The Leslie Brodie Report

CaliforniaALL, a Section 501(c)(3) charitable entity, came about as a result of a San Francisco restaurant meeting between Ruthe Ashley (a Diversity Officer at CalPERS and Vice President of the State Bar of California) and Peter Arth, Jr., Chief of Staff to CPUC President Michael Peevey. Also present at that meeting was Professor Sarah E. Redfield.

Ms. Tani Gorre Cantil-Sakauye, Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court. Previously, The Leslie Brodie Report filed a complaint against Justice Marvin Baxter for making unprofessional and racially derogatory comments about Cantil-Sakauye. See http://tinyurl.com/kronborgcastle

CaliforniaALL’s alleged purpose was to award grants to entities that would increase minority participation in the "pipelines" that feed into industries such as finance, technology, and law.

Donations to CaliforniaALL came primarily from utility companies (including AT&T, Sempra Energy, and PG&E). In its brief existence from 2008 to 2010, CaliforniaALL collected close to $2 million, including an unusually large sub rosa contribution of $769,247 from the State Bar of California Foundation in 2008.

CaliforniaALL was abruptly dissolved in July 2010.

Sources with knowledge of the investigation, speaking on condition of anonymity, maintain a letter has been delivered to the Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court -- Madam Tani Gorre Cantil-Sakauye.

As a public service to the community, a copy of the letter is enclosed below:

LETTER TO CSC CHIEF JUSTICE TANI GORRE CANTIL-SUKAUYE

March 28, 2011

VIA U.S. MAIL AND FAX

Chief Justice Tani Cantil
Supreme Court of California
350 McAllister St
San Francisco, CA 94102

Re: Ruthe Catolico Ashley; CaliforniaALL; California Bar Foundation; State Bar of California; Ronald Stovitz; Beth Jay; Patrice McElroy; Matter of Ronald Gottschalk (S185781).

Dear Chief Justice:

I am writing to inform you that in 2008, Ruthe Ashley, along with Holly Fujie, State Bar employee Patricia Lee, and Executive Director of the State Bar of California Foundation Ms. Leslie Hatamiya, entered into a conspiracy to misappropriate close to $780,000 from the Foundation to be used for matters inconsistent with the designated purpose while defrauding (actively or by omission) members of the State Bar, donors to the California Bar Foundation, and members of the public.

The sub Rosa transfer of funds was to CaliforniaALL, a Section 501(c)(3) charitable entity established in 2008, which would award grants to entities that would increase minority participation in the "pipelines" that feed into industries such as finance, technology, and law.

In 2008, Ms. Ashley , while employed as a Diversity Officer at CalPERS and serving as the Vice-President of the State Bar of California, was the driving force behind the creation of "Ca AAL" , a name later changed to CaliforniaALL. Professor Sarah E. Redfield, a visiting professor at McGeorge School of Law, was also involved in the entity’s formation.

Other than in Foundation tax records and a 2 by 2 inch blurb in its 2008 annual report, the sub rosa contribution was never mentioned again – not by the State Bar of California, not in the Cal Bar Journal, not in the Foundation’s "newsroom," and not by anyone or any publication of CaliforniaALL.

In its brief existence from January 2008 to July 2010, CaliforniaALL collected close to $2 million from various utility companies (AT&T, PG&E, Verizon, Sempra). In addition, CaliforniaALL obtained the aforementioned sub rosa contribution of $769,247 from the State Bar of California Foundation (dba California Bar Foundation.)

Circumstances surrounding CaliforniaALL are imbued with fraud, deceit, secrecy, and prima facie evidence of criminal conduct by many of the actors involved.

CaliforniaALL’s flagship project was the alleged creation of the Saturday Academy of Law ("SAL") at U.C. Irvine ("UCI"), which it heavily publicized and which both CaliforniaALL and Professor Redfield took credit for "launching." Close examination, however provides that the SALUCI was in existence for many years prior to the establishment of CaliforniaALL.

As the California Supreme Court is charged with overseeing the State Bar of California, it is imperative that you be made aware of these facts and issues. Presently, there are more questions than answers as to the fate of the close to $2 million dollars CaliforniaALL collected.

STATE BAR COURT JUDGE RONALD STOVITZ:

This will also serve to inform you that, despite the fact that the appointment of Ronald Stovitz expired, he nevertheless continued to act as a judge, and indeed sat as part of a panel which adjudicated numerous cases.

