Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Before the DA's investigation of Sweetwater school district...

Lawyers paid for with school funds

In November 2012, the San Diego Grand Jury began investigating corruption allegations that encompassed three South Bay school districts: Southwestern College, the San Ysidro School District, and the Sweetwater Union High School District.

The investigation resulted in 232 criminal charges for elected officials and/or contractors in all three districts. The investigation supported the district attorney’s investigation into alleged pay-to-play corruption.

A recent public-records request to the Sweetwater Union High School District reveals that some witnesses called to testify were given paid legal “support.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

A letter included in the records request from the law corporation of Winet, Patrick & Weaver states, “When the District Attorney convened a Grand Jury, subpoenas were issued to a number of employees at the District who had no experience with the District Attorney’s office or Grand Jury proceedings. As is customary, these employees were informed that the Grand Jury proceedings were entirely confidential, employees could not discuss their prospective testimony with other individuals, and that the Grand Jury proceedings were private.”

A separate public-records request shared with the Reader reports that “The law firms that provided advice to District employees who requested legal advice regarding the grand jury proceedings included my firm [Winet, Patrick & Weaver], the firm of Stutz, Artiano, Shinoff and Holtz, and attorney Bradley Patton.”

Winet, Patrick & Weaver is the firm that provided $6336 to John McCann in his failed attempt at a permanent restraining order against Stewart Payne, a Sweetwater parent and one of the people who brought allegations of Sweetwater corruption to the district attorney.

Bradley Patton is a criminal-law attorney. Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz provide a variety of legal services to the district.

In the year 2012-2013, Sweetwater paid Winet, Patrick & Weaver $16, 357, Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz $148, 966, and Bradley Patton $1575.

The district declined to say which employees requested legal assistance because “disclosure of these documents or records would not only usurp the privacy required by Grand Jury proceedings, but also may constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy of the individual employee.”

However, the 61 names of witnesses called by the grand jury was filed with the superior court on December 21 and is part of the public record. Superintendent Ed Brand and trustee John McCann were among those called from the Sweetwater district.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Big swordfish, big marlin, and big money

Trout opener at Santee Lakes

In November 2012, the San Diego Grand Jury began investigating corruption allegations that encompassed three South Bay school districts: Southwestern College, the San Ysidro School District, and the Sweetwater Union High School District.

The investigation resulted in 232 criminal charges for elected officials and/or contractors in all three districts. The investigation supported the district attorney’s investigation into alleged pay-to-play corruption.

A recent public-records request to the Sweetwater Union High School District reveals that some witnesses called to testify were given paid legal “support.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

A letter included in the records request from the law corporation of Winet, Patrick & Weaver states, “When the District Attorney convened a Grand Jury, subpoenas were issued to a number of employees at the District who had no experience with the District Attorney’s office or Grand Jury proceedings. As is customary, these employees were informed that the Grand Jury proceedings were entirely confidential, employees could not discuss their prospective testimony with other individuals, and that the Grand Jury proceedings were private.”

A separate public-records request shared with the Reader reports that “The law firms that provided advice to District employees who requested legal advice regarding the grand jury proceedings included my firm [Winet, Patrick & Weaver], the firm of Stutz, Artiano, Shinoff and Holtz, and attorney Bradley Patton.”

Winet, Patrick & Weaver is the firm that provided $6336 to John McCann in his failed attempt at a permanent restraining order against Stewart Payne, a Sweetwater parent and one of the people who brought allegations of Sweetwater corruption to the district attorney.

Bradley Patton is a criminal-law attorney. Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz provide a variety of legal services to the district.

In the year 2012-2013, Sweetwater paid Winet, Patrick & Weaver $16, 357, Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz $148, 966, and Bradley Patton $1575.

The district declined to say which employees requested legal assistance because “disclosure of these documents or records would not only usurp the privacy required by Grand Jury proceedings, but also may constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy of the individual employee.”

However, the 61 names of witnesses called by the grand jury was filed with the superior court on December 21 and is part of the public record. Superintendent Ed Brand and trustee John McCann were among those called from the Sweetwater district.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

At 4pm, this Farmer's Table restaurant in Chula Vista becomes Acqua e Farina

Brunch restaurant by day, Roman style trattoria by night
Next Article

The danger of San Diego's hoarders

The $1 million Flash Comics #1
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader