Excerpts

In the early days, I met with Deputy District Attorney Dick Lewis almost every morning through the noon hour before heading for lunch together. I brought my case paperwork to his office. While we discussed it at length, his staff was processing my documents and number stamping my pages. Lewis thought I had a good case for reinstatement on the department and encouraged me to try. But, I told him after what they put me through, I might try to go back only to resign and get my back pay. Once back, I would be a “marked man” they could fire for wearing two different colored socks. They wouldn’t need a reason. Lewis agreed. #MarkedMan

The relationship I had with Deputy District Attorney Richard (Dick) Lewis, spanned from the spring of 1986 until his death in October of 2000. From stranger to acquaintance, from friend to confidant, from father/son to lost best friend. When this man opened his shirt, you saw a big red “S” on his chest. He saved my life, literally. He defended me from my detractors. He made me privy to ongoing investigations, trusted me with confidential material and gave me an inside track to one of the most sensational serial killing cases in the country. #SerialKillings

In the same phone conversation with Breitenstein from Internal Affairs, he told Susan that Lieutenant Black, (first mention of his name) had been under investigation for a long time and steps were being taken for his hearing soon. However, he said, that I had hindered rather than helped the investigation. This was not true, Carl Black was a Lieutenant in Communications in 1981 along with Breitenstein and Connie Van Putten. They all worked under Black and would have done anything for their former boss. They were all buddies. So bringing this case to Breitenstein would have prevented a proper investigation. They were also aware of an investigation of Black while there for a sexual harassment of one of the dispatchers. I spoke to the dispatcher years ago and she was deathly afraid of Black. Connie Van Putten would make Lieutenant and would become one of my Lieutenants at Eastern Division. Oh, what a tangled web we weave. #TangledWeb

Breitenstein from Internal Affairs asked my ex-wife Susan if she was afraid of me. Susan said, “No.” Breitenstein told Susan not to tell me about this conversation. Breitenstein’s voice and demeanor scared her a little. He again mentioned he was checking my mental stability. Breitenstein asked Susan again if she would check to see if she had a copy of the letter sent to 60 minutes. The impression she got from Breitenstein was that she was in some kind of danger from me. This phone conversation occurred on February 7, 1985 almost a month after I was terminated. Why would they care? What were they worried about? What were they hiding? #60MinutesLetter

I entered the academy in the first week of November, 1979. No sooner was I there when physical training or PT training started. One of the first runs was up a parking lot hill. The Academy staffer leading the run told everyone to roll our feet when running uphill. He mentioned, “We might be a little sore the next day.” On November 13, 1979 while running the 440-yard dash in PT class, I felt a sharp pain in both legs. As I was finishing the race, I was unable to stand firmly. I was sent to a city doctor who diagnosed me with having ” shin splints” I was old to suspend any running for two weeks. I returned to full duty on December 22 and was able to pass all physical testing with flying colors. #Recovery

Bob Edgett used to work on the department as a Traffic Investigator. He gave me a list to check for law suits every month and send him a billing. Edgett liked and appreciated my work and spoke to Robert Townsend an in-house investigator for Gage, Mazursky, Schwartz, Angelo and Kussman, a heavy hitting Beverly Hills law firm. I would do many famous cases for them including the Heather O’Rourke, (child star from the Poltergeist movies) wrongful death suit against Kaiser Hospital. Hilda Salazar case against Tower Corporation, (First Slum Lording case in Los Angeles.) The William Bright accidental shooting in Banning, California where the host had a wedding on his ranch, western style where everyone was in western attire and was provided with alcohol and loaded weapons. An accidental discharge shot the victim’s foot off. A spoliation of evidence claim was added against the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department for impounding the bullet for evidence and then losing it. One other case was the Brandenburg A-4 plane crash which was a products liability/wrongful death case. There were other cases. Life was good and things seemed to be turning around for me. #RagsToRiches