NO APOLOGY, PATTERSON BLAMES HIS MEN AND DA

Last week, the Dayton News and Cleveland Advocate newspapers printed revelations that Sheriff Henry Patterson and District Attorney Mike Little were confronted with complaints about Phil Fitzgerald’s FEMA fraud long before the public had been told they knew about it. Sheriff Patterson has now confirmed via a letter to the editor that he did have a meeting in late January or early February of 2009 with Constable Royce Wheeler, his deputy Chip Fairchild and other members of his staff, District Attorney Mike Little.

Not surprising for those who know what a hands off, “it’s somebody else fault” kind of Sheriff Patterson has been, Henry Patterson sounds a great deal like Mike Little when he defends himself after the facts came out this week. He does however admit that during the first meeting with Constable Wheeler and Deputy Fairchild allegations of misconduct were made against Judge Fitzgerald that had to do with FEMA fraud and the aftermath of Hurricane Ike. Patterson and Little have never admitted that before.

Perhaps to save himself and the D.A. embarrassment, or maybe to avoid being charged with a crime, Patterson spends no time expressing regret that he did not catch Fitzgerald early on which would have potentially saved the taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on complicated and lengthy trials and even more money on huge contracts that Fitzgerald, his brother-in-law, and a friend benefited from. Mike Little continues to have much the same attitude as he expresses no regret that he never pursued charges against Fitzgerald even after the feds uncovered plenty of evidence to go to trial with.

Instead of regret, Patterson takes a bizarre tack and wants to “kill the messengers”- Constable Wheeler and his own deputy, Chip Fairchild. At the time Patterson thought Fairchild was trying to trick him. We know that for a fact because Patterson expressed it to LD at the time. Patterson was paranoid about Fairchild and wanted to fire him, but did not want to get sued for wrongful termination. Patterson thought Fairchild was trying to sucker him into some kind of investigation that would embarrass him and that Fairchild wanted “to throw him under the bus for defeating his friend”, former Sheriff Greg Arthur. Rather than admit the fears that dominated his thinking at the time, when confronted by news stories that show he and Little blew a great opportunity, Patterson says these lawmen that are lower in rank had the power and duty to arrest the chief executive officer of the county without consulting Little or Patterson. He wants us to ignore what could be the mother of all selective prosecution cases and accept his reasoning that if any officer has probable cause that an individual is violating the law, they can ignore the fact the District Attorney and the County Sheriff tell to leave this case alone.

Patterson now claims he assigned Fairchild and another deputy the task of locating evidence in support of the claims he and Wheeler had made. But we know for a fact at that time Patterson was way more interested in “getting rid of Fairchild”.

Now that a letter has surfaced removing all doubt that Patterson and Little knew early on exactly what The Cleveland Advocate and The Dayton News said they knew, Patterson is spinning a tale that the letter the feds have doesn’t show his and Little’s incompetence or selective prosecution or partnership with Fitzgerald, it is simply verifies the poor investigation by Wheeler and Fairchild and that they had nothing to worry about from their testimony. What! Why in the name of justice and the rule of law would a D.A. and a sheriff want to give solace to Fitzgerald or his attorney as the FEMA fraud case moved towards trial? Looking back, the same two men who made officials feel that they should not pursue this case under the guise that it was not a case, later on are the same people who do nothing to pursue the truth and justice when the FEMA questions are compounded by all of the other good ole boy stuff.

Up until now, Henry Patterson’s name is rarely if ever mentioned when the most infamous fraud case in county history is talked about. Now Patterson is making a rare public statement in the form of his letter to the editor in what can only be called a weak attempt to appear innocent because of his ignorance. In light of what we know about the FEMA case and what we know about over three years of Patterson wearing the Liberty County sheriff star, ignorance and disinterest may be his best and most believable defense.

Henry Patterson reminds me of Sergeant Schultz on the old television series Hogan’s Heroes. If you remember that character, next time you see Henry Patterson ask him to say, “I know nothing” and visualize him in a World War II German soldier uniform. That is our sheriff. That is his defense for being right next to the theft of hundreds of guns out of the Cleveland Police Department’s evidence room and that is his excuse when presented with the opportunity to shut Fitzgerald down early in his FEMA escapades.

