portrays himself as victim of county scheme; county might sue him back.

Thicker Than Water: Steve Collins represents himself in the civil court case. “I’ve burned through my savings and 401(k)s, and now I’m living essentially off the generosity of my mother,” he says.

Steve Collins portrays himself as victim of county scheme; county might sue him back.

By Sara Rubin

Thursday, August 2, 2012

The abandoned Regional Water Project still isn’t water under the bridge.  

For the first time since the project agreements started unraveling, former Monterey County Water Resources Agency board chair Steve Collins is speaking up to tell his version of events. “I never thought, and to this day still don’t think, that I did anything wrong,” Collins says.  

He faces 42 criminal charges, including two conflict-of-interest felonies for private consulting work he did while serving on the board.  

Collins sued the county for $25 million in May, and says he looks forward to his day in court – either civil or criminal – to expose a paper trail he believes will prove county attorneys and supervisors Lou Calcagno and Dave Potter were in on his double-dipping deal. 

Now the county is fighting back. In court documents filed July 18, County Counsel Charles McKee contends Collins is sabotaging the public process and requests the case be thrown out. 

Collins views the county’s motion as a David-and-Goliath effort to silence him. 

“He’s suing us, and we’re not suing him,” McKee responds. “Although we might.” County counsel is researching potential legal actions against Collins.  

“Bring it,” Collins fires back. “The county has unlimited resources and will confront me with every legal maneuver they can muster.”  

The county’s also trying to keep information out of the criminal proceedings, invoking attorney-client privilege after Collins’ defense attorney, Michael Lawrence of Lawrence & Peck, subpoenaed a dozen county staffers in April. At a hearing scheduled for Aug. 31, Monterey County Superior Court Judge Pamela Butler will decide whether the county has to disclose the documents.

 Well, well, well, it is about damn time Collins started to fight back. Read all of the stories associated with this article on this page and a consistent theme appears. Collins was allegedly recruited by the BOS to perform a task, when it went in a direction they did not like, they threw Collins under the bus and we on the Peninsula now have a disaster on our hands in a new Cal Am proposal that is doomed from Day 1. 
 If this article is accurate the County is attempting to suppress all data for his criminal proceedings as being priveleged, has any one else in the reading public wondered how a guy charged with an offense in mid November, 2011 is still waiting for a Preliminary Court hearing? This guy has not yet been given a chance to show his evidence in a Court of Law to let a Judge determine if this case should even proceed. Now we learn it is because the County is refusing to honor subpaena's. Any one care to guess why?
 He stated in his filing (it is a public record, if anyone wants to read it) that he has e-mails to show the County blessed his activities from the first Day, he has a legal opinion from the County's law firm that he has no 1090 conflict, he has a number of witnesses that heard him openly discuss his contract with RMC, he has public recusals from the Board room with County Counsel present, he properly reported his income from RMC on his annual filing forms, and a bucket load of other data that you can read if you want.
 The County filed a SLAPP motion against him (that is what McKee is referring to above, also public record) to try to shut him up and the burden of proof falls to him. It appears he is now attempting to prove his case. Sounds to me like he can and the County is attempting to suppress evidence that hangs them, all in the name of privelege. 
 Another paper also wrote an article about these filings and apparently Collins also has a taped confession from a senior staff member that corroborates Collins story. Apparently no one has yet heard this confession, but Collins intends to play the tape at his hearing on the 17th of August. Anyone want to make a bet on the chances of the County allowing Collins to play said tape on that day?
 I have no clue why the County is behaving the way they are, other than classic bully syndrome. They got caught in a lie early and simply have no way out with out telling the truth. Give Collins his day in Court, let him present his evidence and the truth will prevail!!!!

Hey, oldguy49,,I've been censored!!..Since the Weekly found out who I was, I haven't been able to post ANYTHING...Nothing...What ever happened to free speech??? What a shame...

