If there is one thing to say about Adam Aleman, it's that he has been busy.
Aleman is 25 years old. At an age when most young adults are still getting their professional careers on track, Aleman had already directly helped run two campaigns, one with a successful outcome.
He had led the Republicans' influential political committee in San Bernardino County. And he is one of the top three executives in the county Assessor's Office, a post that offers great responsibility and a six-figure salary.
But for the moment at least, Aleman's life is on hold. He is being paid $57.64 an hour to stay at his Rancho Cucamonga home on administrative leave. Officially, the reasons are unknown, but they are generally believed to be tied to a raid by investigators at the Assessor's Office last month.
Two questions are surfacing from what top county officials worry could be another
reputation-wrecking scandal: What is the District Attorney's Office investigating? And how did a 25-year-old without a college degree make such an incredible rise?
The answer to the first has not been explained by District Attorney Michael A. Ramos, who has made it clear the investigation is ongoing. Sources have said investigators are looking at the hiring practices at the Assessor's Office and whether political operations were run out of it.
Answering the second question is easier, and it begins 10 years ago through a bond forged with Assessor Bill Postmus.
In a series of interviews with local politicians, and comments made by Postmus in an e-mail, it's known the friendship evolved to the point that Aleman became Postmus' right-hand man, running his campaign, serving as a staff representative and acting as the assessor's spokesman on sensitive issues.
"In the years in which I have known Adam Aleman, he has been a loyal and dedicated employee who has always displayed the highest personal integrity in his efforts to make San Bernardino County a better place," Postmus said in a prepared statement. "I am also proud to call Adam a personal friend."
Aleman, who grew up in the Upland area, did not respond to repeated calls and e-mails for comment.
He is a striking man who seems to have boundless energy. Friends and associates say that when he sets his mind on something, he relentlessly pursues it until the goal has been fulfilled.
As an example, sources cite his being named the youngest manager in the Outback Steakhouse chain, which is apparently where Aleman's professional life began. Some also point out that Aleman lost 75 pounds simply by visiting his doctor and getting details on the proper way to diet and exercise.
"The guy seems to be an extremely hard worker who has excelled wherever he is at," said a top county official. "He really made his way for himself on Eli Pirozzi's campaign."
Pirozzi, now a Superior Court judge, ran unsuccessfully for Assembly in 2004.
Pirozzi hired Aleman, whose previous experience was managing the Outback restaurant on Hospitality Lane in San Bernardino - one of the restaurants that local politicians frequent.
Pirozzi declined to comment, citing the ongoing investigation and that the law prevent judges from commenting on something that could make them a witness in a criminal trial.
A top local official who has known Aleman for years said he was a star on Pirozzi's campaign.
"Adam just gets it," the source said. "He intrinsically gets what we do. It makes for an incredibly important part of a campaign to have people like that because they just intuitively get it. They don't need to ask questions. They just do it."
Postmus, who was chairman of the San Bernardino County Republican Central Committee, is a political animal who could see Aleman's skills immediately, the source said. Postmus hired Aleman, nurturing the younger man's burgeoning political skills, and at some point, Aleman became executive director of the committee.
In 2004, he left the post to work as a special assistant to Postmus, then the chairman of the county Board of Supervisors. He helped manage Postmus' campaign in 2006 for assessor, a messy and expensive affair that eventually led to victory over Assessor Don Williamson, who at the time was also a Republican. Williamson has since switched to the Democratic party.
In 2007, Postmus took office and brought with him several of his staff members for his executive staff. That included tapping Aleman as one of his two assistant assessors - for which Postmus had to get a waiver from the office of Michelle Steel, a member of the state Board of Equalization, because his young protege had not completed his college degree.
Somewhere over the years, sources said, Aleman occasionally strayed over the lines allowed for public employees who work in a political spectrum. That included using a public office to conduct political activities, said the local source who has known Aleman for years.
"He is the kind of person who would respond to someone saying `Just get it done,' and be willing to cross the lines to get it done," the source said.
Postmus did not encourage the line-crossing, the source said, but "he didn't actively discourage it as much as he should have," the source said.
The source gave Aleman some latitude, he said, because of "the fact that every policy issue has a political component. If you're staffing a policymaker, are you staffing as a policymaker or as a politician? It's an incredibly fine line," adding, "It's very easy, if you're not incredibly diligent, to inadvertently blur lines."
Over the past year, Aleman has suffered through several stumbles. There were his answers to questions of why Postmus took a trip to Colorado and charged the taxpayers for gas reimbursements, for which Aleman explained by first saying it was a personal trip, then saying it was a work excursion and concluding with, "What we are going to stick with: It was a staff trip."
Aleman also was scrutinized for having the county pay more than $8,000 for college courses, which included a class on the science of birds that was authorized by Postmus. It's important to note that Aleman paid for much of his education himself, and after being hired as assistant assessor, had switched his major from political science to business administration.
"I think that Adam's single greatest strength is his loyalty, and his single greatest weakness is his loyalty," the local source said.
Postmus has said through his new spokesman that he expects Aleman to return to work. For the time being, though, Aleman's famed work ethic is restrained to his house while he remains on paid administrative leave, pulling in some of his $119,891 taxpayer- funded salary.
SAN BERNARDINO — The San Bernardino County Assessor’s top aide was put on administrative leave just days after investigators from the District Attorney’s office searched the Assessor’s building and seized computers.
Assistant Assessor Adam Aleman was placed on paid administrative leave but is expected to return, Assessor spokesman Ted Lehrer said Friday.
“I’m not sure on the date of the return,” Lehrer said. “Pursuant to county human resources, for any county employee, those reasons must remain confidential.”
On April 10, Investigators searches the Assessor’s office and according to sources, took photographs and seized computer’s including Aleman’s.
Aleman, 25, has been a close confidant and friend to Postmus for years and despite his young age, was appointed by Postmus to fill the position of Assistant Assessor where he makes the equivalent of $57.64 per hour.
Aleman did not return calls for comment.
Sources close to the investigation believe that it is focused on using public resources for political activities.
Taking over Aleman’s duties in his absence will be Assistant Assessor Harlow Cameron, a 35-year veteran of the office of the county assessor.
“As an individual who has spent nearly his entire adult life in service to San Bernardino County, Assistant Assessor Harlow Cameron has an impeccable commitment to the people and taxpayers for whom he has long worked,” said Assessor Bill Postmus.
Cameron was appointed as assistant assessor for operations in November after Jim Erwin resigned from the post.
Ryan Orr may be reached at 951-6277 or rorr@vvdailypress.com.
These comments by naomismom and appraiser999 are the best I've seen in months, very informative! The article, however, is not very informative at all, does little more than say something happened without ever saying what the cause was, therefore leaving you to wonder what's really going on. Naomismom is right about all the other papers reporting more information than the DP, guess they have better reporters who care more about presenting information to the public. The DP is so vague in what they say in their articles that the DP comes across as nothing more than a gossip sheet presenting, a lot of times, speculation from the reporter, instead of nothing but the facts....the reason I've stopped reading it. I've also read lots of things in the PE that the DP doesn't even report at all, as a result, I hardly ever read this one at all anymore. In fact, this is the first time in months I have, AFTER reading the PE first, lol. Thanks for all the info naomismom! Ever think about moonlighting as a reporter? You'd make a good one.
I voted for Bill Postmus all three times. He is now my boss but since he became assessor he has been to our office one time. He made many promises about changes but not one thing has happened so far. It is insulting to me that I had to work all day and go to school to get my appraisers license. Next I had to take the county test and interview. Everything was at my own expense. Aleman makes twice what I make and has never appraised anything. I wish I could rescind my vote. Williamson was a good old boy but he was honest. That cannot be said about Postmus.
One more thing because I didn't see it, I have written numerous letters to the editor. They used to print them until Don Holland accused me of having a "hissy fit" over the lack of a story on DVH. I've posted that email to these blogs several times. Over a period of time I've spoken with Ryan Orr, who has both my home phone and my cell phone, Stephan Wingert and Don Holland. George Watson called me a while back on another subject. I have been interviewed and quoted by the Los Angeles Times, the Press Enterprise, the Sun and the Daily Bulletin over various issues including union corruption. Believe me they all know me, know where I live, my phone numbers, my email addresses. Many of them read my blog. I used to use my real name on these blogs, but that account stopped working. It's no secret who I am.
Up until last May, I had spent the last nine years working in the Welfare-to-Work Program. (Before anyone accuses me of anything, prior to that I was a judges secretary for the courts for six years, the BOS, probation, sheriff, marshal, EPWA and facilities management. Most of those positions were working for elected or appointed officials or management/administration.) I chose to work for Welfare to Work because I believe that welfare people should have to go to work and because I had commuted for 17 years and wanted to be close to home.
I went into the program thinking I was going to make a difference in people's lives. For a number of years I was actually lucky as I had substance abuse caseload and did get to see people turn their lives around. Most who work in the system are not that lucky.
Early on when I still had my head in the clouds and thought I was going to change the world, an older, more experienced worker told me that welfare to work was a crock and county administration did not want to see welfare caseloads drop because it meant reduced funding and a smaller kingdom. I, of course, just thought she was a bitter old woman than needed to retire. After working in the system for nine years, I will say that they do not want to see people get off of welfare. The system is geared to punish those who try to succeed and get out. There were so many times I wanted to help someone who was trying so hard, but my hands were tied. However, if you're a fraud and a cheat, chances are you'll get lots of help.
I wish I had an answer for you. All I can say is that those who make the laws have little concept of the people who make up the welfare population. They come up with these one-size-fits-all programs that assume that those on welfare have the same goals, needs, morals, education, family structure, support group, etc., that the rest of us have. They do not know what it is like to be on welfare. We get little money for those programs that work and tons of funding for those that don't. We throw a lot of good money after bad.
First, yes they know exactly who I am and have an HRO who monitors my blog. I'm a 28-year county employee who had a perfect work record until EEOC charges were brought against my manager and he went down with my help. They have been after me every since. I'm sure they're doing everything they can to get rid of me but I do have good attorneys and it can be clearly shown that what they have done to me is in retaliation for the EEOC complaint. I did not go public until after they started retaliating for the EEOC complaint.
Second, as far as the Green Tree office and Artisan homes, etc., that part is not me. Neither paveroadsfirst or the barbstantonshow websites are mine. I do send people to those sites because both Paul and Barb have done their own research and have created their own sites. It gives you another perspective.
As far as Postmus goes, you're gonna have to wait on that one until after the Grand Jury investigation is over. Did you read the LA Times story on the Postmus raid? If not, I suggest you do. Just because you don't read it in the Daily Press doesn't mean it didn't happen. The Press Enterprise, the Sun and the LA Times have covered far more than the Daily Press has, which could be why you're doubting some of us.
As to evidence, some of what we're saying you can check out for yourself on the Registrar's website, the county's website, and the Secretary of State's website. It's there for anyone to see. The Daily Press has simply chosen to ignore it but it has been brought to their attention repeatedly.
Since you seem to be confusing my postings with those of others, if you will ask me specific questions about those things that you doubt, I will be glad to answer them if they are not part of the current grand jury investigation. However, I have no answers for you regarding Dino DeFazio, Artisan Homes, and the Green Tree Inn. You'll have to ask Barb Stanton those questions. She'll be on the air tomorrow from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Since you say you don't know me, you don't know that I used to have a blog where I posted actual copies of documents involved. Those documents were also given to the newspapers. The Daily Press has never been interested. However, all I will say is that Sun, PE and LATimes reporters didn't wake up one morning and out of the blue decide to write a story about Postmus et al. Something prompted them. The problem with those newspapers is that they don't go deep enough, sometimes due to lack of resources, sometimes due to lack knowledge as to how to get the information, sometimes due to lack of interest.
Let me give you one example. George Watson of the Sun wrote an article on the expense accounts of the members of the BOS. He, like any non-county employee, would think that he could go into a county office, ask for the expense accounts, and receive an accurate accounting of what a board member has spent. Unfortunately, that is not true. You see there are many other ways to pay for expenses. If someone does not ask to see those specifically, then when they ask to see the expense accounts, they will only see the expense accounts. When I worked for the board of supervisors and I had to make travel arrangements, I would charge the airline tickets to the BOS airplane credit card, not to the card of the person I was making the purhase for. Then I would call the hotel and the exact amount for what was expected for the bill and have a county warrant issue so that the employee could take the check and pre-pay for the room. If the employee was going to a conference, then I would also get a county warrant issued for the cost of the conference. NONE of these items would show up on the expense account because they were paid in a different way. If you wanted to see all of the expenses of Supervisor Mitzelfelt, would you know to go ask to see all these other records? Newspaper reporters don't know that either. That is how things are done.
One story you didn't see in the DP relating to the raid is the fact that Postmus hired a consultant to work in his office for just under $50,000. Because it was under $50,000 he did not have to go through the channels for hiring that he would normally have to do. This guy is a political consultant working in a county office being paid for by the county. Go check all the other newspapers. They covered it. The Daily Press did not.
So at least check other sources before you think we are all making this all up. But again, I will be happy to answer any specific questions you have if I can.
Naomismom why is the county so corrupt as you have inside information, please let us know, I mean they come threatining us with letters, jail time and fines for ripping off there system like food stamps or cal works because we are hungry and need money to pay our bills and sometimes have to lie to survive and then we are caught as should be the case and punished severly unlike county people who get away with murder. Why is this so?
I think most of what you folks are alleging is just hot desert wind. You say the DP will not cover it. There are many more newspapers in Southern California than the one we have. Do all these county people know who you are naomismom? If I were you I would hope not, as you make some pretty serious accusations that could get you in a lot of trouble. Be it your job or a libel suit. I would suggest you make something happen soon or your gonna go down. Down hard. I do not know you, so I want you to know that I am being unbiased. If these things are going on, I am concerned. But until there is a leg for any of it to stand on, your the one bearing the burden of proof. I only say this because from reading the blogs you post it would be very difficult for them to get away with all this stuff. Your making it all sound so obvious but no news organization thinks any of it is real. They do investigate and would love to break these stories. They just cannot find anything real about them. One question. Why is it wrong for elected officials to have an office at the Green Tree Inn? It was OK before but now that Dino owns it, it's wrong? If Bill was really doing the things you accuse him of with Dino and other developers it would be a major red flag. Are you then saying the county as a whole is corrupt? I just think your unhappy with some aspect of your job. It is not being corrupt to have a meeting with Bill. It is corrupt though for you to only speculate on the topic of their conversations. I was a sub-contractor for Artisan Homes for six years and the tract your referring to is in Hesperia and it never happened. I have not done a job for that builder for 9 months. I also had conversations with Dino and his superintendent about the holdup and it was always told to me that the city of Hesperia was holding things up in engineering and then of course it was the real estate market. Before you blog back in anger at me, I am only being fair about it until someone can provide cold, hard, facts. How come you have not wrote in to the editorial page with these accusations? Is it because you must provide a real name? Why don't you and your believers make some signs with these allegations and march at the Green Tree? I gaurantee the paper would cover some of it then. Ah, but you would have to release your identity. You could have other people do it for you. People that do not work for the county. That would work. So again naomismom, until you make something happen other than bloggin' a lot of here-say on the blog, I don't believe any of it. C'mon make something happen!!!!!
Nao, thanks enjoyed the site www.paveroadsfirst.com, I recommend it to all HD residents to see why the HD needs to be governed by our own county government. Our Taxes go down the hill, but only a small amount come back.
I'm sorry I didn't mean to ignore the other part of your comment. The avenues you suggest are something we are working on at this time. You forget that there IS a grand jury investigation already going on and you don't know who instigated it.
Also, I would have been one of the most vocal supporters of Brad Mitzelfelt if would have taken the time to talk to a group of county employees who approached him with evidence of county corruption and abuse. Instead he told us to take a hike. He refused to even talk to us. So I told him I would do exactly what I'm doing and that is to do everything I could to keep him from being elected.
yes it is a pro-Vogler site and I am pro-Vogler. The reason I am supporting Rita over Bob Nelson and Bob Conaway is simply because I believe she is the most electible and most experienced. Anyone who beats one of the BIA Boys is going to be put through hell and back and she is the most seasoned to withstand the pressure she will be under.
I've been trying for several days to view her campaign forms on line and so far haven't been able to find them. So if you have a link, please post it or email it to me at webmaster@crittercollectibles.com I spent quite a bit of time the past few days looking at candidates' financial forms and in previous jobs I've had the responsibility of filling those same forms out for various elected officials that I have worked for, so I have some familiarity with the process.
What you describe is relatively common as the powers that be try to bring the new guys into the fold. I doubt that either Postmus or Mitzelfelt have donated to her campaign recently.
The other part of this is I suspect the Voglers, like myself, were supporters of Bill Postmus when he first ran for First District Supervisor. Most first district residents supported and voted for Bill Postmus. I certainly did. I supported him right up until just before his re-election. It was 2000 or 2001 when I was first approached by someone wanting me (because of my websites, blogs, newsletter to county employees) to expose Postmus for being homosexual. I defended Postmus to no end on that one, refusing to believe it and suggesting his lack of interest in the various women hitting on him was due to his religious beliefs. Of course, now I know the whole HDC thing was just part of his scam on the voters.
There is no perfect candidate for any office. So we vote for the most qualified or the lessor of the evils. However, you want to look at it, I mostly hope that everyone will vote for anyone but Mitzelfelt.
You are at www.paveroadsfirst.com Hesperia California. Our goal is to make local and County government responsible to the people and public needs before private special interests.
Hesperia City Government and the County of San Bernardino need to focus and work to improve the quality of life for the residents of Hesperia , the High Desert and the County of San Bernardino . To meet the needs of the people of Hesperia and the High Desert is their only job while in public office. Are they doing their job? Can they do better? Can we do better? Contact us at paveroadsfirst@verizon.net
Inquiry delays rise of Aleman
If there is one thing to say about Adam Aleman, it's that he has been busy.
Aleman is 25 years old. At an age when most young adults are still getting their professional careers on track, Aleman had already directly helped run two campaigns, one with a successful outcome.
He had led the Republicans' influential political committee in San Bernardino County. And he is one of the top three executives in the county Assessor's Office, a post that offers great responsibility and a six-figure salary.
But for the moment at least, Aleman's life is on hold. He is being paid $57.64 an hour to stay at his Rancho Cucamonga home on administrative leave. Officially, the reasons are unknown, but they are generally believed to be tied to a raid by investigators at the Assessor's Office last month.
Two questions are surfacing from what top county officials worry could be another
reputation-wrecking scandal: What is the District Attorney's Office investigating? And how did a 25-year-old without a college degree make such an incredible rise?
The answer to the first has not been explained by District Attorney Michael A. Ramos, who has made it clear the investigation is ongoing. Sources have said investigators are looking at the hiring practices at the Assessor's Office and whether political operations were run out of it.
Answering the second question is easier, and it begins 10 years ago through a bond forged with Assessor Bill Postmus.
In a series of interviews with local politicians, and comments made by Postmus in an e-mail, it's known the friendship evolved to the point that Aleman became Postmus' right-hand man, running his campaign, serving as a staff representative and acting as the assessor's spokesman on sensitive issues.
"In the years in which I have known Adam Aleman, he has been a loyal and dedicated employee who has always displayed the highest personal integrity in his efforts to make San Bernardino County a better place," Postmus said in a prepared statement. "I am also proud to call Adam a personal friend."
Aleman, who grew up in the Upland area, did not respond to repeated calls and e-mails for comment.
He is a striking man who seems to have boundless energy. Friends and associates say that when he sets his mind on something, he relentlessly pursues it until the goal has been fulfilled.
As an example, sources cite his being named the youngest manager in the Outback Steakhouse chain, which is apparently where Aleman's professional life began. Some also point out that Aleman lost 75 pounds simply by visiting his doctor and getting details on the proper way to diet and exercise.
"The guy seems to be an extremely hard worker who has excelled wherever he is at," said a top county official. "He really made his way for himself on Eli Pirozzi's campaign."
Pirozzi, now a Superior Court judge, ran unsuccessfully for Assembly in 2004.
Pirozzi hired Aleman, whose previous experience was managing the Outback restaurant on Hospitality Lane in San Bernardino - one of the restaurants that local politicians frequent.
Pirozzi declined to comment, citing the ongoing investigation and that the law prevent judges from commenting on something that could make them a witness in a criminal trial.
A top local official who has known Aleman for years said he was a star on Pirozzi's campaign.
"Adam just gets it," the source said. "He intrinsically gets what we do. It makes for an incredibly important part of a campaign to have people like that because they just intuitively get it. They don't need to ask questions. They just do it."
Postmus, who was chairman of the San Bernardino County Republican Central Committee, is a political animal who could see Aleman's skills immediately, the source said. Postmus hired Aleman, nurturing the younger man's burgeoning political skills, and at some point, Aleman became executive director of the committee.
In 2004, he left the post to work as a special assistant to Postmus, then the chairman of the county Board of Supervisors. He helped manage Postmus' campaign in 2006 for assessor, a messy and expensive affair that eventually led to victory over Assessor Don Williamson, who at the time was also a Republican. Williamson has since switched to the Democratic party.
In 2007, Postmus took office and brought with him several of his staff members for his executive staff. That included tapping Aleman as one of his two assistant assessors - for which Postmus had to get a waiver from the office of Michelle Steel, a member of the state Board of Equalization, because his young protege had not completed his college degree.
Somewhere over the years, sources said, Aleman occasionally strayed over the lines allowed for public employees who work in a political spectrum. That included using a public office to conduct political activities, said the local source who has known Aleman for years.
"He is the kind of person who would respond to someone saying `Just get it done,' and be willing to cross the lines to get it done," the source said.
Postmus did not encourage the line-crossing, the source said, but "he didn't actively discourage it as much as he should have," the source said.
The source gave Aleman some latitude, he said, because of "the fact that every policy issue has a political component. If you're staffing a policymaker, are you staffing as a policymaker or as a politician? It's an incredibly fine line," adding, "It's very easy, if you're not incredibly diligent, to inadvertently blur lines."
Over the past year, Aleman has suffered through several stumbles. There were his answers to questions of why Postmus took a trip to Colorado and charged the taxpayers for gas reimbursements, for which Aleman explained by first saying it was a personal trip, then saying it was a work excursion and concluding with, "What we are going to stick with: It was a staff trip."
Aleman also was scrutinized for having the county pay more than $8,000 for college courses, which included a class on the science of birds that was authorized by Postmus. It's important to note that Aleman paid for much of his education himself, and after being hired as assistant assessor, had switched his major from political science to business administration.
"I think that Adam's single greatest strength is his loyalty, and his single greatest weakness is his loyalty," the local source said.
Postmus has said through his new spokesman that he expects Aleman to return to work. For the time being, though, Aleman's famed work ethic is restrained to his house while he remains on paid administrative leave, pulling in some of his $119,891 taxpayer- funded salary.
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