Lastly what may be the most bizarre of all of Sheriff Henry Patterson’s behavior in the past several years is his now infamous public chatter which includes:

1.“I didn’t know nothing”;
2.“It was someone else”;
3.“I had a key to the property room where the guns were too, but it was Harry Kelly who took them”;
4.“Its Royce Wheeler and Chip Fairchild’s fault”;
5.“It was Mike Little who decided not to pursue the charges, not me… it’s his fault”.

What kind of Looney excuses will you come up with next Sheriff Henry Patterson?

THE VINDICATOR HELPING DEMOCRATS AND PAINTSIL

“Paintsil completes Deputy Voter Registrar Training” is one story among at least three political stories in this weeks edition of what use to be the most read newspaper in Liberty County that clearly advocate for a candidate and/or a political party. This story on Connie Paintsil and the story (or non story should I say) on the Liberty County Democratic Convention are exclusives and that could imply to readers that The Vindicator has “special relationship” to those involved in these stories.

This “new story” informs its readers that “Connie Paintsil was the first one to complete the Deputy Voter Registrar Training in her office.” There is absolutely nothing new or unique about this training, but it is interesting that it is being reported that Paintsil has completed it. Connie Paintsil is the person Commissioner Todd Fontenot has made sure is on the county payroll so he can make sure she will get out the vote for Democrats. She has an office on the ground floor where she spends a significant amount of time on her “church work” which includes organizing the get out the vote for Democrat candidates and preparing for the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration. And lastly so she could get paid by Liberty County to help the Democrat party with our tax dollars.

Paintsil’s past employment as a dispatcher for the sheriff’s department and as a clerk who people paid their city bill, all had negative rumors swirling around it at the time. Her relationship to John and Nancy Archer and to a scheme that tries to influence voters as they ride in a van to the polls has also been a subject of much concern in some Republican circles.

Quotes like this one in The Vindicator where Paintsil says, “If I go out into the community and tell people how important it is to vote, they can hand their voter registrar card directly to me. I am deputized as a voter registrar,” are also disturbing.

Paintsil’s claims to be “educating the voters”, but taxpayers should be concerned she is educating them at our expense. Her message is, and always has been clear, vote for all of the Democrats. She has a first amendment right to preach that message, but should Republicans and Independents have to pay for it? Fontenot may try to justify Paintsil’s job, but if you pull people over that work in the courthouse and ask them what she does... you will easily find another place to cut the budget. It is not likely however that Paintsil’s job will be eliminated until Fontenot is defeated. Until then Obama and Fontenot may have a boiler room operation in our courthouse!

COURTS AND VINDICATOR USED BY DA TO ELECT PICKETT

There he goes again! Mike Little, the man we pay to prosecute criminals is abusing the justice system for his own gain again. He is pulling out all of the stops, including lies and deception and abusing the justice system to make sure when he leaves office his hand picked replacement will be in position to cover his tracks.

This article Liberty Dispatch (LD) wants to call attention to an article The Vindicator entitled “Jury assesses lengthy sentence for burglary”. Boy is that an understatement. Like most folks, LD usually counts hearing a convicted criminal getting his just due a victory for society. But 37 year old Mario Garcia was in the Liberty County courts at the wrong time and it is hard to call what he got “just due”. 80 years for “several items” he took in a burglary! Who is going to pay the bills to keep this man in prison for that long? Why did the prosecutors guide the jury to such a stiff penalty? Compared to other crimes we read about, this is a relatively small one, but compared to other sentencing this is a relatively harsh one.

Now the person that wrote the article for The Vindicator, District Attorney Mike Little, would like readers to put most of their focus on one thing – Logan Pickett won this case and he is tough on crime. That is the message Little is using his article and our courts to send you. If you want to risk getting sick, read the article and think back in 2008 when Democrats were writing the same kind of inflated deceptive exaggerations and lies to try and make Barack Obama seem like he suddenly was experienced enough to be elected President. Little’s protégé’ and the most inexperienced lawyer in the courthouse, Logan Pickett, is drenched with complimentary election year hyperbole by Little in this article that belongs more in a deceptive piece of campaign literature and not a legitimate newspaper.

