POLITICAL SCANDALS: Key figures who have faced legal penalties in San Bernardino County political scandals include:

SOL LEVIN:
JAMES HLAWEK: The county’s
chief administrative officer
from 1994 to 1998, Hlawek
testified that he received
bribes from William S. “Shep”
McCook, a billboard company
owner. Hlawek pleaded guilty
in 1999 to accepting bribes in
other cases and was fined and
sentenced to three years’
probation.
KENNETH JAMES WALSH:
Sentenced to 18 months in
prison and fined. The
former vice president of
Norcal Solid Waste
Systems Inc. pleaded guilty
in 1999 to paying bribes to
Hlawek in order to win an
exclusive contract to run
county landfills.
JERRY EAVES: The former county
supervisor pleaded guilty in 2004
to conspiring to violate
California’s Political Reform Act
by failing to disclose gifts – free
hotel stays in Las Vegas provided
by McCook. Eaves was fined
$10,000 and ordered to serve
three years of unsupervised
probation.
HARRY MAYS: Sentenced
in 2000 to two years in
prison and fined. A former
county administrative
officer and later a
consultant to Norcal,
Mays was convicted of
bribing Hlawek to get the
company landfill contracts
worth $200 million.
Sentenced in 2000 to a year
and a day in custody and two
years of probation. The
former San Bernardino
County investment officer
accepted cash and travel from
businessman Richard Tisdale
in exchange for helping him
win county contracts.
THOMAS O’DONNELL:
Former elected treasurer/tax
collector sentenced in 2000
to spend one year and one
day in a federal halfway house
and pay fines and restitution
for collaborating with Levin,
Hlawek and Tisdale to steer
contracts to Tisdale.

BILL POSTMUS: Former county
assessor sued by San
Bernardino County for creating
an executive staff of
superfluous positions to act as
his personal political machine
and orchestrating a nearly
$50,000 contract for crony
Mike Richman, who did no work
for the assessor's office. Also
accused of approving
fraudulent timecards and
breach of fiduciary duty.
Postmus was elected assessor
in 2006 after serving six years
on the Board of Supervisors.
He was arrested for
investigation of drug violations
in January, but has not yet been
charged, and resigned from
the assessor post on Feb. 13.
He states that he is in a rehab
program for drug abuse.
ADAM ALEMAN: JIM ERWIN: Former
Former assistant
assistant assessor
assessor was sued by
sued by the county for
San Bernardino
conducting political
County for the
business on county time.
Richman contract, for
He was a leader in Neil
conducting political
Derry's campaign for Third
business on county
District supervisor and
time, for timecard
discussed campaign
fraud and breach of
strategy with Richman and
fiduciary duty.
Postmus. Also accused of
Aleman was appointed
time card fraud. Erwin was
assistant assessor in
assistant assessor from
January 2007 and
January 2007 to November
resigned July 11, 2008,
2007, when he went on paid
when he was arrested
leave. His employment was
for investigation of
terminated in May 2008.
giving false evidence
Erwin was arrested in
and destroying public
March on 10 felony
records.
charges, including eight of
perjury, for failing to report
gifts he received while a
county employee.
REX GUTIERREZ
Intergovernmental
relations officer was
sued for conducting
political activity on county
time and time-card fraud.
Lawsuit states he
conducted virtually no
work related to the
assessor's office. It
states that Gutierrez, a
Rancho Cucamonga city
councilman, worked on
council business and
other political and
personal activities.
Gutierrez served from
March 2007 to
December 2008, when
he transferred to
another county office. He
was terminated from that
job Wednesday, May 12.
MIKE RICHMAN
Principal of MPR
Strategies
Sued for conducting
political business while
under county contract
and while using county
resources.
MPR received a
contract in July 2007
for about $49,200, just
GREG EYLER under the level that
Former taxpayer requires supervisors'
advocate was sued approval. The contract
for conducting purportedly was for
political activity on communications and
county time and public relations, but
timecard fraud. Richman conducted
Eyler was appointed virtually no assessor-
in January 2007 and related tasks. He had
served until January been paid $47,910 by
2009, when he the county when the
transferred to contract was
another county terminated in July 2008.
department. He was
terminated in
February 2009.
THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE

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