Miller Trial Update: Plea Deal Rejected... & A Thought

Former Grand Terrace councilman rejects plea deal; trial likely
Mike Cruz, Staff Writer
Posted: 05/18/2010 07:03:14 PM PDT

Former Grand Terrace City Councilman Jim Miller rejected a plea offer from prosecutors today and may be headed to trial on allegations that he voted to send thousands of city dollars worth of advertising to his wife's newspaper.

"We had discussed an offer, and that was withdrawn (Tuesday)," said Deputy District Attorney John Goritz, who is prosecuting the case.
The news came during a court appearance Tuesday for Miller in San Bernardino Superior Court.

The offer that Miller rejected called for him to plead guilty to a misdemeanor count of conflict of interest, explained Goritz.

Generally, misdemeanors carry a maximum of one year in county jail, but Goritz said a sentence hadn't been discussed with Miller.

The defendant returns to court July 27 for a pretrial hearing, and a jury trial was set for Aug. 9. A trial readiness hearing was scheduled for Aug. 6.
Miller, who resigned in March from the Grand Terrace City Council, faces a felony count of conflict of interest, according to court records. He is accused of voting to send $18,000 worth of city advertising contracts to a newspaper owned by his wife, Margie, from October 2006 until August 2008.

Voters elected Miller to the council in 2004 and 2008.

Margie Miller bought the Grand Terrace City News, a weekly newspaper, in 2006. That is when former City Manager Tom Schwab began running legal ads with the newspaper, a practice he said he didn't realize was a problem.

"We are as much at fault as the Millers," Schwab said in July 2009, following Miller's arrest. "I believe the staff erred by placing advertising knowing the newspaper is owned by a council member's wife. The moment the city attorney said it wasn't appropriate, we stopped.

"Read more: http://www.sbsun.com/ci_15113080?source=rss#ixzz0oRkYbUn8

Gramp's Thoughts On the Miller Case Going Forward

If the charges are that Jim Miller Voted to Approve Contracts to send advertising to his wife's paper he can not be found guilty.

The fact is that Jim Miller did not Approve or was he Party to the Contracts Negotiated to put ads in his wife's paper. He voted only to approve payments for services already rendered by his wife's paper that were negotiated by City Staff, namely Tom Schwab and Steve Berry.

On the other hand Bea Cortes sat in on many negotiations with Terra Loma Real Estate who was her professional benefactor if not employer while she was also serving on the City Council. She approved payments to Terra Loma for those services. Evidence of this has been provided to the DA's Office and she has not yet been charged for criminal activity.

Prior City Council Members had small businesses that did business with the city. This information has been provided to the DA's Office and as of yet no charges have been filed against any of these players.

The charges were brought against Jim Miller in retaliation for his not supporting the hire of Steve Berry as the City Manager. Assisting in pressing this matter to the DA's Office was Bea Cortes who had in the past indicated a "Special Relationship" with the DA Ramos.

So is Jim Miller guilty as charged... not if the press coverage has it right. He did not negotiate or approve the contracts for the services his wife's paper provided.

Should the others be charged, perhaps so but the DA's Office is making no statements on "Cases Under Investigation". Perhaps they need some one with a "Special Relationship" to motivate them into action if Justice is going to be Blind and Equally Applied.

I am glad the case is going to trial. Perhaps it will cause a disclosure of the open threats made to the Millers in relation to the news paper and the support or non support of Steve Berry.

Is it a crime for an Acting City Manager to effectively threaten and then cause the removal of an elected official because that official would not support his appointment to City Manager? Will Steve Berry be liable for pressing false charges and other crimes if Jim Miller is found Not Guilty?

The trial is a horrible event to the Millers as the past year has been. But, for the Citizens of Grand Terrace it may well be the final rolling up of an era of City Council Manipulations by Schwab and Berry. It is time to be critical of our leaders and evaluate them both at election time and while they serve.