New charges were filed this week with evidence of violations of the Political Reform Act and perjury in the 2008 election for the Board of Trustees of the San Bernardino Community College District.

The Fair Political Practices Commission, the state’s watchdog of election fraud, already fined one candidate, John Futch, $6000 for two “serious” counts and now another Board member, Carleton W. Lockwood, Jr. could face even stiffer penalties if convicted of failing to report that he received “ in kind” contributions from the district teachers union.

“Futch waited a year to tell voters he was bankrolled by the San Manuel casino,” said Richard David Boyle, President of Teachers for a Change, “but Lockwood lied on his disclosures that he got thousands of dollars in kind contributions, possibly felony perjury.” Boyle sent documents to the FPPC that Lockwood, who was project engineer for the failed Wal Mart Super Store in Highland, lied when he swore he would raise less than $1000. However the California Teachers Association local filed campaign statements they spent $8767 on a slate mailer and campaign consultants for Lockwood and Futch.

Boyle said in his charges that Lockwood and Futch then voted to name James Ramos, tribal chair of the Highland based San Manuel Casino and Tribe, as new board president. “Ramos built a $71,000 war chest in 2006 in money from his own casino and $5000 from former Assessor Bill Postmus,” Boyle said. Lockwood and Postmus, who is now facing a prison sentence for bribery, corruption and fraud, were allies in the County Republican Party, Boyle told the FPPC.

In the FPPC filing Boyle said it was doubtful that Lockwood, whose engineering company is non-union, would get money from a union that usually backs liberal Democrats, without his knowledge. “Few would believe that Lockwood did not know of the mass mailing and other in kind contributions from the teachers union,” Boyle said. “If he did know and lied, that is perjury under Section 118 of the California Penal Code.”

The local teachers union did not endorse then teacher Jess Vizciano who is now a field representative for Democratic Congressman Joe Baca, but spent union dues to back a George W. Bush Republican, it was charged in the filing. “We asked the FPPC to investigate any possible under table deal here, and if it did happen, it was a violation of the law,” Boyle charged in the complaint.

The San Manuel casino and tribe was under investigation by Federal authorities in 2006, when Ramos was first elected to the board of trustees, for laundering money, drug dealing and murder plots for the Mexican Mafia. Boyle is now running for the Board of Trustees against Ramos, and is questioning connections between Ramos, Futch, Postmus and Lockwood and passing of money between campaigns.

Futch dismissed his $6000 fine, one of the largest in County history, as “small” and also dismissed two counts for failing to file disclosures on time as “administrative errors,” and blamed his campaign advisers hired by the San Manuel casino.

The organization that filed has a website: www.teachersforachange.biz

Story submitted by Richard David Boyle - Contact telephone: 909-794-7813

Tags: election