HispanicVista Columnists
Shame On Rolling Hills Estates”
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By
Sal Osio, JD - From the Publisher's Corner
- March 25, 2008
- From the Publisher’s Corner
- Shame On Rolling Hills Estates”
- By Sal Osio, JD
- But just as important, where were Francisco’s neighbors when this was happening? And, from an American perspective, why did the Rolling Hills Estates city council not put a stop to this gross injustice, heavy handed criminal proceeding and a put a check on the run away misconduct of its city staff? Why didn’t they accord Francisco the democratic due process to which he was entitled by hearing his case? Hold accountable the city fathers who have brought such shame to Rolling Hills Estates.
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- Read Mr. Osio’s:
- The Sociopaths in Our Criminal Justice System
- http://www.hispanicvista.com/HVC/Columnist/sosio/030108sosio.htm
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- Sal Osio, JD is the publisher and CEO of HispanicVista.com (www.hispanicvista.com). Contact at: SPosio@aol.com
The Palos Verdes Peninsula is a tony enclave in southern Los Angeles County, and includes four incorporated communities, of which Rolling Hills Estates is one of them. The single family dwellings are estates as the city name implies. The median unit price exceeds $1.5 million, in a down market. The community is small, largely WASP with a sprinkling of Asians but no Hispanics or Blacks to speak of. The inner circle is firmly established and controls the local politics. New residents to the community remain outside this power clique for at least the first decade of their arrival. In short, the senior locals call the shots.
Francisco Linares and his wife Millie, immigrants from Cuba, in pursuit of the American dream and based on their success and hard work, managed to save enough money to move from Torrance into Rolling Hills Estates. A former Marine, Francisco worked his way up the Farmers Insurance network to become the leading insurance agent nationally. With the fruits of their hard earned success, they purchased a ‘tear down’ house and rehabbed and added on, to create, hands on without a general contractor, their dream castle.
In the process they alienated some of the neighbors and their inner circle friends: “How dare this Latino newcomer tear down an original country estate and I build such an ostentatious palace?” This was the mind set and attitude displayed toward Francisco at every turn in his dealings with the zoning and building code administrators of the city.
Here is what happened. Francisco tore down a rotting fence by the horse trail in front of his house and replaced it, on the exact same spot, with the acquiescence of the city, with a new fence that was complementary to his new house. Subsequently, after the fact, the neighbors complained. The city recanted and asserted that, in fact, the new fence encroached on the city’s right of way. Accordingly, they insisted that it had to be torn down - never mind that the previous fence that was replaced was also an encroachment. The inspectors escalated the misunderstanding by also asserting that a new landscaping plan had to be implemented, that the foundation was flawed, that the elevations were in violation of the city building/zoning laws – never mind that the final inspections had already been concluded and his home construction approved.
Francisco, in retrospect, should have capitulated. The old adage “You cannot fight city hall” is, regrettably, true. However, Francisco is an idealist. He believes in the American ideal and in justice. He is stubborn. And, as a giving Christian, for instance his entire family spends their vacation in Mexico building shelter for the needy, he doesn’t understand how people can be so abusive and malevolent. Obviously, he hadn’t read my article of March 1st: “The Sociopaths In Our Criminal Justice System.” (See the link at HispanicVista.com). Accordingly, he persistently stood his ground. He stood on principle. He insisted that the new fence remain intact until the city council decided the issue. As a result, the house fell on him, figuratively speaking.
The city fathers authorized criminal prosecution against him and retained a prosecuting law firm to file charges. At his hearing, following the advise of his legal counsel, he agreed to plead nollo contendere to the misdemeanor charges. He just wanted to put behind him this burdensome and expensive episode that had caused his family, including his three daughters, so much torment. He agreed to apply for permits to tear down and replace the fence and to follow through with other post building requirements imposed by the city. Judge Sandra Thompson, in the final stages of retirement and who has a well deserved reputation for incompetence, threatened to throw him in jail for 6 months, without possibility of house arrest or other reprieve, if he did not comply.
Francisco applied to the city for the required permits. However, the city had not processed the permits within the time stipulated by the Judge. So, at the subsequent hearing, in August 2007 (last year), Judge Thompson made good on her threat and sentenced Francisco to 6 months in county jail. “Bizarre,” Francisco’s attorney, Richard Hamar, was quoted as observing, “It is Orwellian. It is coming from a very dark place.” Simply stated, she is misguided, at best, and incompetent and mean spirited, at worst. Also, should not her collusion with the prosecutors and the city staff who jointly engineered the conviction and sentence she imposed, be subjected to review for judicial misconduct?
Francisco is free on bail of $100,000 pending his appeal. Obviously the judge must think she is dealing with a hardened criminal with a record of violence, and , as such, a flight risk. Otherwise, he would have been released on his own recognizance. She probably suspects that he is going to return to Castro’s Cuba, which he fled with his parents, and abandon Millie and his daughters, not to mention, leaving behind a very valuable asset. What in the world was she thinking of? How and why are so many judicial misfits given the power they so grossly misuse?