Posted on 02/10/2005 3:15:27 PM PST by NormsRevenge
SAN DIEGO (AP) - The new city attorney has issued a scathing report accusing the mayor and City Council of violating federal securities laws by hiding key information about the city's troubled finances.
Mayor Dick Murphy disputed the findings and said City Attorney Michael Aguirre had no jurisdiction to investigate the alleged violations.
"Mr. Aguirre's allegations are untrue, irresponsible and defamatory," Murphy said. "Mr. Aguirre is not the SEC. This is only Mr. Aguirre's opinion."
The Securities and Exchange Commission and federal prosecutors offices are investigating whether city officials concealed important information about San Diego's finances while selling more than $1 billion in bonds to investors. Murphy said city officials are cooperating with the investigations.
Aguirre's 91-page report, released Wednesday, said the mayor and council failed to ensure that bond documents reported the deteriorating state of the municipal pension fund, special deals given to union presidents and other financial irregularities.
"There is substantial evidence consistent with a finding that the mayor and City Council engaged in the alleged wrongful conduct either knowingly or recklessly," the report said.
Aguirre, a former securities fraud attorney, campaigned as an outsider and was elected Nov. 2 over a top aide to the departing city attorney. He started investigating the pension fund shortly after taking office. The fund has an estimated $1.4 billion deficit, and audits are incomplete for 2003 and 2004.
Standard & Poor's suspended the city's credit rating in September.
Mayor Dick Murphy disputed the findings and said City Attorney Michael Aguirre had no jurisdiction to investigate the alleged violations.
"Mr. Aguirre's allegations are untrue, irresponsible and defamatory," Murphy said. "Mr. Aguirre is not the SEC. This is only Mr. Aguirre's opinion."
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Aguirre, a former securities fraud attorney, campaigned as an outsider and was elected Nov. 2 over a top aide to the departing city attorney. He started investigating the pension fund shortly after taking office. The fund has an estimated $1.4 billion deficit, and audits are incomplete for 2003 and 2004.
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What's a matter Mayor? A little sunshine always let ya know what you're about to step in...
Ooops, sounds like you already did,,, step in something, that is.
OH-OH ping.
Mayor Dick Murphy disputed the findings and said City Attorney Michael Aguirre had no jurisdiction to investigate the alleged violations.
Yeah. Just nobody stick there nose in where you might find dirt. You are just not playing fair. Waaaah.
I hope Murphy sees jail along with the other crooks down there at City Hall. And it's time to strip away those absurd pensions. I don't give a damn how long they've had them. It was based on corruption and as far as I'm concerned they can shove it up their asses. Whew...I feel better now.
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Yet the Mayor won the hotly contested election,, albiet with a lot of help from his friends in black robes.. but that's how Rats win elections these days.
Dick Murphy is not a Democrat.
Before y'all get too excited about this, you have to consider the source. Mike Aguirre, in my opinion based on almost thirty years in the San Diego legal community, is not the most reputable source on issues such as this.
I called him a Rat based on his less than impressive remarks in response to an "unwarranted" conclusion or assertions of Aguirre's office.,, also for his stiff arming of a electoral process that guaranteed his selection, not election. But that's another issue.
Time will hopefully reveal to what extent that there is any basis for concern over his and others actions or ommissions in the dealings with the pension funds.
Altho his site doesn't trumpet his party affiliation, for some reason.
The proceedings the next few months will hopefully provide a better determination as to his actions, etc...
Here's his bio from his Mayor's site. He was appointed to the bench by Deukmejian. Maybe he should have stayed there..
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http://genesis.sannet.gov/infospc/templates/mayor/about.jsp
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Mayor Dick Murphy
The 33rd Mayor of the City of San Diego
Former Superior Court Judge Dick Murphy took the oath as Mayor of San Diego in December 2000. Although Dick previously served one term on the San Diego City Council, many consider him a fresh face in the world of San Diego politics. Most of his career has been spent as an attorney and a judge.
Dick served as an officer in the U.S. Army, as the San Diego Marketing Director for Bank of America, and as an attorney at the law firm of Luce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps. In 1985, he was appointed Municipal Court Judge by Governor George Deukmejian. In 1989, the Governor elevated him to Superior Court Judge where he presided over hundreds of complex criminal and civil trials.
As Mayor, Dick has set forth a bold agenda to make San Diego “a City worthy of our affection.” His ten goals for the City include the following:
Goal # 1 Establish an ethics commission
Goal # 2: Reduce traffic congestion
Goal # 3: Create neighborhoods we can be proud of
Goal #4: Clean up our beaches and bays
Goal #5: Restructure regional government / construct an airport
Goal #6: Complete the ballpark
Goal #7: Build a library system
Goal #8: Make San Diego America’s safest city
Goal #9: Pursue energy independence
Goal #10: Complete MSCP open space acquisitions
Dick graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in Economics from the University of Illinois, received his Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) from Harvard University, and his law degree (J.D.) from Stanford University.