Well oldguy49, maybe they changed their mind, so I will put in my two cents on what you just wrote...In my opinion, it's a conspiracy on the part of the DA and the County to keep him out of Court because they know that the truth will bury them...Those bad boys have lied through their teeth, one lie after another, and MeKee has gone to great lengths by going around the County getting everybody in God's green earth to sign confidentiality agreements to keep people quiet...As skasower puts it..a great group of miscreants,,,You betcha....

 Good to have you, or anyone else, for that matter, back. Interesting you bring up skasower. I decided to do a little research on who this gentleman is, when he weighed in on the Marina Coast lawsuit.
 Dr. Kasower (Ph.D UCDavis 1988) is an economist by education, but an expert in water and wastewater. He is a Senior Fellow at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and in that capacity was the Convener of the REPOG process (confess I do not know what that is) that was the precurser to the Regional Project. His fees were paid by the Public Utilities Commission under their direct charge. Previously, he was Planning Officer for the Bureau of Reclamation, Southern California area. In short, he was responsible for all aspects of Federal water planning for all of southern California. He is independent of this County and by all accounts a water expert. He represented SurfRider Org. during the PUC Regional Project hearings.
 His comments are included in the Marina Coast Sues County for $20M in this paper, dated June 29, 2012. He is the very first person that I can find that brings up the County conspiracy theory and discusses RICO statutes. Needless to say he has strong feelings and I suggest Mr. Collins put him on a witness list and cut his opinions and facts loose in a Courtroom.
 Finally, Kasower makes a comment, in this paper, about Marc Del Piero and Pajaro Sunny Mesa, that I did not understand and I am now researching desalinated water issues in Monterey County for the last 20 years and an interesting series of threads regarding Dave Potter, Lou Calcagno, Nader Agha and Pajaro Sunny Mesa keep popping up. More to come.

Hey, oldguy49...Keep digging...Think you are on to something....Oh what a tangled web we weave..etc,etc...

 Speaking of tangled webs, the prospect of a Desalinated water project for the County of Monterey is not new. I went back into archives for at least 15 years and there are numerous attempts to achieve this technology, but routinely failed for reasons beyond me. The consistent theme are the players Potter, both as a member of the BOS and the Coastal Commission, Calcagno as a member of the BOS, Nader Agha, Pajaro Sunny Mesa (PSM), Cal Am and Del Piero. Del Piero's role is that of Counsel several times and he seems to make cogent arguments. 
 Agha enters the equation when he acquires the old Duke property, in a bankruptcy purchase, for approximately $7M. His intent appears to be a DeSal operation because of existing infrastructure, and PSM enters the process because they are a public entity and water purveyor. Del Piero represents PSM and negotiates a long term lease on the property between Agha and PSM. PSM partners with Poseidon (My son tells me they are huge in water) and start with the permit process with the County of Monterey, and the Coastal Comm. This is where the fur starts to fly....
 Seems Cal Am also wants to build a pilot project in the same general location, and of course our august leaders are now in the position of selecting a prefered project. 2005-6, somehow the PSM permit application at the Coastal Comm is never processed, according to Del Piero, at Potters request. The permit for PSM at the County "gets lost" and Poseidon must start anew. The decision is made by the two BOS members who sit on the sub-committee of the BOS which oversees water (Potter and Calcagno) that the Cal Am project is preferable, and the rest is history.
 There are years of charges, counter-charges, newspaper articles, affiliations starting and ending, all at the Moss Landing location, and Agha, Potter and Calcagno are in the center of all of it. I am about to exceed my word limit so I will end here, but I have some thoughts on the Potter--Agha campaign snafu of several years back, found some interesting stuff their as well.