First off, this case was an open and shut case and nothing to brag about. Second, as was said before, if you are a taxpayer can you imagine feeding and housing this burglar for eighty years for stealing “a few items.” In typical Vindicator and Little fashion, the article never says what items the man stole but unless a local homeowner has Rembrandt hanging on their walls and the Hope diamond in the jewelry box next to their bed, it is clear to see why the paper and the D.A. left that out of their Pickett promotion piece. Crime that it was, there is nothing unusual about it – except some people believe it is Pickett’s time to be D.A. and they will do and say whatever is necessary to make that happen.

This is how slobbery the article was that The Vindicator allowed the D.A. and Pickett to post (which by the way, because of how over the top it is, it clearly qualifies as an abuse of the privileges of their public office).

Here is an excerpt:
“The extensive pretrial preparation and the excellent trial work of lead counsel Logan Pickett with the assistance of Joe Warren clearly contributed to this conviction and long sentence. I am extremely proud of the long hours put in and the hard work by these assistant district attorneys which resulted in Mario Garcia being brought to justice and sentenced to a very long time in prison.”

The man had priors and he was caught with a few items that had been stolen within 24 hours of him being pulled over by an alert law enforcement officer. The case was something an inexperienced struggling new lawyer for the D.A.’s office couldn’t screw up on. But some might think the million dollars plus that it will cost taxpayers for this “lengthy sentence” is a screw up in itself. And others might wonder what kind of heavy handed sentences we may see between now and when voters go to the polls to decide between Pickett and his much more qualified opponent, Karen McNair. Others may wonder about the entire D.A.’s office and their priorities. After all, this is the same DA that looked like a professional all-world dodge ball participant in the way he avoided prosecuting the most infamous fraud case in county history. Ooops, strike that … Little may say if he had Pickett on staff back when all of that happened, he would have gone for it. He might say anything to get Pickett painted and ready for prime time.

But the fact of the matter is... Pickett has a horrible win/loss record in any court he has worked in. Even according to Little’s own campaign piece, Pickett is still yet to handle a case on his own. The fact of the matter is, Little is politicizing his office and trying to give as much credit to candidate Logan Pickett as he can. How dumb does he think Liberty County voters are?

These men should be shining examples of justice and truth and the public should never even suspect that our District Attorney’s office uses the justice system for their own personal gain- business as usual. LD is all for getting the attention of want-to-be future criminals because we all know there have been several years of a seemingly unstoppable crime wave as far as home burglaries have gone. They have been a great source of consternation and embarrassment for both the D.A.’s office and the Sheriff. But PLEASE don’t expect that leading a jury to “lengthy sentences” erases our memories of what was revealed in the Rusty Hight courts in the last couple of years and PLEASE give us a break on hyping Pickett. We remember the D.A.’s office did nothing to stop Judge Hight from undoing some of the public sentences in his court the next day when no media was there to report it. We know you can’t join the department and be the wettest behind the ears and suddenly just after Christmas is super prosecutor. Voters are not stupid!

It is likely The Vindicator will continue to allow Mike Little to soak you in his spin so be prepared. This was not a news story; it was clearly a “press release”. The proper way of balanced news reporting elements is to either have someone from the paper present to report the story or to dig out all of the political garbage packed in the press release. But this newspaper has not been doing that. It may be why we rarely hear anyone say “Hey did you read that article in the Liberty paper” anymore. The answer more and more indicates that The Vindicator is read less and less.

DA Mike Little cannot afford for anyone but Pickett to be elected as DA so that his 30 years of criminal enterprises can continue on the backs of Liberty County residents. Mike Little could be indicted for his recently relieved corrupt acts of "obstruction of justice" - "official misconduct" and other crimes. The Feds have some decisions to make about Mike Little.

Liberty County readers will be watching the other Liberty County media for the same "political bile" as produced by Mike Little and Logan Picket.

The Cleveland Advocate cut through the entire BS when they reported the same story.

IMPORTANT POLITICAL RACES TO SOON BE DECIDED

38,519 voter registration certificates were mailed to residents last Thursday. Election officials all across Texas including Liberty County Tax Assessor Collector Ricky Brown, had to wait to mail out the certificates until the (unelected)Democratic Judges in San Antonio exhausted their effort to overturn the states’ new legislative and congressional districts maps that were drawn and passed by the (elected) Texas congress.

