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Dennis Hollingsworth Fundraiser Guilty of Money Laundering

Republican Assemblyman Joel Anderson, a one-time fundraiser for Republican Senator Dennis Hollingsworth has been found guilty of money laundering by California's official political watchdog group, the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC).

Assemblyman Joel Anderson reached a plea agreement with the FPPC where he will pay a $20,000 fine for the money laundering scheme he put in place to get around the California's campaign contribution limits.

According to the exhibits attached to Joel Anderson's plea bargain with the FPPC, Assemblyman Anderson steered $48,000 in contributions from five  of his San Diego County donors to the Fresno County Republican Party in May and June of this year. 

The Fresno County Republican Party then turned around, took a cut for administrative fees, and contributed $45,600 to Joel Anderson's campaign within days of receiving the contributions.

This money laundering scheme effectively allowed Anderson's five donors to give him $26,100 more than state law allowed.    

After a San Diego Union Tribute story broke that uncovered this money laundering scheme, Joel Anderson invoked his Fifth Amendment right to not incriminate himself in any criminal matter.  However, he did return these contributions along with an additional $31,000 he had also received from the Fresno County Republican Party.

The Placer County Republican Party and Stanislaus County Republican Party also gave Joel Anderson's campaign $31,000 each.  It turns out that all three of these County Republican Party's received $32,400 from Anderson before making the contributions back to him. 

Anderson also returned those two contributions as the FPPC began its investigation into his money laundering scheme.  Due to lack of sufficient evidence, the FPPC ended its investigation into this part of Anderson's money laundering scheme.

Like Anderson though, the Fresno County Republican Party did however make a plea bargain with the FPPC for its role in Anderson's money laundering scheme and has agreed to pay a $29,000 fine.

The District Attorneys of these three counties and the Attorney General may still look into the matter further given the seriousness of the conspiracy to violate California's campaign finance laws.

Anderson, who represents an Assembly seat in San Diego County worked as a fundraiser for Dennis Hollingsworth when Hollingsworth was running for the State Senate in 2002.

Joel Anderson is also a likely candidate for Dennis Hollingsworth's Senate Seat.  Term limits are forcing Hollingsworth out of office. Hollingsworth is allegedly supporting Anderson in the race, which shouldn't be surprising as hypocrites usually stand with hypocrites. 

If Anderson does run for the State Senate he will be facing Riverside County Supervisor Jeff Stone in the June Republican Primary.  Many speculate that Anderson orchestrated the money laundering scheme because he was unable to compete with Jeff Stone's fundraising lead.

Given all that's happened now however, between money he had to refund and the $20,000 FPPC fine, Joel Anderson's money laundering scheme has cost him almost $160,000 that he can not use in his next campaign.  With Anderson possessing such amazing financial abilities, is it any wonder that the state continues to be mired in a never ending budget crisis?

While the FPPC has come to a an agreement with Joel Anderson in this matter, San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis appears to be in the midst of a criminal investigation into this matter.  Her public integrity unit refused to comment on whether there is or isn't a criminal investigation into Joel Anderson's admitted money laundering.  That's usually a sure indication that there is one.

We also must note dear readers, that the law that Joel Anderson has admitted breaking is the same one that San Jacinto City Councilman Jim Ayres has been indicted for violating.  

The only difference between Jim Ayres and Joel Anderson is the fact that Anderson has admitted that he conspired with others to launder larger sums of money into his campaign than state law allows by concealing the true identity of the donors.  

Whereas Anderson freely admits breaking the law in his plea bargain with the FPPC, Jim Ayres denies the charges, which makes us wonder dear readers if it's only a matter of time before Joel Anderson is brought up on similar criminal charges by the San Diego District Attorney's office.

After all, Joel Anderson's plea bargain agreement with the FPPC is public record and could be used as evidence against him in any criminal prosecution.

John Benoit's $11 Billion Deal

Ronald Reagan, the patron saint of the modern day Republican Party once said "Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a close resemblance to the first."

No where is Reagan's point better exemplified than with Riverside County's own John Benoit.  

State Senator John Benoit becomes Riverside County Supervisor John Benoit this morning.  It's only costing us $11 billion.

In exchange for his vote for an $11 billion water bond, Republican Governor Arnold Schwazenegger appointed John Benoit to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of late County Supervisor Roy Wilson.   