 Regarding the Potter--Agha issue and the campaign contribution, here is what I was able to find. Agha and Cal Am routinely were big money doners to both Potter and Calcagno, just smart politics. I discovered this by searching FPPC filings, disclosure statements, etc. This is easy to find. Some of the rest my son helped me with, because it took some digging.
 Mr. Agha allegedly wrote a $10K campaign check to Potter's reelection campaign, but inexplicably made the check payable to someone other than the campaign. The check was then cashed, and coincidentaly Mr. Potter goes on vacation. Mr. Agha gets wind of this somehow and files an FPPC complaint. (I know, you can not make this stuff up, all verified in the press). The FPPC investigates, and as usual in the County of Monterey, records are lost, no one can remember anything and the matter goes away. This apparently makes Agha unhappy so he files suit in Civil Court (April, 2010). Some time passes as the Court of Public Opinion takes over in the press and attorney's for both sides issue a statement several months later in the Herald "that a quiet settlement has been reached" and the matter goes away.
 The disturbing part of this settlement is the size of the check Mr. Potter was allegedly required to write to Mr. Agha to reimburse him for his "contribution", well in excess of the original $10K. If this was a legitimate campaign contribution, why did Potter feel the need to personally repay it? I wonder if Mr. Potter would like to explain to we voters in the 5th District how this came to be? I still can not help but wonder why this was such a matter of Principle for Mr. Agha in all the press articles and yet he was willing to accept significant compensation for his apparent loan? I wonder if the FPPC would like to include a further look-see at this issue in the other things they are allegedly looking into for our BOS?
 One final thing, I do not personally know Marc Del Piero, so when the tongues start to wag, lets put that one to rest. These are the bad boys that tubed a perfectly good water project and gave us the Cal Am three legged sewage stool we have now, that is my beef.

Hey, oldguy49...Thanks for everything you are bring to light..But most of all...I want to get on my soap box and ask the question: WHY, when everything you have presented, haven't more people in this readership of this newspaper shown an interest in your comments?.Everything you have written they are able to find the research you have pointed them to. And as you have stated repeatedly, your main emphasis is on the future of the water supply for the Peninsula, as it should be for all..And it has been so screwed up by a whole bunch of numbnuts, pardon the insult...

 I have read the article published by Sara Rubin several times and the last paragraph simply bothers the heck out of me. The County is attempting to keep evidence out of Collins defense attorney's hands. I thought this was a criminal proceeding, prior articles in several papers suggest Calcagno and at least one other have hired criminal defense attorney's and will not participate in Collins Preliminary Hearing (if he ever has one) and are claiming 5th Amendment protections. Perhaps I do not understand criminal proceedings but I thought the Constitutional protections accrued to the accused. I have asked my son (retired Jurist) for some help and research. 
 Lets start at the beginning, Collins is charged with two counts of Conflict of Interest, Code Section 1090. Please read the indictment if you want the exact details, (it is a public document). Essentially he voted on April 5, 2010, for approval of the Settlement Agreement and the Water Purchase Agreement and on April 6, 2010 advocated for same at the BOS. The votes were 7-2 (Collins voted yes) to recommend passage as an ADVISORY body to the decision makers, the BOS. The BOS voted 5-0, and 4-1 on respective votes to approve the above documents, in principle, revoting to ratify on January 11, 2011. Did his vote anywhere in this proceeding change the outcome? Just wondering out loud.
 If you read any of these documents you note, and the Remcho report verifies, that RMC Environmental was not a party to, nor were they even mentioned in the Agreements.
 Look at the Editorials that start appearing in the papers from March 24, 2011 on and a curious pattern starts to develop. Supervisor Parker orders, April 12, 2011, "an intensive investigation, to discover and review, ALL the facts surrounding the role of the Monterey County Water Resources Agency, including Collins, in the Regional Desalination Project" and several sentences later "the Board wants an independent investigation into this matter". The law firm of Remcho, Johansen & Purcell was contacted that very afternoon by Charles McKee and given a scope of work that reads "investigate allegations that Monterey County Water Resources Agency director Stephen Collins had a prohibited conflict if interest with regard to his activities on the Regional Desalination Project". Look at the public documents, folks, it is all there. Find this interesting, it gets better. And remember, Remcho is the personal law firm of both Calcagno and Potter, can you say Conflict of Interest?
 On June 27, 2011, Supervisor Calcagno is qouted in the newspaper "He does not believe the County's investigation needs to address who at the County knew about the nature of Collins' relationship with RMC or when they knew it". I hate to disillusion the poor Supervisor, but according to the Supreme Court of the United States, in a 1994 ruling, that is precisely the information that needs to be known.
 I am about out of space.