After his retirement, the California Supreme Court on March 18, 2008 issued a direct directive appointing Mr. Stovitz as a judge pro tem whose term was set to expire "until such time as the Supreme Court appoints an individual to fill the Review Judge position to be vacated by Judge Madge S. Watai ."
On November 1, 2008 Catherine D. Purcell took the oath of office, ipso facto terminating the pro-tem appointment of Mr. Stovitz. Nevertheless , after that date, he continued to sit in judgment. It is my position that those decisions are void , including that relating to Mr. Richard Fine.

STATE BAR COURT PATRICE MCELROY

Presently before the court is a motion for continuance regarding Ronald Gottschalk (S185781) . You should be fully aware that the proceedings against Mr. Gottschalk were imbued with irregularities and, most importantly, misconduct by Judge Patrice McElroy.

Stanley Arouty, Mr. Gottschalks's attorney, submitted declarations under oath alleging that Judge McElroy destroyed part of the official record of the proceedings involving his client.

This, unfortunately , is not the first time such an accusation was leveled against Judge McElroy, who has been sued in federal court by another 30 year veteran member of the State Bar (Mr. Khanna) for similar acts of egregious misconduct involving the destruction of official records.

In addition, Judge McElroy failed to disclose an overseas trip she received from Mr. Peter Keane while a case in which Mr. Keane was involved as a witness and counsel of record was before her. Judge McElroy only disclosed to the parties that she had previously worked with Mr. Keane at the Public Defenders’ office.

As such, I am extremely concerned about Ronald Gottschalk and his potential mistreatment by the California Supreme Court. These concerns are heightened because the case against Mr. Gottschalk involves circumstances arising out of a conflict he had with Mr. Thomas Girardi, who apparently befriended former Chief Justice George, and otherwise took steps to place proxies in almost every department of the State Bar of California. That includes befriending former crack addict Mike Nisperos while Mr. Nisperos served as Chief Trial Counsel.

Recently, documents associated with what has become known as the "Addington Report" became available to the public. These documents the deposition of Mr. Nisperos, who testified under oath that, despite being a "wild cock head," he was not in breach of any of INS rules and regulation pertaining to his employment. Similarly, despite being convicted for attempting to board an airplane at the Burbank airport while carrying a dangerous weapon, Mr. Nisperos claimed that he is not a criminal. Mr. Nisperos's attitude is most concerning, and I intend to fully pursue these matters against him (in addition to the matters in which he was arrested for opening fire, while delusional, at an imaginary figure) with the State Bar of California and via verified accusations to the California Supreme Court

BETH JAY:

A few weeks ago, a request was served on Ms. Beth Judith Jay to disclose all ex parte communications she had with the State Bar of California. To date, no response has been received.

FINANCIAL MATTERS RELATING TO THE STATE BAR OF CALIFORNIA:

This is to also intended to inform you of serious concerns I have about the State Bar of California’s failure to be fully transparent when it comes to disclosing the amount of voluntary contributions made by members, as well as how the money, including amounts, is distributed. Please note that this does not refer to distributions made by the Foundation but, rather, by the State Bar itself.

END OF REPORT

CaliforniaALL, a Section 501(c)(3) charitable entity, came about as a result of a San Francisco restaurant meeting between Ruthe Ashley (a Diversity Officer at CalPERS and Vice President of the State Bar of California) and Peter Arth, Jr., Chief of Staff to CPUC President Michael Peevey. Also present at that meeting was Professor Sarah E. Redfield.

CaliforniaALL's alleged purpose was to award grants to entities that would increase minority participation in the "pipelines" that feed into industries such as finance, technology, and law.

Mr. Peter Arth Jr., former Chief of Staff to CPUC's President Michael Peevey. Mr. Arth has been recently recalled as mayor of the city of Dunsmuir, California, where he was nicknamed "Mayor Juana" for his support of the growing of marijuana in the middle of town. (Photo: courtesy)

Donations to CaliforniaALL came primarily from utility companies (including AT&T, Sempra Energy, and PG&E). In its brief existence from 2008 to 2010, CaliforniaALL collected close to $2 million, including an unusually large sub rosa contribution of $769,247 from the State Bar of California Foundation in 2008.

CaliforniaALL was abruptly dissolved in July 2010.

As we previously mentioned, other than in Foundation tax records and a 2 by 2 inch blurb in its 2008 annual report, the State Bar contribution was never mentioned again – not by the State Bar itself, not in the Cal Bar Journal, not in the Foundation's "newsroom," and not by anyone or any publication of CaliforniaALL. See below, California Bar Foundation's Newsroom, which made no mention of the "hush-hush" transfer.