We first reported that Benoit's appointment was in the bag based on information leaked from the Govenror's  Chief of Staff Susan Kennedy and his Appointments Secretary, John Cruz.  But then the appointment was delayed so the Governor could bank on Benoit's vote for his water bond.  

The Governor's office even instituted a whisper campaign that the appointment may be going to former Republican Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia to keep Benoit from backing out of the deal.

As we reported on October 26, 2009 part of the appointment deal was that "Benoit will be asked to vote for a water bill that is not good for Riverside County.  It's also possible that he'll be asked to break with his the out-of-touch Republican Party and back a Democratic bill."

Now we know that was clearly the case.  

On November 4, 2009 John Benoit played ball with Governor Schwarzenegger and voted for SBX7 2 that will place a bond for $11.14 billion on the November 2010 ballot.  Immediately after the vote, the Governor repaid Benoit for the vote and appointed him to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors.

The water bond is filled with wasteful government spending, or as its commonly called, pork, and does relatively nothing to ensure a reliable supply of safe and clean water for Riverside County.

 According to the 

San Francisco Chronicle the bond contained:

-- $100 million for the Lake Tahoe Environmental Improvement Program for watershed restoration, bike trails and public access and recreation projects. -- $75 million for the Sierra Nevada Conservancy, for public access, education and interpretive projects, physical projects and "improving community sustainability." -- $250 million for dam removal on the Klamath River, a project to help restore salmon runs; and another $20 million for Siskiyou County to soften the impact on the economy from the loss of dams. -- $20 million for the Baldwin Hills Conservancy to be used to buy land to expand the small conservancy in the Los Angeles hills, which is near the home of Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, D-Baldwin Vista. -- $20 million for the Bolsa Chica Wetlands in Huntington Beach (Orange County) for interpretive projects for visitors."

So apparent and obvious was Benoit's vote trading that Los Angeles Times columnist George Skelton used it as an example of how political payoffs work.

"Then there's another type of pork called a payoff. Politicians usually don't even have to talk about it. There's just an unspoken understanding. For example: Sen. John Benoit (R-Palm Desert) wanted to be appointed by the governor to a vacant seat on the Riverside County Board of Supervisors. And he was, after providing key votes for the water package."

To then save face and repair his wobbly conservative credentials, Benoit decided to delay his swearing in until today.  This was allegedly done to align a runoff special election for Benoit's vacated senate seat with the June 2010 primary election, thus saving Riverside County about $250,000.

But even this so-called cost saving measure has turned out to be a part of Benoit's dirty deal for Wilson's seat.

John Benoit delayed his swearing in until today to give the advantage in the special election to Republican Assemblyman Bill Emmerson. By moving the date, any member of the Assembly contemplating a re-election run would have to decide whether to run for the open Senate seat or for the Assembly again. Running for both at the same time would be problematic.

It appears dear readers, that part of Benoit's deal with Republican Senate Minority Leader Dennis Hollingsworth was the help Emmerson get into the Senate.  Emmerson would provide Hollingsworth with a moderate Republican that would be able to vote for budgets because he's open to tax increases and not opposed to public financing of a woman's right to terminate her pregnancy.

Bill Emmerson is the termed out Assemblyman from Redlands who last month left his wife and rented a house in Hemet so he can run for Benoit's seat.  The delay in the special election was meant to discourage Republican Assemblymen Brian Nestande and Jeff Miller from running for Benoit's seat.  

Nestande, Benoit's protege who took his old seat in the State Assembly, quickly got the message and immediately signaled that he was happy in the Assembly.  

Jeff Miller on the other hand didn't fall in line and even wrote a scathing editorial which appeared in Sunday's Press-Enterprise attacking the pork filled $11 water bond that John Benoit, Bill Emmerson, and Dennis Hollingsworth all supported to advance their own self-centered political agendas.

So there you have it dear readers.  Now you know the how John Benoit got a seat on the Riverside County Board of Supervisors.  It wasn't pretty and it brings a new level of sleazy politics to Riverside County.  But that's what you get when you have a politician like Benoit who's wrapped up with the likes of indicted developer Steve Holgate on the Board of Supervisors.

There is a bright side to all of this. If anyone is worried about John Benoit's seven years in Sacramento making him too partisan and ineffective, there's no cause for concern.   Benoit can be quite effective and non-partisan- as long as there's something in it for him.