 Unfortunately, this will take me several posts, due to the Weekly word limitations and my interest in the Olympics today. I have asked my son, for assistance in a legal analysis of this case and he has obliged. I stress this is our opinion only.
 According to the few facts and case pleadings in this case, there seems to be substantial agreement that Collins was integral to the success of the Regional Project, was recruited by the BOS and was following their orders. Listen to the BOS testimony of the vote of April 6, 2010 and he is almost accorded hero status. Collins also claims to have County Counsel opinions, opinions from outside Counsel for the County, and proof that the County had full knowledge of his activities from January 11, 2010 forward, again, not only condoned his activities, but actually directed them. Why is this important, because he BELIEVES he was acting appropriately and his superiors BELIEVED he was acting appropriately, and more importantly, in full compliance with the law. Why then, would he have not supported the Water Purchase Agreement and Settlement Agreement when he participated in their construction?
 The People (DA) has two hills to climb in any criminal case, they must prove beyond a "reasonable doubt" that a criminal act was commited (Actus Rea) and that the accused knew he was commiting a crime (Mens Rea. latin for a guilty mind). I will focus solely on Mens Rea herein, the facts will determine the other. The Supreme Court, in 1994, "Staples vs United States, 511 US 600) found in favor of the accused and made the following points of law: 1.  "A mistake of fact is a defense in a case", and 2) one must know he is violating a law to be charged with a crime". Please note that the Supreme Court ruling does not say "might" have know, "should" have known, "conceivably had a dream about knowing", it says "must know". How could Collins have known he was commiting a crime when the County and Supervisors both told him in legal opinions he was abiding by the law?
 The press and County have a great deal riding on this case, they have tried and convicted Collins in the Court of Public Opinion, and tubed an approved water project based solely on allegations of inpropriety. Imagine the impact to the County if the Judge finds insufficient evidence, lack of "Mens Rea" for the charge, conspiracy on the part of the County or any other reason to throw out these charges?
 More to come, out of space again.

 Giants win!!!! Last post of the day. I read the remainder of the complaint against Collins and have little to add regarding the Ocean Mist Farms stuff; primarily because Collins, his attorneys, the DA and Ocean Mist Farms themselves have been silent. I have several observations only, strictly opinion. 
 1.  A multinational Corporation is interested in a $950 alleged theft charge? Really? Somehow Collins stole money from this corporation by not attending a couple of meetings with Supervisors (Calcagno and Potter), what a coincidence. The DA and County have reportedly spent in excess of $1M trying to nail this guy for something; that is the real crime here. The DA then repeats the $950 per month charge for the number of months allowed before time expires. How does any of this relate to the water concerns of the County?
 2.  This is the only item I have seen anyone reference in the press; and a minor comment at that. Collins goes to a meeting called by Ocean Mist Farms wherein he is informed by them that they have no interest in this case and did not participate in the filing of the charges, and WHAM, Collins is charged with two counts of intimidating a witness. 
 3.  I have read several of the items the press reported sent to them by Mike Lawrence, Collins attorney, and filed with the Courts. If any of what he provided is true, the DA has an uphill climb here, as well.
 So where does this leave us, Collins has filed suit, the County responded with a SLAPP motion and Collins gets a day in Court, the 17th of August, wherein he gets to play a tape by Curtis Weeks, confessing what he knew, when he knew it and names names. Collins has reported the existence of the tape along with a number of other evidence items (see Carmel Pine Cone) and yet has not played the tape for anyone (well played, Mr. Collins). 
 Unfortunately, in high stakes poker, you need to know when to fold and when to hold. The County themselves may very well be victims of some of the worst legal advice offered in jurisprudence history, so following bad judgement with more, I see them suing Mr. Collins again, thereby negating the August 17 hearing and pushing us further along.
 This is so unfortunate for everyone involved, the County finds themselves in a no win scenario, only time will tell if they choose to make a bad situation worse. My guess is the election is November 6, two Sups are up for election and one is facing recall. Care to guess when Collins may finally have a Court date?