According to confidential sources, an ongoing multi-prong inquiry is continuing and expanding, albeit at a slow pace. According to these sources, the nature of the investigation as well as the direct involvement of governmental bodies require that the inquiry commenced in venues other than California.

Separately, sources maintain that the inquiry also involves personnel at CaliforniaALL, the State Bar of California, and the California Bar Foundation, with particular attention given to examining past and present actions by Buchalter Nemer's Holly Fujie and Howard Rice's Douglas Winthrop.

As reported by these sources, there is absolutely no doubt that the actions of Ms. Fujie and Ms. Ashley (President and Vice President of the State Bar of California, respectively) were motivated by a desire to benefit themselves and financially enrich fellow APIs (Asian Pacific Islanders).

In addition, the sources maintain connections between Mr. James Hsu and Justice Ming Chin vis-à-vis CAUSE are also being examined, as are events at the Asian Bar Association of Sacramento.

From Left Ruthe Ashley, Holly Fujie, Leslie Hatamiya, and Patricia Lee.
Sources maintain that as part of the inquiry, the State Bar of California was asked to produce and otherwise disclose the classification and total annual compensation of Patricia Lee consistent with Section 6001.4 of the State Bar Act. (Photo: courtesy.)

FRAUD BY "DIVERSITY EXPERT" SARAH E. REDFIELD
Between 2004 and 2008, Professor Redfield served as a "visiting" professor at McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento. From 2008-2009, she served as interim Executive Director of CaliforniaALL, as well as program director.

Professor Redfield was paid $157,763 for her services while she was misclassified as an "independent contractor." See http://tinyurl.com/Portia-Balthazar

As was established in the last installment, claims by CaliforniaALL and the learned professor that they established and otherwise "launched" the Saturday Law Academy at U.C. Irvine are totally false and baseless.
see http://tinyurl.com/Hampton-court-palace-surrey

Additionally, the sources maintain that claims by Sarah E. Redfield to the effect that she was part of both the CURRICULUM COMMITTEE and OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE are also false, fraudulent, and were otherwise spun from whole cloth.

While Professor Redfield was part of the Oversight Committee, she was not part of the Curriculum Committee. In fact, the sources maintain that close examination of SAL Curriculum shows that it was similar to the curriculum in the years before CaliforniaALL was even established, with emphasis on exceptions to the First Amendment such as time, place, and manner.

See below, misleading claims by Professor Sarah E. Redfield, which falsely mention Curriculum Committee. :

Update-- Download full report at:

http://en.calameo.com/download/0005002557f3cf30f85ee

CaliforniaALL, a Section 501(c)(3) charitable entity, came about as a result of a San Francisco restaurant meeting between Ruthe Ashley (a Diversity Officer at CalPERS and Vice President of the State Bar of California) and Peter Arth, Jr., Chief of Staff to CPUC President Michael Peevey. Also present at that meeting was Professor Sarah E. Redfield.

CaliforniaALL's alleged purpose was to award grants to entities that would increase minority participation in the "pipelines" that feed into industries such as finance, technology, and law.

Donations to CaliforniaALL came primarily from utility companies (including AT&T, Sempra Energy, and PG&E). In its brief existence from 2008 to 2010, CaliforniaALL collected close to $2 million, including an unusually large sub rosa contribution of $780,000 from the State Bar of California Foundation in 2008. CaliforniaALL was abruptly dissolved in July 2010.

According to confidential sources, an ongoing multi-prong inquiry is continuing, with "major breakthroughs" the sources describe as "alarming."

A source maintains that one aspect of the inquiry involves grave misconduct surrounding the circumstances by which the public was misled to believe that CaliforniaALL was responsible for the creation of the Saturday Law Academy (SAL) at U.C. Irvine (UCI) in 2009 when, in fact, the SAL at UCI has actually been in existence for many years.

These sources maintain that the inquiry involves personnel at CaliforniaALL, the State Bar of California, and the California Bar Foundation, as well as University of New Hampshire ("UNH”) School of Law Professor Sarah E. Redfield, who falsely took credit for the project.

A 5 Year Visit to Sacramento
Ms. Sarah E. Redfield is a tenured law professor at the UNH School of Law. She is an expert in the area of education, education jurisprudence, and matters relating to diversity in the legal profession.

