Tom
Friday, 12 February 2010 01:14
$109 Million Recovered by U.S. Attorney’s Office for CA’s Eastern District
Amador County – The United States Attorney’s Office announced last week that the Eastern District of California (EDCA) recovered a total of $109,265,779 in 2009 as the result of various criminal and civil proceedings. United States Attorney Benjamin Wagner said in a release that recoveries come in a “variety of forms, such as restitution for victims of crimes, forfeitures of assets used in criminal activity, and judgments in civil cases brought on behalf of the United States.” He said the “$109 million recovered in 2009 is at least six times the total annual operating budget of the U.S. Attorney's Office.” “Year after year, this office recovers far more money for the American taxpayer and for the victims of crime than it costs to operate this office. Through the outstanding work of the dedicated attorneys and staff in the Asset Forfeiture and Financial Litigation Units, this office will continue to be a vigilant steward of the taxpayer's funds,” he said. The Office concluded 87 judicial forfeiture proceedings during 2009, collecting a total of $6,057,575 from the forfeiture of various properties seized during criminal investigations. “In one forfeiture of $282,247 related to drug crimes, for example, a total of $218,684 was shared with the Amador County Sheriff, the El Dorado County Sheriff, the Placer County Sheriff, the Auburn Police Department, Placer Law Enforcement Agencies Special Investigations Unit, the California Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement, and the Yolo County Narcotic Enforcement Team,” said the release. Besides forfeitures, the U.S. Attorney's Office collected a total of $103,308,203 on civil and criminal debts. “Our responsibility is not only to convict those who violate federal law, but also to ensure that crime does not pay, that victims receive the restitution they are due, and that the United States recovers funds that it is fairly owed,” said Wagner. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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News Archive
Friday, 12 February 2010 01:12
Oliveto to Take Over Stevenot Wine Operations
Amador County – The Oliveto Distributing Company based in Sutter Creek announced on Thursday that it will be taking over ownership of all Stevenot (STEVE-NO) wine operations in Amador and Calaveras counties. Stevenot operations include the Stevenot Main Street Tasting Room, 458 Main Street in Murphys, as well as the Stevenot Wine Club. The long-standing distribution company, co-owned by brothers David and Jon Oliveto, has distributed Stevenot wines since the early 1980s. Stevenot wines were the vision of Barden Stevenot. “We are very honored and excited to have this opportunity,” says David Oliveto. “Stevenot has always been a quality brand, well known in the community and has always sold very well.” Some of the Oliveto brothers many plans for their newly acquired operation include a remodel of the tasting room, which will also transform into a wine bar on select Friday nights featuring award-winning Stevenot wines by the glass including its signature Tempranillo, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. They will also bring back Chuck Hovey as the official Stevenot winemaker after his departure in 2007 to start Hovey Wine Consulting. “It’s all about quality,” said Jon, adding: “We have been in the distribution business all of our lives, and now we want to also have a new focus on wine production.” Stevenot is considered one of Calaveras County’s premiere wineries since the first vineyard planted in 1974 and the first vintage released in 1978. Oliveto Distributing Company began as a milk distribution business in the late 1960s in Sutter Creek and opened up a wine division in the early 1980s.The company was honored with the Miller Masters award in the early ‘90s, placing them in the top seven distributors in the United States. “It surprises us how excited people are about our new venture,” Jon said. “We are receiving overwhelming support.” A TSPN TV Report This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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News Archive
Friday, 12 February 2010 01:20
Friends of Amador County File Lawsuit Against Buena Vista Casino
Amador County – Friends of Amador County, a local activist group, announced late Thursday that they have filed a lawsuit in federal court regarding the proposed Buena Vista Casino. The lawsuit states that Friends of Amador County is made up of residents who are “aggrieved by the erroneous, arbitrary, capricious and illegal decisions of the (U.S. Department of the Interior) Secretary Kenneth Salazar and…George Skibine, acting chairman and Commissioner of the National Indian Gaming Commission.” FOAC disputes the legitimacy of the Buena Vista tribe and the Indian lands granted to them, among other grievances including that they “will be irreparably and negatively impacted, injured and damaged by the increases in traffic, noise, vision and light pollution, crime and other significant impacts arising from the proposed operation of a class III gambling casino.” TSPN will have more information on this developing story in Monday’s edition of TSPN TV news. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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News Archive
Friday, 12 February 2010 04:52
Susan Gallagher - Mental Health America 2-12-10
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News Interview Videos
Friday, 12 February 2010 00:58
Amador County News TSPN TV with Alan Sprenkel 2-12-10
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News Broadcast Videos
Friday, 12 February 2010 01:20
Friends of Amador County File Lawsuit Against Buena Vista Casino
