Trutanich Videos

Monday, April 13, 2009

Nuch is a Union Buster

TRUTANICH BROKE UNION EFFORT TO ORGANIZE TRASH WORKERS

In 2004, Carmen “Nuch” Trutanich represented H&C Disposal in their fight to block a union organizing effort by its workers. Many of the workers had walked off the job, looking for a better contract and working conditions. They were looking to join Teamsters Local 396. Then Carmen “Nuch” Trutanich stepped in:

• Nuch’s Replacement Workers: With Trutanich at the helm, acting as H&C Disposal’s attorney and advisor, the company hired replacement workers and sent them a letter giving them a last chance to return to work or be fired.

• Strong Arm Tactics: Only after using a Hawthorne police officer to intimidate the workers the company won the vote.

• Nuch Called Right to Organize a Strong Arm Tactic: Trutanich said that the union “went in, strong-armed people, took advantage of a situation without explaining what it was all about and what it would cost (the workers) and what the union would do for them.”


The Whole Story: While the Teamsters Local 396 said the workers were intimidated into returning to the job, Trutanich said “They returned to the job on their own.... This place is run like a family.”

Most striking Hawthorne trash workers returned to the job Friday morning, but company officials and union representatives sparred over what brought them back.

Representatives of H&C Disposal Co. said the workers came back on their own because the business is like a family. But officials from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 396 said the workers were intimidated into returning by a Hawthorne police officer who is friends with H&C's owner.

H&C employees walked off the job Tuesday and picketed outside the company's El Segundo Boulevard office. Several said they wanted to be represented by the Teamsters union, contending the company pays low wages and sometimes fails to provide health insurance despite deducting premium contributions from paychecks.

H&C representatives strongly denied the allegations.

All but a handful of the 32 or 33 strikers returned to work on Friday, said H&C's attorney, Carmen Trutanich. The company hired replacement workers and was only an eighth of a day behind in its service schedule, he said.

"They returned to the job on their own," Trutanich said. "We didn't promise them anything. This place is run like a family."
But Manuel DeLeon, a business representative and political coordinator for Local 396, said H&C sent letters to striking workers giving them a last chance to return to their jobs or be replaced. The letter, a copy of which was obtained by the Daily Breeze, in fact states that workers may be replaced until they choose to return or resign.

(Daily Breeze, October 30, 2004)

Trutanich again criticized the Teamsters union after they charged H&C with numerous safety violations, accusing them of trying to force the company to bring in the union without an employee vote.

Labor leaders charged this week that Hawthorne's longtime trash hauler is guilty of numerous safety violations, but the company's attorney denied the claims, which he said are aimed at pressuring the firm into bringing in the union without an employee vote.

Representatives of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 396 told the City Council on Monday that H&C was illegally transferring trash at its El Segundo Boulevard offices, packing too many workers onto trash trucks and failing to provide health insurance despite deducting premium payments from paychecks.

Manuel DeLeon, a Local 396 business representative and political coordinator, said he addressed the council to get the panel to pressure H&C into ending the alleged violations....

The company's attorney, Carmen Trutanich, said Teamster officials went to City Hall to try to put political pressure on H&C into recognizing the union without a vote.

"These guys know they would lose the (unionization) election," Trutanich said. "What's their motivation -- the employees or their own agenda?"

DeLeon rejected that suggestion.

Most H&C employees walked off the job in late October but came back a few days later, except for six who resigned. Teamsters officials say the workers were intimidated into returning by an off- duty Hawthorne police officer who is friends with H&C's owner, but several workers said they returned on their own without any outside pressure....

DeLeon said Local 396 has filed for an election with the National Labor Relations Board and intends to follow through with a vote.

(Daily Breeze, November 10, 2004)

After employees voted against unionizing, Trutanich said that the union “went in, strong-armed people, took advantage of a situation without explaining what it was all about and what it would cost (the workers) and what the union would do for them.”

Employees of Hawthorne's longtime trash company voted overwhelmingly against unionizing this week.

In balloting conducted Thursday in H&C Disposal Co.'s pungent El Segundo Boulevard warehouse, workers by a 35-4 vote rejected joining the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 396. The Teamsters challenged one vote in the election, which was conducted under National Labor Relations Board standards with one observer present from the company and from the union.

H&C's attorney, Carmen Trutanich, said the result shows that there was never a popular push to unionize from within the workers' ranks.

"(H&C has) treated their employees decently for 50 years," Trutanich said. "(The union) went in, strong-armed people, took advantage of a situation without explaining what it was all about and what it would cost (the workers) and what the union would do for them."