The lines between the world's oldest profession and its second oldest profession have never been more blurred.

John Benoit Lied About Tainted Campaign Funds

As we reported last week, Republican State Senator John Benoit has received at least one campaign contribution (possibly more) tied to the money laundering scandal involving indicted San Jacinto developer Steve Holgate.

John Benoit who served in the California Highway Patrol with Steve Holgate has denied having a close, personal friendship with the indicted developer.  Benoit instead distanced himself from Holgate, calling him "an acquaintance" rather than a "friend."

The Californian reported that John Benoit at first denied receiving a campaign contribution from one of the donors, Accurate Business Services, that was reimbursed by Steve Holgate for contributions to indicted San Jacinto City Councilman Jim Ayres when Ayres ran for the State Assembly.

According to The Californian:

 "After initially saying he did not receive a contribution from a key figure in the San Jacinto campaign money-laundering case, Sen. John Benoit, R-Palm Desert, acknowledged Wednesday that a Temecula woman gave money to his 2008 state Senate campaign through her bookkeeping business."

John Benoit's initial denial of the contribution is troubling.  So is Benoit's characterization of Steve Holgate as merely "an acquaintance."  Especially when this so-called acquaintance spent over $100,000 last year to help get John Benoit elected to the State Senate.

While state contribution limits prevent a single donor from giving more than $3600 to a candidate for the legislature, there are ways around the law.

One is the illegal way of laundering money to candidate through other donors as it appears Holgate did in 2006 for Jim Ayres' Assembly race.  The alleged money laundering scheme between Jim Ayres and Steve Holgate is at the heart of District Attorney Rod Pacheco's corruption case against them, three other San Jacinto City Councilmembers, a San Jacinto School Board Members, and three other local businessmen.

The other way is a legal way where a major donor can contribute money to another campaign committee separate and apart from the official campaign.  These are called Independent Expenditure Committees. The First Amendment prohibits the State from placing contribution or spending limits on these types of campaign committees.  However, these committees are prohibited from coordinating their activities with the candidates they are supporting.  

Last year Steve Holgate bypassed state contribution limits and provided an additional $100,000 of support to John Benoit's State Senate campaign by giving the money to a front group called "The Conservative Leaders of America."

Conservative Leaders of America then paid the Sacramento-based Republican political consulting firm of Gilliard, Blanning,Wysocki and Associates $95,222 to campaign for John Benoit and against his opponent, Republican businessman Russ Bogh.  

We here at Inside Riverside believe that based on the information that is available, there needs to be a closer examination and greater scrutiny of John Benoit's ties to Steve Holgate.  Benoit's denials of easily provable facts and Holgate's $100,000 spending spree on John Benoit's behalf warrant such a a review.

While both The Press-Enterprise and The Californian are looking at ties between Benoit and Holgate, The Desert Sun has yet to print a single line about this story.   

Is The Desert Sun trying to protect Benoit from criticism within his soon-to-be Supervisorial District? After all The Desert Sun did strongly advocate Benoit's appointment.  To report that Benoit may be knee deep with a crooked developer might be in the best interest of their readership, its certainly not in the best interest of the paper's credibility.

But perhaps a serious examination of Benoit's relationship with Holgate is already taking place.  A spokesman for the Riverside County District Attorney's Office refused to comment when asked if John Benoit was under criminal investigation along with Steve Holgate and Jim Ayres.

Round and round the San Jacinto political corruption case goes.  Where the charges of money laundering, bribery, and tax evasion stop, no one quite knows yet dear readers.

Is John Benoit Under Criminal Investigation?

The Press-Enterprise is reporting that Republican State Senator John Benoit is linked to indicted developer Steve Holgate.

According to Senator (soon to be County Supervisor) John Benoit, Steve Holgate is also a retired CHP officer who has been a political ally of Benoit's for several years.

The Press-Enterprise reports that John Benoit received at least three contributions in his 2008 Senate primary campaign against fellow conservative Republican Russ Bogh from individuals or businesses that also gave money to Jim Ayres in 2006, but were illegally reimbursed by Holgate.

John Benoit defends the indicted Holgate in the article saying "We have ever reason to believe he's above board."

