To see Stockton corruption, look no further than the trial of AngelAnn Flores. Flores was railroaded–or at least selectively prosecuted–and I say that even though she was found guilty of filing a false insurance claim.
But she was found innocent of charges of embezzlement and misuse of public funds, which her case was supposed to be about.
“We’re looking at vindictive prosecution,” said Tori Verber Salazar, the former San Joaquin County District Attorney who represented Flores.
A vindictive prosecution occurs when a prosecutor’s actions are motivated by retaliation or dirty politics rather than a legitimate prosecutorial purpose.
If one witness is to be believed, the case was brought in effort to appease a political ally.
San Joaquin County District Attorney Ron Freitas says he played it straight, and the witness who says otherwise lied out of “clear bias and a personal vendetta.”
Flores, 48, is a Stockton Unified School District Trustee. She served during a period when the school district, by some estimations, was running more like a cash register than an educational institution.
As a Civil Grand Jury twice documented, district officials at the time oversaw removal of the guardrails safeguarding public funds. During their tenure, policies to avoid bid rigging were disregarded. Cost overruns on capital projects went without oversight. Competent and honest employees were elbowed out.
The most notorious example—which, perhaps like me, you’re sick of hearing about—involves blowing $7 million on air filters from a company that turned out not to be registered in California, in the kind of deal investigators called an “opportunity for misuse of funds… or malfeasance.”
AngelAnn Flores fought all of this. For years she was the lone dissenter, the “1” in 6-1 votes by which the majority put the district on the road to financial controversy.
She inveighed against her colleagues’ actions. She fought the deal to give controversial then-Superintendent John Ramirez Jr. a ludicrously lucrative severance in a vote the county superintendent called a violation of open meeting laws. She called in the FBI to investigate, Verber Salazar said.
For her courage and focus on students, Flores made enemies of the hyenas feasting on Stockton Unified. Three of her fellow board members sued her—stupidly, unsuccessfully—for defamation. The 209 Times, and its founder, Motecuzoma Sanchez,attacked her relentlessly.
Paderes testified that she attended two meetings between Sanchez and Ron Freitas, then candidate for District Attorney. They negotiated “what they could do for each other,” Paderes testified. Sanchez was rattled by Flores’ scrutiny of the IAQ scam, district finances and board actions, Paderes said. Sanchez told Freitas he needed Flores “taken care of,” and Freitas responded, “Let me see what I can put together,” Paderes testified.
Not true, Freitas said in his statement.
“Xochitl Paderes’ testimony is false and uncorroborated,” Freitas’ statement says. “The meetings she alleged never took place, and there were no promises. Her allegations first surfaced four years later, conveniently timed to harm those she has personal and legal conflicts with, undermining her credibility. Additionally, her claim that Mr. Sanchez was a consultant for the District Attorney’s Campaign is false, as verified by the campaign’s 460 forms.”
Superintendent Ramirez Jr. was replaced after one year by an interim superintendent, Traci Miller. Flores testified she kept asking Miller to get to the bottom of the IAQ fiasco, and other suspicious matters, and hold the culprits accountable. Miller never did. On the contrary, she became unresponsive, Flores testified.
A rift opened between Miller and Flores. Flores by now was chairman of a newly elected reformist board majority and determined to clean up the school district.
The board agendized Miller’s evaluation. Clearly they were going to give her the boot.
Around this time, Miller went to San Joaquin County Sheriff Pat Withrow’s office. She reported rumors that Flores was in cahoots with developer Fritz Grupe and Don Shalvey, the late CEO of San Joaquin San Joaquin A+, a nonprofit that seeks to improve San Joaquin County schools, in a scheme to illegally waive Grupe’s developer fees. Miller could offer no proof. It was all innuendo, argued the defense. The prosecution presented no evidence in court substantiating this conspiracy theory.