Union officials could not be reached Friday for comment. They have said H&C workers initially contacted the union and denied exerting pressure on anyone.

Teamsters organizers must wait at least a year before making another attempt to unionize H&C workers, Trutanich said.

(Daily Breeze, December 18, 2004)

please visit www.True2009.com for more information.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Carmen "Nuch" Trutanich Defended Sea Lion Killer

Carmen “Nuch” Trutanich Represented an Animal Killer
 
Defended Sea Lion Shooter — Now a Campaign Donor.  In 2004, an undercover federal sting caught the skipper of a San Pedro charter fishing boat in the act of shooting sea lions, which appeared to have been his regular practice.  Carmen “Nuch” Trutanich defended him, and he pled guilty to two misdemeanor counts, for shooting sea lions on two different days; he was sentenced to 60 days in jail.
 
In December, Carmen “Nuch” Trutanich’s former client- owner of “Pursuit Sportfishing LLC” gave Carmen “Nuch” Trutanich’s campaign $1,000. While Trutanich’s campaign has said that “Carmen “Nuch” Trutanich made sure he was punished and performed community service at a marine mammal rescue center,” in fact Carmen “Nuch” Trutanich opposed this additional punishment; it was imposed by the judge beyond the terms of the plea agreement Carmen “Nuch” Trutanich negotiated.
     (Daily Breeze, March 4, 2005)
 
The Whole Story:
Carmen “Nuch” Trutanich’s client was arrested in 2004 for shooting several sea lions
In November 2004, an undercover federal sting caught the skipper of a San Pedro charter fishing boat—in the act of shooting sea lions, which appeared to have been his regular practice.
 
A Harbor City fishing charter captain has been charged in connnection with the shooting California sea lions off the coast of Catalina Island after an undercover federal sting.
A captain of a charter boat for San Pedro-based 22nd Street Sportfishing, was taken into custody Sunday and appeared in court Monday on two federal misdemeanor counts of illegally shooting marine mammals.
The man was arrested after two agents with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Fisheries Office for Law Enforcement said they witnessed him shooting at sea lions. The agents were posing as fishermen during a charter that left from San Pedro at 6 a.m., according to a court affidavit filed Monday.
The investigation was prompted by complaints from four passengers who were aboard an Oct. 13 fishing charter on the boat "Pursuit."
The witnesses said they saw the "captain" shoot at sea lions several times during the charter. One witness said she saw five animals struck and three appeared to be dead.
On the Sunday charter, one agent reported seeing the suspect on the upper deck of the boat firing at a sea lion when the boat was anchored near the west end of Catalina Island, the affidavit states.
About 45 minutes later the other agent said he heard gunshots and saw what appeared to be bullets hitting sea lions as they were swimming away from the boat.
A Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement special agent, stated in the affidavit that he then heard the man say to the vessel's cook: "I hit that sea lion three times."
A few minutes later, the witness said he heard three shots fired and a splash next to a sea lion that had surfaced near the boat with a fish in its mouth.
Roughly four hours later, the agents arrested the shooter as the boat was returning to San Pedro. The captain reportedly told agent that he had thrown the firearm he was using overboard. The agent wrote that he believed it was a pump-action .22 caliber rifle.
The agent stated he found numerous .22 caliber bullet casings and one unfired round on the boat.
(Copley News Service, November 8, 2004)
 
Carmen “Nuch” Trutanich’s defends:  “merely allegations”, “no photos”
Carmen “Nuch” Trutanich officially began defending the animal killer three weeks later, on December 1, 2004 in the first few weeks after he was arrested his lawyer was another lawyer from Carmen “Nuch” Trutanich’s law firm.  When informed that there would be additional charges filed against the accused shooter, Carmen “Nuch” Trutanich said that these were “merely allegations” and that there were “no photographs of any seals, living or otherwise.”
 
Additional charges will be filed stemming from an investigation into the alleged shooting of sea lions by a Harbor City fishing charter captain, a prosecutor said Monday.
The announcement came after the accused man entered not guilty pleas to two misdemeanor counts of shooting marine mammals.
Federal prosecutors filed the charges last week in the form of a federal information, rather than seeking an indictment through a grand jury.
The Assistant U.S. Attorney said the charges were filed as an information because they were misdemeanors and because there was a deadline pending in which prosecutors needed to file their formal criminal allegations or drop the case.
"There are other aspects and alleged violations in this case," the Assistant U.S. Attorney said, adding that the investigation is continuing.
"It's fair to say there will be other charges against other individuals and entities," he added.
The shooters lawyer Carmen “Nuch” Trutanich said he had heard that additional charges were possible. But he did not know the nature of the allegations or whom they might be filed against.
Carmen “Nuch” Trutanich said [he] planned to meet with the Assistant U.S. Attorney and he wants to see the evidence that prosecutors have against his client.
"I did learn there are no photographs of any seals, living or otherwise."
He also said he did not believe there was forensic evidence.
(Copley News Service, December 13, 2004)
 
In January 2005, Carmen “Nuch” Trutanich’s client reached a plea deal with prosecutors, agreeing to plead guilty to two misdemeanor counts.
 
