Tombstones ► The Dead Litigants

The Dead Litigants 

By Pete Bennett CNET Scandal Date: May 12th , 2014

Walnut Creek CA-- Several Decades back I was in litigation between Dr. Kim Fang (Fang v. Bennett 1987), then in 2004 I filed a restraining orders on Gary Vinson Collins over a attack that was nearly deadly.  The Danville Police covered-up an attempted murder that today is very likely the nexus of an obvious RICO case leading to murders near a scandal known was the Dirty DUI.

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Butler-o-rama no drama Butler gets 1 year knocked off from Sentence

http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Dirty-DUI-mastermind-gets-sentence-reduced-5436915.php

(04-28) 21:08 PDT SAN FRANCISCO --Christopher Butler, the former private investigator convicted of framing men for drunken-driving arrests, selling drugs and opening a brothel as part of the "Dirty DUI" scandal, had a year shaved from his federal sentence Monday because he had cooperated with prosecutors.

In a one-page order, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco said he was reducing Butler's sentence from eight to seven years at the request of the U.S. Attorney's Office. The judge didn't elaborate.

Butler's attorney, William Gagen, said Monday, however, that his client was eligible for a reduced sentence because he had agreed to testify against two other defendants in the case.

"It is good news," Gagen said. "A person is benefited in the eyes of the government if they accept responsibility and, in the course of that acceptance of responsibility, they are truthful about the participation of others."

Butler, 52, is serving time at Englewood, a low-security federal prison in Littleton, Colo.

Butler had testified for the prosecution against former Contra Costa County sheriff's Deputy Stephen Tanabe.

Tanabe was sentenced to a year and three months in prison after being convicted of charges that he accepted a pistol from Butler in exchange for arresting two men who the private investigator had baited into driving drunk.

Butler, a former Antioch police officer, was also prepared to testify against San Ramon divorce attorney Mary Nolan, but she pleaded guilty to tax evasion and hiring Butler to plant a listening device in a car of a client's ex-husband. She was sentenced to two years in federal prison.

Butler and Norman Wielsch, the former commander of an elite county narcotics task force, were the masterminds of a corruption scheme involving several other law-enforcement officers. Wielsch was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison after being convicted of stealing narcotics from evidence lockers and trying to sell them back on the street.

Henry K. Lee is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: hlee@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @henryklee

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Ex-deputy indicted in 'dirty DUI' scheme

Justin Berton, Chronicle Staff Writer

Published 4:00 am, Saturday, December 17, 2011

Defendant Stephen Tanabe sits in the courtroom waiting to be arraigned in the law enforcement abuse of power case, at the Contra Costa Superior Courthouse, Thursday June 23, 2011, in Walnut Creek, Calif. Photo: Lacy Atkins, The Chronicle

A former Contra Costa County sheriff's deputy who allegedly helped a private investigator with "dirty DUI" arrests has been indicted by a federal grand jury.

Stephen Tanabe, 48, of Alamo, was indicted Thursday on four felony counts of conspiracy to extort under color of official right and aiding and abetting, in connection with the drunken-driving arrests. He is expected to surrender to authorities before a scheduled court appearance Monday in Oakland, attorneys said.

Tanabe is the fourth former law enforcement officer with ties to former private eye Christopher Butler, 50, to face federal charges. Butler pleaded not guilty to federal drug and conspiracy charges earlier this year.

In July, two former Richmond police officers who had hired Butler to carry out a retaliatory sting against two young men who once worked for them were indicted on gun charges.

In August, Butler and Norman Wielsch, 50, a former state Justice Department agent who commanded an antidrug task force in Contra Costa County, were indicted on charges connected to the alleged theft and sale of drugs.

Authorities said Wielsch had pilfered the drugs from evidence lockers. 

Tanabe pleaded not guilty this year in state court to bribery and conspiracy charges connected to two drunken-driving arrests he made in Danville in January.

Prosecutors said Butler had paid Tanabe to pull over and arrest men the detective was hired to go after. Butler was working for women in divorce cases who wanted to saddle their ex-husbands with criminal records to help them win custody battles, authorities said.

In an affidavit, a cadet-in-training who was riding with Tanabe in January said the officer used the term "dirty DUI" before he stopped a man Butler had hired him to arrest.

In a confession written by Butler and obtained by The Chronicle, the former investigator said he had supplied $200 worth of cocaine to Tanabe as payment for his involvement in one DUI stop.

Tanabe's attorney in the federal case did not respond to a phone call.

Dan Russo, the attorney who is representing Tanabe in state court, said, "It's obvious the feds are buying into Butler's perjurious lies."

Russo says Tanabe didn't know Butler was setting up the men he was arresting for drunken driving, and denies the former deputy ever took a bribe.