Hey, oldguy49...You are 100% correct in everything you commented on regarding Steve Collins...And was stated in a comment that seems like eons ago, he can prove it if the DA and County ever let him get to Court... what a shame that justice prevails in this fashion....

 I have one final comment regarding Collins, before I move back to water, which is where my real interest lies. 
 I was doing research at the PUC website regarding the Regional Project and the new Cal Am mess, which I will discuss later, and I looked at the distribution list for Project 04-09-019, the Regional Project. Guess who is STILL the registered representative and receiver of all documentation for Ocean Mist Farms, as a full party to this action; non other than Stephen Collins. I have no clue how active a role he is currently playing for Ocean Mist Farms, but they obviously did not care enough to remove him as their State approved designated representative. According to documents filed with the Court by Mr. Collins' attorney, he started working for them in June, 1988. Twenty three years with the same company, and he allegedly stole $950 which the DA feels warrants charges, and Ocean Mist Farms does not want to press charges. Interesting???
 I heard today over coffee in downtown Monterey that the hearings at the PUC are being delayed due to concerns from the Administrative Law Judge that the concerns of many, expressed at the last meeting, in San Francisco, are valid and Cal Am needs to respond. Little things like water rights, the Agency Act, County Ordinances, eminent domain, you know, easily resolvable stuff in less than four years!!!! And we do not need a contingency plan? Please, Mayors Group, someone needs to have a sane alternative to the Cal Am madness.......

Well played, Mr. Collins. Judge Villareal wants to see your evidence and told the County to "go pound sand" on their immediate dismissal of your lawsuit. I have read your suit, subsequent filings and your latest response. If you, in fact, have the tape you say you have and the evidence you have indicated you have, this County is going to get tarred and feathered. The "little guy" rarely wins in these County issues, but sometimes truth and constitutional rights are a powerful tool. To quote my grandson, kick ass......

Hey, oldguy49...I'm with you....

 I guess it is just you and me again Granny, but what the heck, we need water on the Peninsula and the sooner this charade if over and the County starts worrying about the water supply here "behind the lettuce curtain", the better. To anyone reading this, just reread my posts of August 2 and August 5. Lets assume he has the Weeks confession tape, no benefit to him to lie, he has to prove it sooner ot later. I asked my son to do some simple digging and determine if any of Collins' statements are supported by public documents.
 A platoon of County personnel have all testified in a number of public documents that "they had no knowledge of Collins RMC activities until the news broke in the press, on or about April 1, 2011". That is what they allegedly told Remcho, per the report, the FPPC and the DA. The Supervisors, senior staff, all attorneys involved, both internal and outside, the Village People and an Elvis impersonator are all united in this position. Significant problem for the County; go to the published agendas and minutes of the Monterey County Water Resources Agency and you see a different story; FACTS.
 Go to the minutes of the September, 2010 meeting and the minutes read "Board Member Steve Collins recused himself from the discussion and vote because of a conflict of interest due to his past employmentat and ongoing business relationship with RMC". He then further recuses himself two items later in the Agenda when the discussion was the Ag Land Trust because of his work there for the Project. In attendance at the meeting, Irv Grant, Deputy County Counsel and Curtis Weeks, General Manager of the Agency.
 Speaking of the Curtis Weeks tape, it is also referred to in the "Verna-Bowles" letter written by RMC's legal Counsel to the County, published in all the press that they possess the original of the tape.
 About to reach my word limit, more in a minute.