Amador County – Friends of Amador County, a local activist group, announced late Thursday that they have filed a lawsuit in federal court regarding the proposed Buena Vista Casino. The lawsuit states that Friends of Amador County is made up of residents who are “aggrieved by the erroneous, arbitrary, capricious and illegal decisions of the (U.S. Department of the Interior) Secretary Kenneth Salazar and…George Skibine, acting chairman and Commissioner of the National Indian Gaming Commission.” FOAC disputes the legitimacy of the Buena Vista tribe and the Indian lands granted to them, among other grievances including that they “will be irreparably and negatively impacted, injured and damaged by the increases in traffic, noise, vision and light pollution, crime and other significant impacts arising from the proposed operation of a class III gambling casino.” TSPN will have more information on this developing story in Monday’s edition of TSPN TV news. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Local
Friday, 12 February 2010 01:18
AWA OKs $228,000 Study of Ione, Tanner Water Capacities
Amador County – The Amador Water Agency board of directors voted 3-2 to spend $228,000 over 2 fiscal years to study water capacity in the Ione and Tanner water systems. Support for the studies included letters from 2 city councils (a reported first for such an issue) and speeches from developers near both of those cities, Ione and Plymouth. The board’s President Bill Condrashoff and Vice President Debbie Dunn voted against the study, while Directors Terence Moore, Gary Thomas and Don Cooper voted in favor. The study will “evaluate the water treatment supply and storage needs of the Tanner and Ione service regions,” and determine whether improvements would “provide a practical means to increase treatment supply capabilities.” Condrashoff said “the agency has no cash” and it has “$3.2 million in will-serve commitments,” including hundreds in the Ione area. Moore said “no amount of saving will help the agency with its cash problem, and probably for the first time in our history, the agency is going to have to come up with a line of credit.” Moore said “we do have an obligation here to move forward.” Ione Villages LLC developer Rob Aragon said he and his partners over the past 3 years have supported expanding capacity at Tanner. But they stopped that support, because “now it seems like Ione storage is a better idea.” He said they “can’t get capital investors to invest in this project without water and without a plan.” Condrashoff urged Aragon and developers “to get some of those will-serve properties to come forward” and pay fees. He said it would take only 13 property fees to fund the studies. Aragon said JTS Communities has “spent countless millions” and his “friends at Rylund Homes have spent $2 million on a new 2 million-gallon storage tank” for Wildflower subdivision. He said while it was not fees, it was answering AWA needs for increased storage and a new transfer station, all built at the expense of developers, in lieu of developer fees. Aragon said Condrashoff suggesting moving forward 13 fee payments was “a little hollow.” Thomas said Ione is still building houses, even in the recession, and the AWA over-commitment of “will-serve” letters should be addressed by the study. Aragon said “you’ve got General Plans that go above and beyond Wildflower and Castle Oaks” in Ione. Moore said 321 “will-serves” in Ione are set aside and not paid for,” but Condrashoff “makes it sound like the money is owed, but it’s not true.” Moore said “saving this money is not going to make a difference,” if the agency funds the studies taking out a line of credit. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Water
Friday, 12 February 2010 01:14
$109 Million Recovered by U.S. Attorney’s Office for CA’s Eastern District
Amador County – The United States Attorney’s Office announced last week that the Eastern District of California (EDCA) recovered a total of $109,265,779 in 2009 as the result of various criminal and civil proceedings. United States Attorney Benjamin Wagner said in a release that recoveries come in a “variety of forms, such as restitution for victims of crimes, forfeitures of assets used in criminal activity, and judgments in civil cases brought on behalf of the United States.” He said the “$109 million recovered in 2009 is at least six times the total annual operating budget of the U.S. Attorney's Office.” “Year after year, this office recovers far more money for the American taxpayer and for the victims of crime than it costs to operate this office. Through the outstanding work of the dedicated attorneys and staff in the Asset Forfeiture and Financial Litigation Units, this office will continue to be a vigilant steward of the taxpayer's funds,” he said. The Office concluded 87 judicial forfeiture proceedings during 2009, collecting a total of $6,057,575 from the forfeiture of various properties seized during criminal investigations. “In one forfeiture of $282,247 related to drug crimes, for example, a total of $218,684 was shared with the Amador County Sheriff, the El Dorado County Sheriff, the Placer County Sheriff, the Auburn Police Department, Placer Law Enforcement Agencies Special Investigations Unit, the California Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement, and the Yolo County Narcotic Enforcement Team,” said the release. Besides forfeitures, the U.S. Attorney's Office collected a total of $103,308,203 on civil and criminal debts. “Our responsibility is not only to convict those who violate federal law, but also to ensure that crime does not pay, that victims receive the restitution they are due, and that the United States recovers funds that it is fairly owed,” said Wagner. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Law Enforcement