Probably because there was none. A Stocktonia investigation examined the allegations she offered to investigators when she first reported to the sheriff, and found her evidence was contrary to the facts.
Miller also alleged that Flores was abusing her district-issued credit card.
The Sheriff launched an investigation. Subsequently DA Freitas also announced he would investigate crimes in Stockton Unified.
“Any attempt to steal off the backs of our school children will simply not be tolerated,” said Frietas, who has tolerated precisely such crimes. He pledged to root out all wrongdoing. “Every corner will be turned, every ‘I’ will be dotted and every ‘T’ will be crossed.”
That was over two years ago. Only AngelAnn Flores has been prosecuted.
Whether or not he’s playing it straight, Freitas has left an alphabet soup of undotted “i’s” and uncrossed “t’s.”
But they did a number on Flores. The wringer the Sheriff and DA put her through has been reported. In my opinion the conduct of these officials and their subordinates fell between outrageously heavy handed and a violation of Flores’ 4th Amendment protection against unreasonable search and seizure.
The jurors in Flores’ case rejected the flimsy charges as fast as humanly possible (literally; they said it took them about 30 seconds each to dismiss the charges of embezzlement and misuse of public funds).
But one charge stuck.
During the probe, investigators found evidence that Flores defrauded her insurance company. Uninsured, she bought insurance after she caused a minor accident, falsified the dates, and made a claim, which the insurance company paid out.
Although the amount of money was relatively small–$2,010.68—Flores’ act was not only illegal but forehead-slapping stupid given her responsibilities, her enemies and high-profile position.
It’s worth noting, however, that the insurer never requested prosecution. It merely wanted restitution, which Flores is making. But DA Freitas was hell-bent on prosecuting Flores. Maybe he thought it was the right thing to do. Or maybe the Texas saying applies: You gotta dance with them that brung ya.
In any case, let me ask you a question: if investigators did to you what they did to Flores—raided your house, seized your phone, your laptop, your work computer, scrutinized your calls, emails, texts, bank records, questioned your associates, including your enemies—in short, turned your life inside out looking for something to pin on you—might they find something?
And so it was for Flores. Authorities went on a fishing expedition, and they got lucky.
This allowed them to claim vindication after the verdict.
“This conviction sends a clear message that fraud will not be tolerated, and that justice will be pursued,” the DA said in a statement. “The office is committed to ensuring that our elected leaders are held accountable.”
Not really.
No one has held accountable other trustees. It came out at trial some other trustees filed late receipts, exceeded spending caps or had questionable expenses. The people in public positions and behind the scenes of the air filter deal have gone free, though all are well known.
Despite the lofty proclamations of DA Freitas, and the Sheriff’s Office’s self-congratulatory Facebook posts, of all the fraud on Stockton Unified, only one person has been prosecuted: AngelAnn Flores, the whistleblower.
For a $2,010.68 fender bender.
A prosecution on which the DA spent probably a half-million dollars.
I believe many Stocktonians smell a rat in San Joaquin County’s criminal justice system. But many others fail to see the corruption. That’s Stockton populism: believe the worst of the good and the best of the bad.
The upshot is that honest people largely have stopped running for office. They know if they run against a 209 Times candidate they may not only lose; their names and reputations will be destroyed. County governments will see their public service mission perverted, as the Grand Jury warned in another report.
Whether the DA and Sheriff targeted Flores for legitimate law enforcement reasons or to mollify a political power broker, the outcome is the same: AngelAnn Flores was destroyed. Those applauding her downfall should think twice, especially since many populists have kids in Stockton Unified schools. Flores was a key witness in an investigation by the FBI or any other agency into the multimillion-dollar air filter deal and the general looting of Stockton Unified. Now she’s tarnished. Destroyed as a witness.
Mission accomplished?
Michael Fitzgerald is an occasional contributor to Stocktonia. On Twitter and Instagram as Stocktonopolis. Email:mfitzgeraldstockton@gmail.com