Ironically, as one can see below, the faculty of UNH School of Law is approximately 98% Caucasian. See below a representative sample photo of the faculty. Either to maintain privacy or to make a statement, Prof. Redfield is camera-shy, and the below photo is as it appears on UNH's website.

Between 2004 and 2008, Professor Redfield served as a "visiting" professor at McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento. From 2008-2009, she served as interim Executive Director of CaliforniaALL, as well as program director. Professor Redfield was paid $157,763 for her services while she was misclassified as an "independent contractor." See http://tinyurl.com/Portia-Balthazar

At and around the time that Prof. Redfield was serving at McGeorge, Elizabeth Rindskopf Parker served as the law school dean, and currently remains in that position. According to Dean Parker, because the pool of available minority students was not large enough, law schools were "competing" amongst themselves for each qualified minority student.

Parker, former General Counsel of the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), took matters into her own hands to create her own supply of well-qualified minority students from minority neighborhoods in the surrounding Sacramento area.

As circumstances presented themselves, particularly with the election of former NBA player Kevin Johnson as the mayor of Sacramento, an idea surfaced that McGeorge (and other law schools in their respective communities) would create their own supplies of qualified minority students by actively engaging the community of potential future students as early as junior high school. Activities would include mentoring, speaker series, field trips, on-site visits to the law schools, Saturday law classes, and the like.

Thus, with visiting Professor Redfield – an expert in the area of education and education law – various programs came about, such as Wingspread P20 Consortium. At McGeorge, a local program known as the "Pacific Pathways" was created by Professor Redfield. See below.

Also employed at McGeorge as Assistant Dean for Career Services was Vice President of the State Bar of California, Ms. Ruthe Ashley, as well as State Bar Deputy Executive Director, Mr. Robert Hawley.

Ashley and Redfield were also involved with diversity-related matters within the State Bar of California as part of its council on access and fairness, and as the head of a working group referred to as "Education Pipeline, State Bar of California.”

Shortly, thereafter, Ashley left McGeorge to work at CalPERS as a "Diversity Officer" for External Affairs. As previously mentioned, Peter Arth, Jr. invited Ashley and Redfield to dinner, whereupon the idea for CaliforniaALL (initially known as Ca AAL) was memorialized on a paper napkin in approximately July 2007.

By the end of 2007, the State Bar of California, the CPUC, and CalPERS all agreed to enter into a partnership with CaliforniaALL, and to otherwise endorse the organization which had its first board meeting in November 2007. Two noted board members who were with CaliforniaALL from its inception until it was dissolved were James Hsu and Pat Fong-Kushida.

Fong-Kushida is a longtime acquaintance of Ashley, and served as President of the Sacramento Asian Chamber of Commerce. Fong-Kushida, along with Board of Governors member Gwen Moore, are both members of the California Utilities Diversity Council.

Similarly, James Hsu – a corporate attorney who advises companies regarding off-shore transactions and has a "China Specialty" – was actively involved in efforts to diversify the California workforce by attending CPUC meeting relevant to the matter.

Ms.Ginger Bredemeier(right), from May 2007 to May 2008 was employed at CalPERS as Administrative Assistant, Diversity Outreach Program. From May 2008 to August 2009 she was a "Writing Projects Manager – Human Resources and Grant Projects" at CaliforniaALL. Ms. Bredemeier was elected President of the National Asian Pacific American Law Student Association (NAPALSA) while a law student at McGeorge, and is seen here with Ms. Holly Fujie who in 2008 was serving both on the Board of Governors and the California Bar Foundation, participated in a scheme along with Ruthe Ashley, Patricia Lee, Judy Johnson and Leslie Hatamiya relating to the transfer of $780,000 in "hush-hush” funds from the California Bar Foundation to CaliforniaALL. (Photo :courtesy)

The Make-Belief Launching of SAL

In mid 2008, CaliforniaALL was ready to rock and roll. It had just obtained Section 501(C)(3) approval, Ruthe Ashley was hired as a CEO, a sub rosa transfer of $780,000 had been received from the Cal Bar Foundation, and close to another million dollars from utility companies poured in.

In addition to having and employing "best practices,” CaliforniaALL was fortunate to have on board talented and dedicated staff such as Sarah E. Redfield, Program Director; Consultant Larissa Parecki, office manager; Ginger Bredemeier, Writing Projects Manager, Human Resources, Grant Projects; and Matt Cumida, executive administrative assistant.

According to Professor Redfield's CV, between 2008 and 2009 she "launched" CaliforniaALL, participated in RFP, and "launched" the Saturday Academy of Law at U. C. Irvine.

Similarly, CaliforniaALL's own publication indicates that with CaliforniaALL's grant funds, U.C. Irvine developed and implemented the Saturday Academy of Law, and that by 2009 CaliforniaALL's mission was visibly at work through the program. See below.

Unfortunately, this is not the case. Instead, as most transactions involving CaliforniaALL, the California Bar Foundation and the State Bar of California, it is imbued with fraud and egregious acts dishonesty and deception.

Specifically, the Saturday Academy of Law has been in existence for many years, and is part of the University of California Irvine's Center for Educational Partnerships (CFEP), which has many programs to benefit the community, such as "UCI Saturdays with Sciences," "Saturday Academy in Mathematics,” and the like.

For example, as part of a field trip to law firms, the photo below was taken in 2005 when the UCISAL group visited the law offices of Sheppard Mullin.

In 2007, UCISAL paid a visit to Allen Matkins. (See below.) We have intentionally blurred the photo to maintain the students' privacy. Seated on the right is Robert Hamilton. On the far right is Karina Hamilton, a former Allen Matkins associate, wife of Robert Hamilton, and Director of UCISAL.
Please double-click on the photo for full view.

In fact, UCI's own literature gives no credit to CaliforniaALL. (See below.)

* The Leslie Brodie Report urges the readers to exercise caution and not
jump to conclusions regarding misconduct by anyone.

According to confidential sources, an additional letter was delivered to the State Bar of California Board of Governors.

The letter is dated March 8, 2011, and is published below in its entirety as a service to the community.7BC2T9662PRP

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

March 8, 2011

Re: State Bar of California; California Bar Foundation; CaliforniaALL

Dear President Hebert, Senator Dunn, Members BOG, Foundation BOD, and to whom it may concern :

This will serve to supplant, supplement, and otherwise provide an update on matters relating to irregularities involving the State Bar of California, California Bar Foundation, and CaliforniaALL.

1. Consistent with Internal Revenue Service rules and policies, on February 17, 2011 I submitted a request to the California Bar Foundation (specifically, to Executive Director Leslie Hatamiya) to produce (or make available for inspection and copying) financial documents and reports.

The request specifically cited "IRS Policies" as one basis supporting the right to review the documents and sought, among other items, the following documents:

*The "Conflict of Interest Policy" signed by you (Ms. Hatamiya) and each member of the California Bar Foundation Board of Directors from 2007 to the present.

*Cal Bar Foundation's IRS Form 990s from 2006 to the present.

*Any additional documentation submitted to the IRS in connection with Cal Bar Foundation's duty to disclose interested directors other than those mentioned in the Form 990s.

*California Bar Foundation records, including Board meeting minutes, that relate to the decision to transfer almost $800,000 to CaliforniaALL.

Shockingly, on March 3, 2011 Ms. Hatamiya wrote back ipso facto denying the request.

This refusal to comply with the request for documents constitutes very serious misconduct on the part of Ms. Hatamiya, as well as officers of the Foundation to wit, Douglas Winthrop, Holly Fujie, Joan Kupersmith, and David Grove.

California Bar Foundation represented to the Internal Revenue Service that anyone would be able to inspect documents "upon request." Furthermore, IRS regulations provide for the same. In fact, technically speaking, any member of the community may simply walk in unannounced and ask to immediately inspect the books. This is a course of action I of course do not intend to pursue as I find it to be unreasonable and intrusive; nevertheless, I cite to it to demonstrate the level of openness that the IRS and the State of California impose on charitable organizations.

As such, I ask that this latest act of misconduct will also be included as part and parcel of the prior request to the Board of Governors for a formal investigation of events relating to CaliforniaALL.

2. In that the State Bar of California entered into a "partnership" with CaliforniaALL, and is otherwise vicariously liable for all actions and omissions by CaliforniaALL, you should know that CaliforniaALL has not been properly dissolved with the Office of the Attorney General, nor with the California Secretary of State, where it is still listed as "active."

