Based upon the events of the past few years it appears as though the slogan "money buys justice" is more appropos for the San Mateo County DA.
I have sent an e-mail to District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe to discuss my concern that his office has failed and even appears to have bluntly refused to hold high placed elected and appointed official in Atherton for their criminal conduct.
Will Wagstaffe respond or will he stonewall? I'll let the readers of this post know of future developments.
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Dear Mr. Wagstaffe
Last March, I received a letter from Ivan Grosshauser in response to a complaint of crimes committed by various current and former elected and appointed officials within the Town of Atherton (See attached).
In my complaint I believe I made it clear that I considred myself to be a victim of the crimes I described as were other specified unspecified members of the Atherton community.
The crimes I complained about included but were not limited to:
Violations of the Brown Act by the Atherton City Council
Expenditures of public funds without proper authority by the former Chief of Police, Robert Brennan
Falsification of official records, including timesheets and police reports by former Chief Glenn Nielsen and other members of the Atherton Police Department
Fraud in the preparation of applications for and the processing of building permits
Accompanying my criminal complaint were copies of documentation which, in my view, provided proof positive of the criminal activity that I had complained about. As such all Mr. Grosshauser had to do was to verify the authenticity of the incriminating documents I provided him with. That is something that should have been very easy for Mr. Grosshauser to do because all of the documents supporting my criminal complaint were obtained directly from the Town of Atherton in response to a series of public records requests I had submitted to the Town.
I was, and continue to be shocked at Mr. Grosshauser's response to my criminal complaint. To be perfectly candid, I believe Mr. Grosshauser lied to me when he said that he "thoroughly" investigated my complaint.
I also have reason to believe Mr. Grosshauser's refusal to take seriously or to investigate my criminal complaint constitutes an abuse of prosecutory discretion by your office. After all, it was Mr. Grosshauser who held my criminal investigation open for long beyond what was necessary and reasonable, presumably as a favor to his friends in the Atherton Police Department.
It is for the above reasons that I hereby ask for a copy of the investigative report prepared by Mr. Grosshauser and any other writings which would substantiate Mr. Grosshauser's assertion that he performed a "thorough" investigation of my criminal complaint as Mr. Grosshouser claims in the attached letter.
As I am a victim of what I complained about, I believe I am entitled to a copy of said report.
If you refuse to provide me a copy of this report and any other writings prepared by Mr. Grosshauser related to his investigation, I will sue the County of San Mateo to compel the production of said writings.
I would also respectfully request a face to face meeting with you to discuss my criminal complaint and to provide you and your staff with an opportunity to explain its decision to summarily dismiss the very serious matter of officially sanctioned criminal conduct in Atherton.
Additionally, I have some very serious concerns about the nature of the relationship of your office with the Town of Atherton and the potential for abuse that results therefrom. I prefer not to elaborate upon within this e-mail. Instead I would like to have the opportunity to go over these concerns with you in person.
During this meeting I would also like to present additional information directly to you of criminal conduct by high placed elected and appointed officials in Atherton, including copies of a video and transcript of a video of a deposition of Ms. Mary Topliff and Mr. Charles Marsala. These depositions provide evidence of illegal closed session meetings by the City Council as well as possible perjury.
FYI, I have copied Ms. Renee Batti of the Almanac News and Mr. Peter Carpenter an Atherton Town resident. By copy of this e-mail I invite them to attend the meeting with you once it has been scheduled. As it pertains to the City Council's Brown Act Violation I know this is an issue that Mr. Carpenter he has a great deal of interest in.
Accordingly, I ask that you copy these two individuals in on your reply to me.
As it pertains to my public records request transmitted herein, please respond within 10 days.
Thank you in advance for your reply.
John P. Johns, CPA