Residents should check the certificates closely for any needed changes or any errors. If mistakes are found, corrections can be made on the back of a card. Completed cards should be signed and turned in to the Liberty County Tax Assessor Collector’s Office on the first floor of the county courthouse in Liberty. Any registered voter who hasn’t received a certificate by April 25, 2012 should call the office at (936) 336-8683 or (936) 336-4528.

Ricky Brown and his office are working under unusual circumstances and regardless of all of the problems the Democratic judges have caused by their unprecedented action, we can all be grateful Brown and company have organized their office to help make this election come off without a glitch.

Democrats and RINO’s (Republican In Name Only) are hoping the delay the judges caused will dampen the spirits of conservative voters. LD would like to encourage Liberty County to exercise their right to vote on May 29th and send a message to Washington DC and the President that we can not wait to express our opinion.

There are some very important local political races that will be decided in the primary election on May 29 which will impact the future of Liberty County for generations to come. Make sure you do your part to protect the future generations of Liberty County, be apart of the historical positive change that is near.

We have worked hard since 2006 at great sacrifice to help bring Liberty County into a new age, for a better tomorrow.

Liberty County has a chance to purge itself of the last of a major corrupt element in the courthouse. Great times are very near for Liberty County- if we act...

LAWMEN-POLITICIANS TRYING TO GET VOTES THE WRONG WAY

News today from U.S. Attorney John M. Bales as he told the world that 48-year-old Roberto Garcia of Pasadena, Texas man has plead guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana and possession with intent to distribute marijuana in the Eastern District Federal Court of Texas.

As many of our readers remember, law enforcement officers received a tip directing them to a large marijuana growing operation in the rural area near Hull, Texas. The tip led to more than 1,000 maturing marijuana plants and an operation that included a trailer outfitted with grow lights and heating/air conditioning for indoor cultivation of marijuana. But almost as eye-opening as what had fallen into the hands of law enforcement was the rush by politicians running for office to capitalize on the busts.

The problem Liberty Dispatch had with this case initially is that before news of the drug busts reached the newspapers, Sheriff Henry Patterson’s campaign team were claiming that this bust would guarantee his re-election. Another lawman running for office seemed more concerned with getting glamor shots with him and the pot for his campaign literature than securing a bust that could be successfully prosecuted in court.

When LD was the first to report a problem with the arrest, Patterson reversed course and distanced him from any potential problems. When there were no arrest and Patterson knew his office was unlikely to make arrest he was strangely quiet for a man that had pushed his people out in the public bragging he was sure to get four more years as sheriff because his office sent men out to follow up on this tip. Then when someone was arrested, his campaign people raised their ugly political heads and claimed victory for Patterson all over again. But then when a new problem arose, they got quiet again. A suppression hearing was held Friday in Beaumont after law enforcement made an unforgivable mistake. Patterson failed to get a search warrant until several hours after his Captains began cutting down the marijuana crop and searching homes on the property. One of Patterson’s men who are running office was hot to trot to cut the plants and pose for pictures.

Uh – oh! Even though the courts are allowing the evidence thanks to a loophole in the law, now Patterson will still probably prefer that we all forget this case again. There are too many screw ups in the case. Besides, those listening to what Bobby Rader says he could improve on if he is elected sheriff may say this case inadvertently help him. Rader has maintained his time as a judge makes him very aware that our sheriff department needs more training on how to approach crime scenes and investigations in ways that make the case more likely to be successful in court.

Bahena-Garcia faces a minimum of 10 years in federal prison at sentencing and he is the big loser in this case. But two politicians are losers too for the way they tried to use this case for political gain.

This case is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, Liberty County Sheriff's Office deputies and investigators and Texas Department of Public Safety Narcotics and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John Craft. Our story is not meant to cast a shadow on any of these people. Their work and the work of U.S. Attorney John Bales are much appreciated… Sheriff Patterson and all of his campaign people’s effort to take as much credit as they could is a complete embarrassment. Please just do your job and give credit to the tipster Sheriff Patterson. The tipster was the key to the part you participated in. Without him, you and your political friends would have had no excitement.