As you recall, the Chairman of the Board, Mr. Victor Miramontes, announced in June 2010 that CaliforniaALL had been dissolved. See www.calall.org

3. Representations I made in the last communication stating that the amount contributed to the U.C. Irvine Foundation was $100,000 is inaccurate. It now appears that the sum is close to $300,000. Please note that despite the change in these dollar figures, I still stand behind the claims of improprieties. The two areas about which I am most concerned as they are supported by strong direct and circumstantial evidence are as follows:

a) A conspiracy by Holly Fujie, Leslie Hatamiya, Patricia Lee, and Ruthe Ashley to cause the "Hush-Hush" transfer of close to $800,000 from the Foundation to CaliforniaALL, while defrauding (actively or by omission) the Board of Governors, members of the State Bar, and the public.

b) Improper and unaccounted-for spending by CaliforniaALL. Here, Mr. James Hsu, who is very active with NAPABA, along with Fujie, Hatamiya, Lee, and Ashley may have played a role. Even before CaliforniaALL came into existence, Mr. Hsu participated in a meeting at CPUC and knew that utility companies were pressured to contribute money for diversity-related events.

Upon the creation of CaliforniaALL, the Board of Governors ratified the decision to have Mr. Hsu sit on the board of CaliforniaALL on behalf of the State Bar of California.

Even with the new figure of $300,000, answers must be given addressing what exactly CaliforniaALL did with $1.8 Million dollars, and whether or not those expenditures were justified.

Almost all of CaliforniaALL's expenditures that I have examined appear highly suspect, including close to $100,000 on travel, $10,000 for "parking," and $30,000 for "occupancy" (even though CaliforniaALL claimed DLA Piper provided pro bono office services). The only expense I do not currently believe is suspect is the approximate $140,000 salary paid to Ruthe Ashley.

Thank you for your attention to these matters.

CaliforniaALL, a Section 501(c)(3) charitable entity, was the brainchild of Ruthe Ashley – the former Vice-President of the State Bar of California who was employed as a Diversity Officer at CalPERS.

In its brief existence from January 2008 to July 2010, CaliforniaALL collected close to $2 million from various utility companies (AT&T, PG&E, Verizon, Sempra.) In addition, CaliforniaALL obtained a sub rosa contribution of $769,247 from the State Bar of California Foundation (dba California Bar Foundation.)

CaliforniaALL was abruptly dissolved on July 12, 2010. (See Facebook posting, below, and letter from Victor Miramontes, CaliforniaALL Chairman of the Board.)

Sub-Part #3
According to confidential sources, the multi-prong investigation is rapidly expanding and encompasses broader inquiries than had been acknowledged up to now to The Leslie Brodie Report.

A source maintains that one aspect of the inquiry involves 3 subparts:

1) Circumstances surrounding events relating to the CPUC.

2) Circumstances surrounding actions taken by CaliforniaALL and Ashley

3) Circumstances surrounding the sub-rosa transfer of $769,247 from the State Bar of California Foundation to CaliforniaALL.

In connection with Sub-Part#3, special attention is being paid to the examination of fraud, constructive fraud, misrepresentation, breach of fiduciary duty, aiding and abetting in the breach of fiduciary duty, violation of trust and self-dealing, as well misrepresentations made to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service (IRS); and related irregularities.

According to the sources, Sub-Part #3 is being carefully reviewed because it involves "Public Corruption," which according to the sources poses a fundamental threat to our way of life. Such wrongdoing impacts everything from how well our neighborhoods are protected to verdicts handed down in courts, as well as the quality of our roads and schools, and other government services. This, the sources maintain, can take a significant toll on the American way of life.

Specifically, sources maintain, Sub-Part #3 examines the actions of Howard, Rice, Nemerovski, Canady, Falk & Rabkin's Douglas Winthrop; Foundation Executive Director Leslie Hatamiya; Patricia Lee; Judy Johnson; Robert Hawley; and Buchalter Nemer's Holly Fujie – a sophisticated attorney who concurrently served as a member of the Board of Governors (“BOG”) AND as a director for the Foundation Board of Directors in 2008.

Under the Roses
The Latin phrase sub-rosa means "Under the Rose," and is used in English to denote secrecy, much like the terms “under the table,” “incognito,” and “hush-hush.”

The transfer of $769,247 from the State Bar of California to
CaliforniaALL involved much secrecy, an attempt to defraud the public, and is therefore suspicious in the extreme; and serves as a basis to allege criminal conduct when coupled with other factors and circumstantial evidence.

As we previously mentioned, other than in Foundation tax records and a 2 by 2 inch blurb in its 2008 annual report, the contribution was never mentioned again – not by the State Bar of California, not in the Cal Bar Journal, not in the Foundation's "newsroom," and not by anyone or any publication of CaliforniaALL.

Clearly, there was an attempt to mislead the public, mislead those who donated to the Foundation, and mislead members of the State Bar of California who normally read such publications.

Furthermore, it is an indication of an "inside job" as only those inside the State Bar have control over those mediums. It also gives credence to allegations that criminal activities were taking place – otherwise, why all the secrecy?

From Left, Holly Fujie, Judy Johnson, Leslie Hatamiya, Ruthe Ashley.
Sources maintain that Ruthe Ashley, Leslie Hatamiya, Judy Johnson, Holly Fujie, Douglas Winthrop, and Robert Hawley are under heavy scrutiny as a result of these hush-hush activities.

In 2008, serving as President of the Foundation was Mario Camara. A joint letter published and signed by Camara and Hatamiya also made no mention of the hush-hush transfer. Wasn't Mr. Camara proud of it, just like he was proud of other money which went to support "pipelines?" After all, CaliforniaALL was also intended to support "pipelines". See below:

According to our sources, secrecy and omissions around CaliforniaALL (initially named CaAAL) were the norm from the time the concept was presented to the BOG by Patricia Lee and Ruthe Ashely, during closed meetings conducted by some members of the BOG and its sub-committees, and in the callous manner in which the BOG was informed that CaliforniaALL was dissolved. Patricia Lee made sure of that, as did Robert A. Hawley, who was present at most of the meetings and had an ethical as well as professional obligation to step forward and speak up.
See below, an example of one such closed meeting :

Once CaliforniaALL was dissolved, the only attention it received was only was one line of text (see below).

Clearly, Robert Hawley, not a stranger to controversy having faced a similar scenario in the matter of Sharon Pearl – where close to $700,000 was embezzled from the State Bar, something he knew or should have known and, as usual, offered plenty excuses.

The Sweet Smell of Roses
[ “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet.”

R. Scott Wylie, who served as both the Vice-President of the State Bar of California and the President of the Foundation of State Bar of California, quoted the above in an article that appeared in the April 2007 edition of the California Bar Journal see http://tinyurl.com/romeoandjulietlink

According to Mr. Wylie, "The California Bar Foundation was created in 1990 to serve as the charitable giving arm of the State Bar of California."

He stated: “There were lots of ofs in the name ‘The Foundation of the State Bar of California’ so the name was changed to ‘California Bar Foundation’.” Mr. Wylie observed that this is a “much sweeter sounding name,” and one which is “easier to fit on a check.”]

The above paragraph was taken from a story published here three months ago. See http://tinyurl.com/Stratford-upon-Avon .

Serving as CaliforniaALL's chairman of the board was Victor Miramontes, a resident of San Antonio, Texas for the past 20 years.

Mario Camara served as President of the Foundation in 2008, and no doubt knows Mr. Miramontes; he may also have been involved in various real estate transactions with Miramontes, Cisneros, and CityView. In addition, connections can be found via a separate entity – The Urban Land Institute.

According to the sources, while Namara and Miramontes are of interest as sources of information, after a careful examination the sources are hard-pressed to point fingers at Miramontes and Camara.

Despite his Texas residency, Miramontes, a successful and dynamic business person, traveled to California on multiple occasions and exhibited genuine care for the welfare and success of the youths in the Saturday Law Academy, which CaliforniaALL sponsored in part.

According to sources, circumstances surrounding Camara and Miramontes point to a "low probability" of intentional wrongdoing on their parts. Both enjoy financial stability; additionally, Miramontes is a partner of Henry Cisneros, who is now extremely cautious not to engage in any shenanigans .

In addition, circumstantial evidence surrounding events, as well as the modus operandi typical to the State Bar, makes it appear as though this was an “inside job,” as was stated above.

According to the sources, an examination is underway to determine whether Camara and Miramontes were somehow taken advantage of and duped by the primary wrongdoers.

While the Foundation represented in its 2008 annual report that Mario Camara served as President in 2008, no such representation was made to the IRS.

Rather, the IRS was misled to believe, under penalty of perjury, that the President of the Foundation in 2008 was R. Scott Wiley.

According to our sources, the perjerious tax return – which was reviewed by all of the Foundation Board members for accuracy and bears the signature of Leslie Hatamiya – as well as the act of misleading the IRS, is viewed as further circumstantial evidence of criminal activities and an attempt to conceal the truth from the IRS and the public.