 Collins only needs to prove one or two items to show the County willfully, with malice, withheld their true knowledge of the truth, to his deteriment. Further, he only needs to convince a Judge, that there is reasonable doubt to have his charges chucked. So two more bits of admissable evidence to show the County is full of beans and I will stop. 
 I lied, three bits of info, Collins claims to have an opinion letter from Downey Brand, outside counsel for the County dated June 4, 2010. Further, he states that the County participated in the discussion and concurred with the opinion. The opinion letter allegedly states that he does not have a conflict of issue problem with his RMC contract. Same comment as before, Collins gives this document to Judge Villareal and the County has a serious problem. Once again, if his criminal attorney and he, in seperate filings claim to have this document, I am guessing this is no bluff.
 The SLAPP suit; my son found this particularly disingenuous, if you want a good read, go read the suit. Essentially, the County is claiming that because they are the County, everything they do is privileged and so they will NEVER be required to respond to any subpaena, be deposed or be liable for any action on their part. This becomes a self fulfilling prophesy, we do not have to play, just throw the lawsuit out, your Honor. Fortunately, Judge Villareal realizes the job of God, Howard Stern and Governor of California are all taken. These people are public servants, not deities, and they should be held accountable, if they messed up.
 The crux of the Conflict of Interest charges that the DA filed against Collins is the votes of April 5 and 6, 2010, by the Agency Board (Advisory only) and the Board of Supervisors. If you actually read the document, (I know, facts are a pain in the ass), the Water Purchase Agreement does not become effective until the PUC approves the project, which occured on December 2, 2010. The Board of Supervisors revoted the Water Purchase Agreement in their January, 2011 meeting, thereby ratifying it and making it effective. Where is the harm on the vote of April 6, 2010? Mr. Collins, hand the Judge the Water Purchase Agreement, Section 25.3, conditions precedent.
 Lastly, RICO charges against the County personnel; again out of space, last post to follow.

 Per my son, Racketeering (RICO) charges were instituted primarily to deal with mobsters, gangsters, and other ner-do-wells, like telemarketers who call at dinner time and hare krishna's that bug the hell out of you in airports. Most of the Supervisors and senior staff do not fall into this category. There were, however, laws passed in relation to RICO that do affect the potential misdeeds of this group, specifically the Hobbs Act (18USC Sec. 1951) and the official corruption rules (18 USC Sec. 201). These allow Federal prosecutors to go after corruption by Government Officials, and local government folks are only provided "conditional privilege". The "God Act" may not work.
 The United States Supreme Court (U.S. v Miss. Valley Gen. Co., 364, US.520, 562 (1961)) stated "A Democracy is effective only if the people have faith in those who govern, and that faith is bound to be shattered when high officials, and their appointees engage in activities which arouse suspicions of malfeasence and corruption". 
 Mr. Collins, once again, if you can prove that any County official, knew, or should have known of your contract with RMC and lied or conspired to collude to coverup their knowledge, and "threw you under the bus" to abort a perfectly good water project (OK, a few issues, but I believe solvable), you have a Federal case, and I hope to hell you press it to the wall.

 OK, I lied again, all further comments will be about Cal Am, water and the mess we find ourselves in, Good Luck, Mr. Collins, I am done ranting about your case. Stick it to them.......

Hey, oldguy49...Just to put folks mind at ease regarding the evidence that Steve Collins has to present in court, it seems to me that if his attorney has committed this evidence to the Judge "in writing" that it's for sure he has it...I have every confidence that that is the case...Once again...as skasower put the words to it...just a supreme bunch of miscreants, and I add, hell bent on destroying this guy,and for some unknown reason, which I still haven't figured out, putting the screws to a water project that was fully permitted...