To LD: “Common Sense” in Cleveland, Texas- I Think Not!!

Cleveland PD Chief Bradshaw

So, “former” Warrant Officer Tommi Ashmore with the Cleveland Police Department was recently terminated from the City of Cleveland after the many loyal, dedicated, and very productive years of service as an officer for the city.

The actual date of termination is still at question. Ashmore was not informed of the termination until April 9, 2012 by her attorneys, who had been advised of the termination on this date by Olson & Olson, the legal firm representing the City of Cleveland through all the many fiascos. Yet when TMPA, TMRS and AFLAC was contacted in regards to Ashmore’s benefits and services, all agencies advised that each had been contacted and informed by city officials, and was provided the termination date for Ashmore to be April 2, 2012. What is almost comical in a sad sense is the fact that the termination letter signed by the Asst. Chief D. Broussard was dated April 4, 2012. Seriously!

The City of Cleveland informed a senior officer, vested with the city that she was “terminated” by mail. I feel this is heartless and unprofessional to say the least. TMPA attorneys are representing Ashmore on the administrative issues, while Moore & Associates will be representing her on Federal violations.

THE FACTS LEAVE MORE THAN A SHADOW ON LITTLE AND PATTERSON

To really get the full impact of the information in this article the reader should think back to the last hurricane and the damage and chaos and struggle it caused most people in this area. The scramble for gas and water and food. The wet dirty smelly carpet piled in front of one house after another. The heat, the muggy, steamy, air condition-less Texas heat. And the tears of small children wanting something that was always easily available before Hurricane Ike attacked their world.

Only when one remembers what they, and their friends and family, were going through, can the full impact of the infamous FEMA fraud case be assessed properly. Only when survivors remember the struggle does the idea of key elected officials making hundreds of thousands of dollars during our time of need, have its full affect.

If you are thinking back to that time as you read, then reading the following timeline of the first hint of illegal FEMA fraud will be in its proper perspective. When you read this account of the behavior of some of our elected officials on certain days between January 2009 and April 2012, you will see that after the storm there was an opportunity to curtail the immoral acts that yielded several local people big bucks and a big headache with the law. Especially troubling is the behavior of local law enforcement – from Sheriff Henry Patterson to Texas Ranger Frank Huff to District Attorney Mike Little. 

Dates and times approximate-

January - February 2009:

Meeting in Mike Little's office:

In attendance- D.A. Mike Little, Texas Ranger Frank Huff – Sheriff Henry Patterson, Sheriff’s Captain Ken Defoor, Sheriff’s Captain Jim Cooper, Sheriff’s lead investigator Chip Fairchild and Constable Royce Wheeler.

1. Mike Little refused to take charges against Liberty County Judge Fitzgerald for criminal wrongdoing involving FEMA fraud and misuse of assets brought to him by Fairchild and Wheeler.

2. Mike Little admonished Fairchild and Wheeler for bringing probable cause affidavits and evidence of alleged criminal wrongdoing by Phil Fitzgerald. 

(Note: One theory is that D.A. Mike Little and Fitzgerald had a quid pro quo. Think about the possibilities. Fairchild is fired by Sheriff Patterson not long after this incident. And Patterson is NOT charged in the infamous Cleveland Police Department stolen guns case that Little is involved in. Constable Wheeler’s budget is cut and his daughter, who also works for the county, has her pay cut. Cooper is promoted, DeFoor resigns).

April 2009:

1. FBI was (FBI Agent, Stacy Hoepner) interviewing people around Fitzgerald.

2. According to sources Mike Little and Henry Patterson were both interviewed by the FBI and denied they had met regarding Fitzgerald and discussed any charges.

November 2009:

1. At the insistence of Fitzgerald, Sheriff Patterson authored a letter and DA Mike Little co-authored a letter clearing Fitzgerald of all charges- allegedly to get the FBI off Fitzgerald. (Letter here)

2. The letter was then sent to Fitzgerald's defense attorney for immediate use and for evidence in trial.

3. DA Mike Little was then added to the top of Fitzgerald's defense witness list.

April 2012:

1. Recently- testimony was given and evidence was entered at Fitzgerald's pre-trial hearings where a letter was read into the record which stated that Henry Patterson and Mike Little cleared Fitzgerald of all criminal wrongdoings back in 2009- then Fitzgerald's attorney demanded that the Judge grant their motion to dismiss "with prejudice" BECAUSE of the letter from Patterson and Little. Judge denied the motion. (Letter dated November 2009.)

