This page is a working hypothesis of the events involving the Colonies $102 million dollar settlement and the establishment of political actions committee’s to distribute the pay off money. The pac was the Alliance For Ethical Government 

hy⋅poth⋅e⋅sis
1.a proposition, or set of propositions, set forth as an explanation for the occurrence of some specified group of phenomena, either asserted merely as a provisional conjecture to guide investigation (working hypothesis) or accepted as highly probable in the light of established facts. 2. a proposition assumed as a premise in an argument. 3. the antecedent of a conditional proposition. 4. a mere assumption or guess. Or,  A tentative explanation for an observation, phenomenon, or scientific problem that can be tested by further investigation. Something taken to be true for the purpose of argument or investigation; an assumption.

Looking back at the Alliance For Ethical Government political action committee and the money that got moved around, it makes more sense if you view it as a money laundering device instead of a legitimate political action committee. The creation of the pac and its short history fit the description of a way to take Colonies settlement payoff money and distribute it out to your political cronies while trying to stay out of the light.

On May 25, 2007, the Colonies gave $100,000.00 to Alliance for Ethical Government PAC. Ovitt staffers Mark Kirk, Brian Johsz and Anthony Riley served as consultants on the committee and are Ovitt's chief of staff, district supervisor and special projects coordinator, respectively. The committee received the donation the same day it qualified with the Secretary of State's office .

The Shell Game

In order to avoid the pac being labeled a “sponsored committee” by the Political Reform Act definition, 20% of the total contributions have to come from somewhere else than the Colonies. If the Colonies put up the first  $100,000.00 then $20,000.00 plus chump change was needed to move the Colonies under the 80% total contribution number. It’s a numbers shell game, that was played here to hide the Colonies name. 

The chump change part came in from Anthony Adams on October 5 2007 and Dick Larson on November 6 2007. Both gave  $ 500.00 to the pac. Then, (almost like it was planned) on March 24, 2008 the Committee to Elect Brad Mitzelfelt gave the pac $10,000.00. Wait,(your not going to believe this coincidence) on the very same day March 24, 2008, the Committee to Elect Gary C. Ovitt Supervisor also gave the pac $10,000.00. Thanks to Mitzelfelt and Ovitt  the 80% contributor rule was avoided and the Colonies name as the main sponsor of the pac wasn’t required to show. The $20,000.00 didn’t come in until March of 2008, so anything handed out before that was all Colonies money. ( $1,000.00 in chump change not included)

Doling Out The Colonies Money

In 2007 Colonies money was given to Robert Kirk For School Board- $3,500.00 ( Mark Kirks father), Anthony Riley as a Campaign Consultant- $4,500.00, and on September 25, 2007 the Committee to Elect Gary C. Ovitt got $10,000.00.  Ovitt’s committee would give the money back in March of 2008 in order to create the illusion that the pac was legitimate and to take the Colonies name off of it. On November 7, 2007 Mark Kirk (Ovitt’s chief of staff) paid himself $10,000.00 of Colonies money for being a “Campaign Consultant”. Kirk would pay himself $10,000.00 again on April 23, 2008 as a campaign consultant about a month after the 2007 Ovitt  $10,000.00 was returned to the pac. 

San Bernardino County Republican Central Committee Slush Fund

In 2008 a large part of the $100,000.00 Colonies pay off money was used to try and  get political cronies elected to the SB County Republican Central Committee. In April and May of 2008 the pac spent $30,553.28 on the Republican Central Committee election. In the  race the Alliance For Ethical Government pac put its money on Robert and Mark Kirk, Anthony Riley, Brad Mitzelfelt, Gary and Sue Ovitt,  McKenzie Tennison , Michael Orme, Curt Hagman, Roman Nava, Paul Leon , Jiles Smith , and Ryan Mc Eachron.

In the 1st district they were successful with  Brad Mitzelfelt, Anthony Riley, Ryan McEachron, Michael Orme, Mark Kirk and  Robert Kirk. 6 out of the 8 Republican Central Committee members were put there with Colonies money.

In the 4th Supervisors District- (Gary Ovitt Supervisor), Curt Hagman, Gary and Sue Ovitt and Paul Leon were elected to the Republican Central Committee with the help of Colonies money from the Alliance For Ethical Government pac. 4 out of the 5 seats out of the 4th district.

The 2nd Supervisors District Central Committee race was funded by the Colonies but not through the Alliance pac. John Does and indicted players Paul Biane, Rex Gutirrez and Adam Aleman were elected there. The 3rd district has the familiar names of Matt Brown-(Bianes’s chief of staff) and County Supervisor Neil Derry on the Republican Central Committee there.

Other Expenditures
 
Some other notables with their hands out for Colonies money were Paul Leon for Mayor at $13,000.00. Vote Jim Lindley at $5,000.00, Brian Johsz ( an Ovitt staffer) at $5,000.00 for being a “campaign consultant ”. The constant name in local Republican pac and committee management is Betty Presley who was also the treasurer of the Alliance pac. Betty billed the Alliance pac for $9,700.00 during its life. A Tony Sicliani made $22,808.02 from campaign literature and mailings from the Colonies through the Alliance pac.

The Alliance for Ethical Government pac (ID# 1297746) was terminated on 12/31/2008 with $0.00 ending cash. I have to give Mark Kirk credit for the great name of this committee. It was an alliance, just not so ethical. In 2008 they spent $66,261.56 of the $100,000.00 Colonies pay off for the $102,000,000.00 gift of tax dollars from Postmus, Ovitt and Biane.

Time will tell if our reluctant District Attorney will do his job and enforce the law equally. So far, he has protected the criminals if they are in his political party (Republican) and or if he has taken money from them for his campaign. He was squeezed into going after Postmus and Erwin, but has so far looked the other way on Biane, Ovitt, Mitzelfelt, Kirk, Burum, Richards, DeFazio, etc,etc,etc and they are still in power and still ripping the taxpayers off daily. Thanks to Jerry Brown for bringing it along this far, but it may take the feds to complete the job.