Benoit would be wise to read the Grand Jury's indictment of Holgate and the others in San Jacinto.  It is evident that the San Jac Nine broke the law, conspired to do so, and are guilty as charged.

Benoit's comment makes us wonder if he is also dirty in this and trying to hide that from the DA and the public.

Were these three contributions to John Benoit also reimbursed by Steve Holgate?

If so, did John Benoit know of this money laundering scheme?

Is John Benoit also under investigation by District Attorney Rod Pacheco?

Hold on to your hats dear readers, this one is going to be one helluva ride!

Who's Funding Frank Robles? And Why?

They say that money is the mother's milk of politics.  

And last week's indictments of four members of the San Jacinto Council remind us that politicians will do many things, legal and otherwise, to get their hands on that precious political milk.

Which brings us dear readers to the man who want to be Riverside County's next Sheriff, Frank Robles.

Frank Robles as we've reported is the failed former police chief of Desert Hot Springs and a political crony of disgraced Riverside County Sheriff Bob Doyle who left office admist the controversy surrounding his illegal practice of giving badges to supporters.  

Back in May, Frank Robles declared his intent to run for the office of Sheriff, seeking to unseat current Riverside County Sheriff Stan Sniff in next year's election.

Frank Robles' campaign finance filing covering the first part of the year shows that Robles raised $67,390.00 between June 1, 2009 and June 30, 2009.  

That's means Frank Robles was raking in average of roughly $2,245.00 per day in June.  That's appears quite impressive, doesn't it, dear readers?

Well, in politics as in life, all is not what it appears.

You can click here to view Robles' campaign report:  Download Frank_Robles_460_June_30_2009. 

$65,000 of the money that Frank Robles has raised from his campaign comes from a single source: Southern California Braiding Company, Inc. of Bell, California.  

Robles reported that Southern California Braiding Company, Inc. gave him $50,000 on June 1, 2009, then gave him an additional $15,000 a week later on June 8, 2009.

The $65,000 that Frank Robles reports collecting from Southern California Braiding Company, Inc. represents a whopping 96% of Robles total contributions.

The other $2,390.00 (or 4%) of Robles contributions comes from the following contributors:

    $500.00 from Mike Murray of Oak Hills on June 27

    $500.00 from Richard J. Rile of Riverside, on June 2

    $100.00 from Jim Parsons of Riverside on June 13

    $100.00 from Frances Parsons of San Bernardino on June 4

    $100.00 from Rose Perkins of Riverside on June 2

    $100.00 from Robert B. Wilkins of Riverside on June 27

    $990.00 came from unitemized sources since the contributions were amounts under $100.00

$500 donor Mike Murray as you might recall is a Riverside County Deputy Sheriff and one of the last remaining hacks loyal to the Royal Doyle.  Murray is also a currently a candidate for president of the Riverside Sheriff's Association, the union representing the Sheriff's Department rank and file officers.

Murray has denied being a puppet for Frank Robles, but his personal contribution to Robles' campaign for sheriff impeaches him.  Murray appears to be seeking the RSA presidency not to represent the union's membership, but to represent the interests of Frank Robles.

Since the Riverside Sheriff's Association has about $1 million in it's Political Action Fund, Murray as RSA president would be positioned to throw the union's support behind Frank Robles and then funnel the members dues to Robles for his campaign. 

If Mile Murray is able to raid the RSA's coffers and help Frank Robles get elected as Sheriff, Robles would probably repay  Murray by promoting him to Sergeant having both won office and effectively gutted the deputies union of its political clout, then leaving the association without a leader.  

This arrangement seems to have the support of Riverside County's Executive Office and County Supervisor Bob Buster who desire to dismantle the RSA leadership then impose pay cuts and furloughs.

Buster revealed his allegiance by pulling his endorsement of Sheriff Stan Sniff earlier this year and is now helping Robles in his campaign for Sheriff.

But even if Mike Murray and Frank Robles are unable to take over the RSA and suck its members dry of their money, Robles still has the deep pockets of the Southern California Braiding Company in his corner.

So who is behind the Southern California Braiding Company, Inc. of Bell, California?

According to the corporate filings with California's Secretary of State, Southern California Braiding Company is a California Corporation that has been active since 1974.  The agent for service of process for Southern California Braiding Company is one Leo P. McIntyre of Northridge, California.