Dick and his wife, Jan, have lived in San Diego for more than 30 years and have raised three children -- Brian, Shannon, and Kelly. Dick has coached 20 youth soccer, softball, baseball, and basketball teams. He is an active member of San Carlos United Methodist Church and of the San Diego Rotary Club.
I lived in San Diego some years ago. Aguirre was a press loving and very agressive attorney who ran against Bob Filner. As to his legal acumen, I recall him being a former Assistant U.S. Attorney who worked on mob and/or white collar crime cases and was very successful in his securities practice. He was not well liked (hated in many circles) but I got the impression that he knows securities/white collar crime. As to this 'report' I would nonetheless assume it is as headline grabbing and inflamatory as Aguirre could make it..
About Michael Aguirre
http://genesis.sannet.gov/infospc/templates/attorney/about_michael_aguirre.jsp
Sworn in as San Diego City Attorney on December 6, 2004, Mike Aguirre’s legal career spans three decades as a federal prosecutor, fraud victim trial attorney, municipal law expert, U.S. Senate investigator and public interest lawyer
A lifelong San Diegan, Aguirre has a Bachelor of Science degree from Arizona State University and earned his law degree in 1974 from University of California Berkeley’s Boalt Hall, where he was student president. He also holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Harvard University and sits on the Alumni Council at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.
In building a successful private practice, Aguirre has recovered more than a quarter-billion dollars for victims of pension and stock fraud. He has prevailed in damage actions against such defendants as J. David & Co., First Pension Corp., Prudential Bache and the American Principals Company. In 2001, Mike was recognized for his outstanding trial work by the Lawyers for Public Justice when they selected him as a Trial Lawyer of the Year Finalist.
As a Department of Justice Assistant U.S. Attorney in San Diego, he directed a grand jury probe of pension racketeering. Its successful culmination resulted in appointment as assistant counsel to the U.S. Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, where he led an investigation into a nationwide organized crime employee benefits fraud scheme.
Mike has been a faculty member in the History Department at the University of Southern California and a regular speaker at the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He chaired the most recent National Conference on Organized Crime and is a Certified Fraud Examiner.
A marathon runner and energetic community volunteer, Mike has represented thousands of San Diegans in pro bono cases involving the public interest. He is the father of two.
Mayor charges 'political grandstanding'
City Attorney Michael Aguirre says Mayor Dick Murphy and the City Council broke the law and hid damning facts about the ailing pension system.
Interim Report #2.. PDF
Exhibits.. PDF
Although a long timer freeper I am a rare poster but the occaision of Mike Aguirre requires these observations. First, Mike and I were fraternity brothers at Arizona State University. We double dated on my first date with my wife now of 35 years. He was then and is now a liberal ("progressive" by his modern deceptive terminology) of the highest sort. A political animal with an insatiable political apetite drunk on dreams of raw political power. Problem is ... he's basically unelectable. He ran for every office possible losing four times until he finally figured out that the San Diego City Attorney race was a non-political, non-affilitaion race ... he could run without the "D" behind his name. He squeeked through by 1% and is now on a crusade to bring down the politcal powers that be for his own politcal purposes. He is a bomb thrower that will cause San Diego to rue the day he was ever elected. The soap opera effect is already beginning to kick in ... the sideshow has already begun. I say he is unelectable because if he tries to bootstrap this 15 minutes into something more he will have to do it as the LIBERAL democrat that he is. The so called do gooder attempting to clean up city hall is nothing more than a typical phony liberal consumed with his own ego as best witnessed by this anecdote from college ... known always as Mike Aquirre (rymes with McQuire), I still remember the day in 1970 that he proudly proclaimed that he was going to get into Boalt Law School at Berkely by means of affirmative action as Miguel Aquirre (rymes with every other mexican name with trrrrilled rrr's). He continues as that mexican american, politcally dying, liberal activist lawyer today.
p.henry--check out No. 11
Thanks for your input..
We'll see what plays out.
Doesn't it concern you that records were allegedly destroyed that might shed more light on what actually transpired?
Sure, if true, but the other side says that it was in the ordinary course of business and that all records destroyed had other copies already on file. In other words it was nothing more than dumping duplication. Aguirre assumes the worst, throws what should be his clients under the bus and hopes that the headlines will catapult him to further political power.
I was speaking from personal experience and expressing my personal opinion, an opinion which I believe is shared by most attorneys who have had the pleasure of working with Mr. Aguirre. His authorized biography was known to me before I expressed my opinion.
The post to which I was responding referred to the mayor as a "Rat," which is generally used on this forum as a shortened version of the word "Democrat." Hence my response.
Understood. I heard the same too. I was only speaking to his experience. In any event, ipsofacto posted after his bio which seems to be accurate, i.e. political wh*re and flaming liberal. I think we're on the same page....
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