2. Open records act request was made to Mike Little and Henry Patterson for the "letter" in question, Mike Little tenders the letter effectively admitting his ownership of the letter in question as written by Patterson with a claimed endorsement by Mike Little.

3. When Little submitted the now infamous letter to a local news organization, he could have denied his role in the letter, the substance of the letter and his endorsement... but he did not- therefore he ratified the existence of the letter and its substance.

Lately it appears from news stories as if the feds are concentrating on the misuse and illegal acts concerning FEMA generators. But while generators were powering Phil Fitzgerald’s store, a larger plot was hatching. One that would be far more lucrative for Fitzgerald than selling beer and cigarettes in the aftermath of the storm. One that would have an over $600,000 payoff from FEMA.

  

At the time of this posting, charges against Mike Little and Henry Patterson for lying to federal investigators and impeding a federal investigation have not been filed. Texas Ranger Frank Huff and Captain Jim Cooper still hold the high positions responsible for protecting this community from crime that they had before they began their years of silence and there is no evidence that they have done further investigating for a possible quid pro quo- but rather a probable part of the overall "selective prosecution" scheme hatched by Mike Little and Henry Patterson.

Side bar: Liberty Dispatch has sent an open records act request to Henry Patterson for the November 20, 2009 letter.  We will report to our viewers the outcome of that request.  (PIA Request here)


See the Cleveland Advocate's related story.

CLEVELAND VOTER WANTS TO REPLACE HUNT WITH LOWERY

Dear Liberty Dispatch,

The commissioner we have had for the last 28 years has chosen this year to refer to his fellow Democrats of the court that he has worked with hand in hand as “the evil empire.” That tells me he knows he is in trouble as he pursues to separate himself from all of think scandal and taxing and spending that has come out of that courthouse in Liberty. That tells me he is going to try look and sound as much like a conservative as he can while he tries to hang onto what he calls his “guaranteed votes” in precinct 20.

Precinct 20 may or may not wake up and react to the fact that Commissioner Melvin Hunt is stuck in a rut and he has been in his job so long he overlooks a lot of issues that need to be addressed. With Hunt bragging for years that our roads are the best in the county, the condition of our parks and the dump hours are two specific examples of local things that should have been addressed. But before we address anything we have to get hold of our spending. Hunt and “the evil empire” he referred to have been allowing the appraisal district to raise our evaluations and take the blame for higher taxes even though they could have adjusted the effective rate. They have borrowed and borrowed through bonds and we have serious problems because they have bad business practices.

That is why after researching the candidates and much thought, I have decided Eddie Lowery’s background in the field of finance is what gives him the edge and earns my vote. I think any of the Republicans would have fresh eyes and roll up there sleeves to do some of the things Hunt is blind to, but Lowery has business knowledge that gives him an expertise that is needed.

I also think electing Lowery will give us our best representation in our attempts to influence corporate America to bring industry and jobs to the county. If my children want to come back home after graduation, I want there to be more opportunities here than there are now. They shouldn’t be forced to have no options but to live elsewhere or drive into Houston. It will take time, but if anyone can help our job market, it is a good businessman like Eddie Lowery.

I have read that Lowery grew up driving tractors and had a construction company so I know that besides knowing the financial side of the county business, he knows enough about the equipment that is used to manage the rest of the job. People say we have had the best roads in the county for years and our commissioner is just coasting in his job, but it may be that Melvin doesn’t know any other way but to compete and trade-off with other commissioners to get and spend as much as he can. Lowery’s knowledge of finance will prevent us from electing someone who just hopes to be conservative based off of the way their family spends money. Instead, when Lowery says he wants to build up a rainy day fund for emergencies, I believe he will actually do it. It may take a while but a good businessman can help change this county.

Best of all, I like when he said the other night in a forum: “They need to understand this money isn’t ours. It is yours.”