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'Dirty DUIs' figure gets 8-year sentence

Justin Berton

Updated 11:15 pm, Tuesday, September 25, 2012

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  Mary Nolan leaves the federal courthouse with attorney Richard Guadgani in Oakland, Calif. on Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2012 after pleading not guilty to six charges of wire-tapping and tax invasion. Nolan, a San Ramon divorce attorney, has been linked to the "dirty DUI" scandal involving former private investigator Christopher Butler. Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle

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Christopher Butler, the private investigator at the center of a sensational scandal that involved "dirty DUIs" and drugs stolen from police evidence lockers, once longed for fame, money and a starring role in his own television reality show.

Instead, he got eight years in federal prison.

On Tuesday in Oakland, U.S. District JudgeSaundra Brown Armstrong sentenced Butler, 51, after the disgraced former police officer admitted his role in a stunning array of dirty deeds that included seven felony counts related to dealing drugs, framing men for drunken-driving arrests, and opening a brothel in Pleasant Hill that masqueraded as a massage parlor.

Butler told prosecutors his co-defendant, Norman Wielsch, 51, the former commander of a state antidrug task force, protected the house of prostitution and profited from it.

Wielsch has pleaded not guilty to those charges as well as stealing drugs from an evidence locker - which prosecutors said he gave to Butler to sell - and is scheduled to go on trial in January.

But of the two men, it was Butler, a former Antioch police officer with 10 years of service, who was driven to the criminal side in search of celebrity, his attorney said.

Butler had landed a Lifetime reality show in 2010 titled "P.I. Moms of San Francisco" that followed his crew of female detectives as they tracked down cheating husbands and secretly videotaped their missteps. To keep up with the demands of the fledgling show, and the costs of running his agency, Butler fell prey to one of man's oldest enemies: an insatiable ego.

"It overpowered his judgment to walk away from decisions that were destructive," said his attorney, William Gagen.

Butler turned to selling drugs provided to him by Wielsch, prosecutors said.

Wearing a wire

But the plan soon unraveled after one of Butler's most trusted employees agreed to wear a wire and videotape Butler and Wielsch negotiating the sale of a pound of methamphetamine. After their arrests in February 2011, details of Butler's tangled web of criminal activity in Contra Costa County unfolded, leading to the federal indictments that also roped in two Richmond police officers and a deputy sheriff.

Inside the courtroom, Butler looked nothing like the once well-coiffed man with a mane of white hair. Instead, his head was shaved to stubble and he wore oversize tan prison garb with slip-on shoes.

Instead of talking in the confident tones that once seduced reporters into writing about his team of mommy investigators, he choked with emotion during a brief statement.

"I want to apologize to the community for the anxiety, fear and suffering I have caused others," he said.

To the law enforcement community he was once part of, he apologized for his betrayal and the embarrassment he caused. He broke into tears at the mention of his family and appeared to cut his comments short.

For three victims who were ensnared in Butler's "dirty DUI" traps, the mea culpa was appreciated but not accepted.

"It couldn't have happened to a nicer scumbag," said attorney Brian Gearinger, who represents three men who are suing Butler in federal civil court.

All three men allege that Butler orchestrated their drunken-driving arrests after their ex-wives hired the investigator.

Possible witness

As a condition of his plea agreement in May, Butler can now be called as a witness in three federal criminal cases he's connected to.

His attorney said Butler, if needed, would testify against Wielsch, former Contra Costa Deputy Sheriff Stephen Tanabe, and San Ramon divorce attorney Mary Nolan.

Earlier in the day Nolan, 60, pleaded not guilty to a charge that she hired Butler to plant listening devices in the cars of her clients' ex-husbands. Tanabe, 49, who has pleaded not guilty to charges he conspired with Butler to set up drunken-driving arrests, will ask the judge to dismiss his case next month.

Gagen said before Butler entered federal prison in May after pleading guilty, he'd already started on a life-altering path of self-reflection and humility.

Butler had completed courses in theology and philosophy at Holy Names University and received a 4.0 grade-point average, Gagen said.

The attorney said Butler now spends his days at the federal prison in Dublin reading books and reflecting on his actions. If Butler testifies against his co-defendants, and it leads to convictions, prosecutors can ask for a reduction in Butler's sentence.

"When Chris Butler gets out of prison - whenever that may be - he'll be a different person," Gagen said.

Justin Berton is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: jberton@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @justinberton

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Inmate Norman Wielsch

Disgraced former Contra Costa drug cop apologizes for 'tarnishing the badge'

By Katie Nelson

Contra Costa Times

Posted:   05/09/2013 06:22:47 PM PDT

Updated:   05/09/2013 06:22:48 PM PDT

Click photo to enlarge

Former Contra Costa Narcotics Enforcement Team Commander, Norman Wielsch,... ( JIM STEVENS

MARTINEZ -- Disgraced former police officer Norman Wielsch apologized to a federal court Wednesday, saying just days before he'll be sentenced for conspiring to sell seized drugs that he had "tarnish(ed) the badge."