 I was ready to put the Collins issue to bed and my son apprised me that he is "hearing rumblings" from the Courthouse regarding a filing made by Collins, or his attorney this last week. They wanted evidence, they apparently got evidence, and a lot of it. My son is a retired Jurist, he is not deaf or inactive.
 Mr. Collins, I play poker once a week at the VFW and in poker terms, in my opinion, it is time to raise the stakes. If you have the evidence you say you have that clearly shows conspiracy and corruption on the part of County government, your civil and Constitutional Rights have been horribly abused. You have a right to have the Federal Government investigate your violations.
 While this is none of my business, per Special Agent Patrick Bohrer, assistant section Chief, Civil Rights Program, FBI headquarters, you have a legitimate complaint. Per Agent Bohrer, "public corruption is a breach of trust by Federal, State or local officials and it is a top investigative priority, because of its impact." "If two, or more, elected, or their appointees, conspire, collude or lie to the detriment of a damaged party, there is a cause of action." The rub, only you can file the claim. The number to call in San Francisco is 415-553-7400. You will be asked 8 questions, if you can answer yes to 1, you have a claim. I read the 8 questions, 3 are pretty clear for you.
 I think the public in Monterey County has a right to answers on the water issues, how are Boudreau\Potter tied together? How is Calcagno benefiting from the demise of the water project? Why has the BOS been so passive in the face of mounting evidence that BOS members and senior staff have lied through their teeth regarding this case? How has Cal Am had such a free hand to pull their shenanigans without much cause for concern? Perhaps a "truly independent investigation", raspberries to Remcho, might answer these questions. I hope you consider the option.

Did anyone see the KION piece, the 9 minute version, my God, this guy knows his stuff. Please, Mr. Collins BRING IN THE FEDS!!!!!!!! Is the Weekly going to write anything about this?

Hey, oldguy49....You bet he knows his stuff judging from his interview...Just get a hold of the list of stuff the County won't turn over to him, all dated and categorized that the County considers "privileged"..Very interesting..Would like to get your son's take on this information..It's enough to sink the whole bunch of them, hook, line and sinker...The press and Judge Villereal have copies of it all, if that's available to him...I can hardly wait for Steve to have his truth be told in Court..The Judge has FINALLY set a date for a pre-hearing...You think????

Not a word from the Weekly on this story, what a shame. Collins has a hearing tomorrow in front of Judge Villareal; I bet that will be a lively few minutes. Give then hell, and BRING IN THE FEDS.

 I went back and reread some of my prior writings and I think it is just a germain today as when I wrote it. Just keeping the story active.

 If what I am hearing is true, and you have brought in the Feds, congratulations, about damn time.

 I am gone for a few days and you wake up from your silence, Mr. Collins, congratulations. My son was forwarded some of your mails, I can not wait for the website. You do not need my help, but I would be glad to give you any research my son and I may have. I hope the Feds kick the shit out of the County.

 Keep up the good work, Mr. Collins, may not be "swimming upstream" much longer. Your e-mails are hitting the miscreants right between the eyes.

 The series of mails you have sent out regarding water, Potter and the misdeeds of this County are unbelievable. This County had the potential of $80M in ratepayer assistance from Federal grants and almost full funding for the public portions of the Regional Project and the BOS just flushed it away!!!!!
 Keep swinging at the bastards and we will keep reading.......

Great call on Michael N Burt as legal counsel. He is very high profile and exactly what you needed to get out of the "good old boys and girls club of Monterey County". You were never going to get a fair hearing in this County, the Preliminary Hearing showed you that.

 Lets hope Burt comes out swinging!!!!!!!

 Well, well, Collins new attorney filed a 995 Motion today with the Court; a motion to Dismiss, which will be heard by a different Judge, per my son. My guess (actually my son's) is that this is about to get yanked out of Monterey County entirely. I can hardly wait to read the data in the 995 motion, Oh Lord, County of Monterey what you have sown.........

 My son has now verified through a second source that individuals are being interviewed and voluntarily giving information to Federal agents. It took awhile, but alas, Mr. Collins, you are swimming upstream no longer.

 Anyone else out there notice how quiet this case has gotten? Do you think the County has finally gotten the notion that they have a crap sandwich on their hands? The 995 filings are due shortly and besides a request for dismissal of all charges it should show the causal malfeasance of the County. By the way, I have now spoken to one individual who was interviewed by the Feds, he refused to tell me anything about his interview (smart, I am sure the Feds required a non-disclosure) but they are here.......

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