Sources close to Robles tell us the Leo McIntryre runs Southern California Braiding Company, Inc. This company was also one of Bob Doyle's major supporters, and one of the few donors to receive its money back when Doyle resigned his office in disgrace.

Now its not unusual for campaigns in Riverside County to receive large contributions from single sources. But those large sums of campaign cash usually come from local unions and developers with business in the County.

What is unusual is that Southern California Braiding Company's about large contributions is that the firm located in Los Angeles County.  And Leo McIntyre is also a resident of Los Angeles County. Something appears to be a bit wrong here.

What's is Leo McIntyre's huge interest in Riverside County politics?

What's Leo McIntyre's relationship with Frank Robles and Bob Doyle?

Could there be a Stephen Holgate - Jim Ayres thing going on here?

As the San Jacinto indictments remind us, relationships between candidates and their major contributors need to be examined closely by the media, and preferably before they win a possibly tainted election.

There's 7 1/2 months until the election for Riverside County Sheriff.  That's more than enough time for The Press-Enterprise and the rest of the traditional media to look into this rather than miss the story for three long years the way they did with San Jacinto's corruption.

But if they continue to fail to do their job, have no fear dear readers, we here at Inside Riverside will continue to report on the news that they should be and either can't or won't report to you.

The Californian Blasts John Benoit

Well, dear readers, it looks like Inside Riverside isn't the only media outlet that has serious problems with John Benoit's bait-and-switch from the California State Senate to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors.

In it's "Roses and Raspberries" editorial column today, The Californian let Senator Benoit have it with both barrells.

A raspberry to state Sen. John Benoit, R-Palm Desert, for leaving his seat in the Senate for one on the Riverside County Board of Supervisors, left vacant by the death of Supervisor Roy Wilson.

It was just last year that Benoit won a bitter primary fight against his former colleague ---- and fellow Republican ---- Russ Bogh, for the office he currently holds. In that contest, and the subsequent general election, Benoit worked very hard to persuade voters of the 37th Senate District that he was better qualified to handle the challenges facing our state than his opponent. Voters agreed.

It now seems the job wasn't so important to him after all. The move is clearly in Benoit's best interests. By becoming a supervisor, he'll get a pay raise (from $116,208 to $143,000) and avoid those long trips to rainy Sacramento. Too bad voters didn't know they were electing a legislator who would forfeit the job as soon as a better offer came along.

To make matters worse, Benoit made plans for his first fundraiser ---- a $1,000-a-plate luncheon ---- even before he's sworn in. 

You can read the entire column in The Californian here.

Good for The Californian!  We thought we were the only ones that weren't afraid to say the truth in our news reporting.

But The Californian did leave out one very important fact about Senator/Supervisor-designee John Benoit's new job perks. Besides no longer constrained by term limits, once Benoit is on the Board of Supervisors, he will be back into the Cal-PERS retirement system.  This will not only bump his retirement pay, but by getting in as an "miscellaneous employee" (that's how the County classifies elected officials) Benoit will no long have a cap on his retirement either.

Instead of being limited to making only 90% of his highest year's salary as a retired CHP officer, Benoit will now be able to make more than 100% of the highest year's salary as a County Supervisor when all is said and done.  No wonder Benoit took the job!

Benoit will also be cashing in in the short term.  When you add his $143,000 annual salary to his $98,600 retirement, this so-called public servant will be grossing $241,600 a year.  It's amazing that this typical Republican hypocrite can even keep a straight face while he cashes in on the very system he attacks.  

Oh, and don't forget, a big part of Benoit's retirement is tax free because of the questionable disability he said happened to him on the job.

To stem this tide of criticism look for John Benoit's first official action on the Board to be taking a 10% pay cut so he will be on par with all other elected officials who did so earlier in the year.  

But maybe not.  John Benoit is a after all a self-serving political whore.  Maybe he won't take a pay cut. After all, he thinks he's better than everyone else.  He probably thinks he deserves it.  

4/5th of San Jacinto City Council To Be Prosecuted

Riverside County District Attorney Rod Pacheco is prosecuting nine people on various corruption charges, including four of the five member San Jacinto City Council.

The San Jacinto City Councilmembers being prosecuted are Jim Ayres, Dale Stubblefield, John Mansperger and James Potts.  