Double click to view a larger version.

* The Leslie Brodie Report urges the readers to exercise caution and not
jump to conclusions regarding misconduct by anyone.

According to confidential sources, the Board of Governors of the State
Bar of California has been asked to formally investigate improprieties
surrounding CaliforniaALL.

The letter is dated February 28, 2011. As a service to the public, it
is published in its entirety below:

Dear President Hebert, Senator Dunn, Members BOG, Foundation BOD, and
to whom it may concern :

This will serve to inform the Board of Governors ("BOG") and to
officially request an investigation into alleged fraudulent
transactions, financial irregularities, and unlawful conduct by
staff, executives and officers of both the State Bar of California and
California Bar Foundation (past and present) in connection with
circumstances surrounding CaliforniaALL.

CaliforniaALL was a charitable entity established in 2008 for the
purpose of raising funds to be used to support reductions in the
achievement gap in California. It represented to the public that it
is a "partner" of the State Bar of California.

Ruthe Catolico Ashley , a Diversity Officer at CalPERS who also served
as the Vice-President of the State Bar of California was the driving
force behind the creation of "CaAAL" , a name later changed to
CaliforniaALL.

Donations to CaliforniaALL came primarily from utility companies
(including AT&T, Sempra Energy, and PG&E). In its brief existence
from 2008 to 2010, CaliforniaALL collected close to $2 million,
including an unusually large sub-rosa contribution of $780,000 from
the State Bar of California Foundation in 2008.

Other than in Foundation tax records and a 2 by 2 inch blurb in its
2008 annual report, the sub-rosa contribution was never mentioned
again -- not by the State Bar of California, not in the Cal Bar
Journal, not in theFoundation's "newsroom," and not by anyone or any
publication of CaliforniaALL.

CaliforniaALL awarded only one grant in the amount of $100,000 to UCI
Foundation, where Senator Dunn served as trustee. CaliforniaALL was
abruptly dissolved in July 2010.

I am absolutely convinced that unlawful transactions and ethical
breaches, which are too numerous to describe, were at play in this
situation. An objective outsider could reasonably believe that
CaliforniaALL was created for the sole purpose of allowing utility
companies and the State Bar Foundation to pour money into it, which
would later be improperly utilized.

Over the past few weeks, my inquiries have led me to notify the
appropriate entities of my suspicions. In that I believe that, to a
certain extent, the BOG itself was misled and or was not given
complete information, I am setting out a brief summary of the facts
below:

Geoffrey F. Brown was appointed Commissioner of the California CPUC in
2001. He served in the position until January 2007.

In 2006, Mr. Brown assumed a director position with the State Bar of
California Foundation, which he relinquished in 2009.

Starting in 2004, and probably prior, the honorable BOG member Gwen
Moore appeared before and otherwise communicated to the CPUC her
desire that the CPUC pressure utility companies to show improvement in
achieving diversity, such as in hiring, contracting, procurement
opportunities and the like consistent with CPUC General Order 156 (GO
156) whom Ms. Moore had authored.

At times, Senator Martha Escutia, Chair of the Senate Committee on
Energy, Utilities and Communications (EU&C) also participated in
meetings with the CPUC concerning diversity. She is a founding member
of The Senators (Ret.) firm, LLP, as is Senator Dunn.

In mid-2007, Peter Arth Jr., Chief of Staff to CPUC's President
Peevey, invited Ruthe Ashley, Vice-President of the State Bar, to meet
him for dinner. A plan was executed on a paper napkin. Within weeks of
this dinner meeting, the BOG and CalPERS were presented with the
request to enter into a partnership with what was than known as CaAAL
which was later changed to CaliforniaALL.

Ruthe Ashley and Patricia Lee represented to the BOG that there would
be no impact on the State Bar Budget as a result of the partnership
with CaliforniaALL.

In November 2007, CaliforniaALL's Board of Directors held its first
meeting. Ashley was later hired as the founding president and CEO of
CaliforniaALL. Subsequently, CaliforniaALL's grant of $100,000 to UCI
Foundation was accompanied by many press releases and media events.
In September of 2009, Ashley abruptly quit her CEO position. The
entity was dissolved in June of 2010.

Based on my calculations, a sum estimated to be between $700,000 to
$900,000 is still unaccounted for. Hence, my request for an
investigation.

Thank you for your assistance with this matter. Please contact me if
you have any questions or require further information.