Wielsch, the former head of the Central Contra Costa Narcotics Enforcement Team (CNET), pleaded guilty in December to charges that he had sold drugs that had been seized by CNET agents, robbed prostitutes and made phony arrests.
Wielsch, who is scheduled to be sentenced by a federal judge May 20, said in his apology note that he resisted help from doctors and family for treatment of depression and post-traumatic stress. He said he was hesitant because of a belief among some law enforcement officers that admitting weakness means an officer cannot adequately perform his duties.
"I was a big macho cop," he said in the note. "I didn't need help."
But Wielsch admitted he was wrong, and that his destructive behavior has hurt many. He said while he gave 24 years of honest work, he realized he had made gross errors in judgment.
"I have seen things and been through things that would make a normal person go crazy after one incident," he said. "Please have mercy on me."
Federal sentencing guidelines call for between 14 and 17.5 years in federal prison. Wielsch's attorney, Michael Cardoza, has previously said that he's forbidden from arguing for fewer than 10 years.
Former Concord private investigator Christopher

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Butler, who was also implicated in the criminal scheme, pleaded guilty last year to seven felony counts covering methamphetamine and marijuana distribution, theft, conspiracy, extortion, robbery and illegal wiretapping. He was sentenced to eight years in federal prison.Former CNET agent and San Ramon police officer Louis Lombardi, 40, of Discovery Bay, pleaded guilty to stealing drugs in the case and was sentenced to three years in prison. Former Danville officer Stephen Tanabe, 48, of Alamo, is awaiting trial on charges that he conspired with Butler to set up the estranged husbands of Butler's private investigation firm clients for DUI arrests.

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CNET: Danville Officer Stephen Tanabe

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CNET: Commander Norman Wielsch

Ex-narcotics squad commander pleads guilty to stealing and selling drug evidence, robbing prostitutes

By Malaika Fraley

Contra Costa Times

© Copyright 2012, Bay Area News Group

Posted:   12/05/2012 01:05:54 PM PST

Updated:   12/05/2012 04:39:52 PM PST

http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_22130934/ex-narcotics-cop-pleads-guilty-stealing-drug-evidence

OAKLAND -- The ousted head of an elite Contra Costa County vice squad pleaded guilty to five felonies in federal court Wednesday, nearly two years after his state Department of Justice colleagues caught him selling stolen drug evidence.

Former Central Contra Costa Narcotics Enforcement (CNET) Cmdr. Norman Wielsch, 51, of Antioch, kissed his father before he stood in front of the judge and admitted to selling drugs that had been seized by CNET agents, robbing prostitutes and making phony arrests.

He was taken into custody after, in a barely audible tone, he said he was "guilty" of crimes dating back to 2009. His plea was part of a deal he made with federal prosecutors.

Wielsch, a law enforcement officer for 25 years, apologized for the shame he brought to the badge, and particularly the members of CNET, a Department of Justice operation that was shut down after Wielsch's arrest.

"We (at CNET) did a lot a lot of good things before I did all these stupid things," Wielsch said.

"Most of all, I want to say sorry to my dad, who I let down and brought disgrace to my family name," he said, breaking down in tears. "I'm very sorry."

A judge will decide how much prison time Wielsch receives at his sentencing hearing scheduled for Feb. 19.

The federal sentencing guidelines call for between 14 and 17.5 years in federal prison. Wielsch's attorney, Michael Cardoza, says he's forbidden from arguing for fewer than 10.

Wielsch

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pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute marijuana and methamphetamine, theft from programs receiving government funds, robbery, and two counts of conspiracy against civil rights. Another six felony charges were dismissed as part of the plea deal.

Describing to the judge how he and former Concord private investigator Christopher Butler would make dates with prostitutes they found on the Internet and then rob them, Wielsch stopped himself and said, "I'm sorry, I really can't believe we did this."

Butler and Wielsch, friends since they were on the Antioch police force together in the 1990s, were arrested in a state Department of Justice sting in February 2011, prompting a countywide police-corruption probe that expanded to include allegations that the pair ran a Pleasant Hill brothel and led to more arrests.

Former CNET agent and San Ramon police officer Louis Lombardi, 40, of Discovery Bay, pleaded guilty to stealing drugs in the case and was sentenced in January to three years. Former Danville officer Stephen Tanabe, 48, of Alamo, is awaiting trial on charges that he conspired with Butler to set up the estranged husbands of Butler's P.I. firm clients for DUI arrests.

San Ramon attorney Mary Nolan, of Oakland, is among the defendants being sued in civil court for the so-called Dirty DUI scheme. She is also awaiting trial on charges that she and Butler used eavesdropping equipment on her clients' estranged spouses.

Butler, 51, of Concord, also took a plea deal and was sentenced in September to eight years in federal prison. His attorney said Butler was motivated by a need for cash when his business suffered at the expense of his failed attempt to launch his own reality TV show.

Cardoza said Wednesday that it's unclear why Wielsch "went bad" after serving "the public honorably for a number of years."

"I don't think even Norm knows the answer to that," Cardoza said.

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