Jim Ayres wife Nancy, who is also a school board member in San Jacinto, was indicted with her husband. Also indicted were businessmen Stephen Holgate, Byron Jerry Ellison, Robert Osborne, and Scott Shaull.

A criminal grand jury handed down the 155 count indictment after a year and a half investigation into corruption allegations.  56 of the charges are felonies.  The other 99 are misdemeanors. Convictions could carry prison sentence of 20 years or longer.

Most of the charges stem from Jim Ayres failed State Assembly campaign in 2006.  Ayers and the developer Steve Holgate seem to have hatched a scheme that allowed Holgate to circumvent California's campaign finance laws and give more money to Ayres campaign than was legally allowed.  Holgate seems to have reimbursed many donors for their contributions to the Ayres campaign. 

Robert Osborne is charged with being deep into this scheme as well, but all indications are that Steve Holgate was Jim Ayres' sugar daddy, with Ayres in return being Holgate's political puppet.

The irony dear readers is that despite all of the money Steve Holgate may have been able to illegally funnel to Jim Ayres, Ayres got his butt kicked in that 2006 Republican primary for the 65th Assembly District.

Ayres loss in that election was in part due to his stating he had received a medal during his military service that did not even exist.  That should tell us all what kind of a creep we're dealing with here.

District Attorney Rod Pacheco told the press conference yesterday that the investigation in this is on going. Who else is the DA's office looking at?  Did Steve Holgate's reach extend outside of the San Jacinto Valley?  That definitely merits some looking into.

Now while some might say that these indictments mark a bad day for Riverside County, but we here at Inside Riverside disagree.  It is a glorious day!  

Riverside County finally has a District Attorney who is not willing to turn a blind eye to public corruption. As Pacheco said at the press conference yesterday, "These illegal activities threaten the integrity of our democracy. These elected officials were entrusted with power and misused that power to advance their own political ambition and to satisfy their greed."

We agree wholeheartedly with District Attorney Pacheco in this matter. Those how violate the public trust must be held accountable for their deeds. 

If any of these nine have any self-respect or remorse for their transgressions, they would do wise to admit their crimes. Grand Jury's don't hand down indictments on whims or on the wishes of prosecutors. They do so based on evidence.  And for a Grand Jury to indict five elected officials and their benefactors, there must have been clear and convincing evidence that those 155 crimes did occur.

As always, we'll keep you posted as things develop dear readers.

Riverside County House Delegation Votes Against Healthcare Bill

All four of Riverside County's members of the House of Representatives voted against healthcare reform legislation supported by President Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack, Congressman Ken Calvert, Congressman Darrell Issa, and Congressman Jerry Lewis all voted against HR 3962 titled the "Affordable Healthcare for America Act."  

Their votes should come as no surprise as all are pretty rigid Republicans.  Only one Republican, Congressman Cao who represents a Democratic district in New Orleans, split with his party and supported the Obama-Pelosi healthcare and insurance overhaul.

Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack released a statement saying “Americans deserve better than this 1,900-page flawed legislation that puts government squarely between patients and their doctors."

Congressman Ken Calvert said he voted against the healthcare bill that he described as "The Pelosi Government Takeover of the U.S. Health Care System" because "This bill creates over $1trillion in new government spending, funded with the ‘hope’ that our children will figure out how to pay the bill tomorrow and ’change’ in Medicare that takes $500 billion from a program that covers over 40 million senior citizens."

Congressman Darrell Issa expressed sentiments similar to those of Mary Bono Mack and Ken Calvert in a brief statement where he said, "This 2,000 page, 1.3 trillion dollar bill will cost Americans more jobs, add to an exploding Federal deficit, make it more lucrative for trial lawyers to sue doctors, and take away health care choice.  At the same time, it won't control the growing cost of health care."

Congressman Jerry "The Cardinal" Lewis rationalized his vote against the legislation by complaining that it was put together behind closed doors, would increase costs, and reduce care.  It is somewhat comical to hear the Grand Appropriator and Master of the Earmarks lament that a deal was made outside of public scrutiny.

Will these four Republicans pay for their votes against the overhaul of the American health care system?  

Probably not.  

There is a great deal of anxiety about the changes being proposed by Congress. With the federal deficit growing and unemployment continuing to climb, a vote for any bill that could increase government spending and cost jobs is a dangerous vote.  

Doing nothing by voting against HR 3962 was probably the politically smart vote for Bono Mack, Calvert, Issa, and Lewis going into the 2010 elections. But expect their prospective challengers to attempt to use the vote against them anyway.  

Only next year's election will show which position the voters prefer.

John Benoit Appointed to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors

Republican State Senator John Benoit has been appointed to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors, as we reported would happen over a month ago.

Benoit will fill the seat of the late County Supervisor Roy Wilson who served the County's 4th District honorably until his sudden resignation in August.  Wilson died mere days after his resignation.  

In his alleged resignation letter, Wilson requested that the Governor appoint Benoit to serve the remainder of his term in office.  The authenticity of that letter has been drawn into question and it appears to many that Roy Wilson's resignation letter may have been forged.  

We even wonder dear readers, if John Benoit was aware of that Wilson's resignation letter was a fraud.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has once again shown his disregard and utter contempt for the people of Riverside County by appointing a member of the do-nothing State Legislature to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors.  If you thought the budget was bad before, just wait for John Benoit to put his years of experience on the State Budget to work on the County's Budget.

Fortunately Benoit will have to face election to the seat next June.  He will likely face former Republican State Senator Jim Battin.  That will likely be one of the costliest and nastiest races in the history of Riverside County.    

John Benoit's appointment does occur under a cloud of controversy.  Benoit who is a critic of the Public Employee Retirement System was recently outed by the Los Angeles Times for gaming the system for taking his nearly $100,000 a year pension while making over $100,000 as a State Senator.  Benoit refused to comment on his hypocrisy.

This week we also reported on a reader's tip that Benoit may have lied about in disability claims he made to the State in attempts to receive his retirement payments tax free.

None of this should come as any surprise.  This is the same John Benoit who before he  had even received the appointment, and before Wilson's funeral, scheduled a fundraiser for Wilson's job! How classeless.

After we broke the story, Benoit was shamed into moving the fundraiser back a week in an attempt to discredit the accuracy of our reporting.

But as our exclusive on his appointment proves, our sources are good and our information is spot on. That's why they hate us dear readers, and that's why you've got to keep reading Inside Riverside.

Did John Benoit Lie About His Disability?

One of our readers has posted a comment that raises a very serious questions about the legitimacy of State Senator John Benoit's disability retirement.

As we reported last week, John Benoit makes $98,600 in retirement each year from his time with the CHP, but a large portion of that money is tax free because Benoit contracted skin cancer on the job.  Senator Benoit is also a critic of public employees pensions, but when the LA Times wanted to talk to him about his retirement package, Benoit refused to comment.

A reader going by the name "Stop Benoit" states that we didn't quite get the story right. 

"You're missing the point about John Benoit's disability retirement. He did get it for skin cancer but he also filed suits against the state for hearing loss and knee damage he claims he got on the job.

The claims were bogus. Benoit dropped them once he got his disability claim for skin cancer granted. The attached video proves they were fraudulent claims since he was playing softball in Sacramento on the knees he said were "permanently damaged!""

We're not sure about this, but since "Stop Benoit" included a pretty humorous You Tube video used against Benoit in the 2008 Senate race we felt inclined to include it for you.  

Although this commercial is quite funny and appears to be well documented it obviously did little to stop Benoit from trouncing his hapless rival Russ Bogh in the Republican Primary last year.  And the website stated at the end of the commercial, no longer seems to be in existence. 

But it does raise a very serious ethical and legal question.

Did John Benoit try and game the system he profits from as a retiree but attacks as a legislator by submitting three disability claims, as "Stop Benoit" alleges? 

The documentation does seem to indicate Benoit at least filed a claim for injuries to his knees.  How that happened we're not quite sure, but can probably come up with some good jokes about him being close to Neil and Bob (Lingle and Doyle that is!  Get your mind out of the gutters, dear readers!).

But did Benoit also continue to play softball on these injured knees?  The photo with the Republican softball team would make one draw this conclusion.

Does Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger know about this video? If so, does that explain another complication in the appointment of John Benoit to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors?

If anyone has additional information about John Benoit's disability claims, we'd appreciate the information.  Since we are now moderating comments to prevent SPAM, you can post your tips in the comments section with a note saying "NOT FOR PUBLICATION."  We will honor your wishes if you have such tips for us and then follow up on them.