He acknowledged that he had shot and tried to kill sea lions both on the day of the federal sting and on the date when passengers observed him shooting at the mammals. 
 
Carmen “Nuch” Trutanich said the decision to plead guilty was “strategic.”
 
A Harbor City fishing charter captain pleaded guilty in federal court in Los Angeles on Monday to two misdemeanor counts in connection with allegations that he shot at and possibly killed sea lions during two cruises last year.
The man entered the pleas to counts of attempting to injure or kill a marine mammal as part of an agreement with prosecutors.
Under terms of the deal he acknowledged that on Oct. 13 and Nov. 8 he "knowingly attempted to harm and kill a marine mammal by firing a .22 short caliber rifle at California seal lions" from the fishing vessel "Pursuit."
The man would serve a 60-day jail sentence and the U.S. Coast Guard has agreed to suspend his merchant mariner's license for 50 days during his confinement, the agreement states. Prosecutors are not seeking a fine.
The judge overseeing the case is not obligated to follow the recommendations of the agreement. A sentencing hearing was set for next month....
The shooters lawyer, Carmen “Nuch” Trutanich, said that the decision to plead guilty was "strategic" and he believed "justice was served."
(Daily Breeze, January 25, 2005)
 
Carmen “Nuch” Trutanich: Calls his client a “born again animal rights activist”
Challenged on the same day that the Los Angeles Times published a story about new, unsolved shootings of sea lions, Carmen “Nuch” Trutanich claimed that his former client is now a “born again animal rights activist.” 
 
Trutanich campaign advisor said “Carmen “Nuch” Trutanich made sure he was punished”; contrast Carmen “Nuch” Trutanich’s having called the charges “merely allegations” and the decision to plead guilty “strategic.”
 
Los Angeles city attorney candidate Jack Weiss criticized his chief rival  Carmen “Nuch” Trutanich on Wednesday for representing a man accused of shooting at sea lions....
When asked why he took the case, Carmen “Nuch” Trutanich said his client "came into the office and I represented him." He said his client is now a "born-again animal rights activist. People do stupid things sometimes -- what can I tell you -- but it doesn't mean they're not entitled to an attorney," he said.
Carmen “Nuch” Trutanich's campaign consultant called Weiss' release "another desperate political smear" and said Carmen “Nuch” Trutanich "took a local fisherman who committed a despicable crime against an animal and had him plead guilty and take responsibility . . . . "
"Carmen “Nuch” Trutanich made sure he was punished and performed community service at a marine mammal rescue center, where he was forced to care for injured seals and sea lions," Carmen “Nuch” Trutanich consultant said. He "learned a valuable lesson and now can serve as an example to others who might think about engaging in such wrongful conduct."
(Los Angeles Times, February 19, 2009)
 
Sentence:  60 days in jail, fine, community service
The judge sentenced Carmen “Nuch” Trutanich’s client to 60 days in jail, but also tacked on a $5,000 fine and a requirement that he serve 250 hours of community service at theMarine Mammal Care Center.  Carmen “Nuch” Trutanich said he was “disappointed…but pleased that the judge didn’t punish his client even further.”
 
A Harbor City charter fishing boat captain who pleaded guilty to shooting sea lions off Catalina Island last fall was sentenced on Thursday to two months in prison.
The convicted shooter also must pay a $5,000 fine and serve 250 hours of community service at the Marine Mammal Care Center in San Pedro, which cares for sick and injured marine mammals.
Although the shooter pleaded guilty in November in exchange for a 60- day sentence, the U.S. District Judge was not bound by the agreement and added the fine and community service.
The shooter’s lawyer, Carmen “Nuch” Trutanich, said he was disappointed that the judge went beyond the terms of the agreement, but pleased that the judge didn't punish his client even further. The two misdemeanor charges of attempting to kill a marine mammal could have resulted in as much as two years in prison and $200,000 in fines.
"The judge wanted to make sure that the message rang clear…," Carmen “Nuch” Trutanich said. "
(Daily Breeze, March 4, 2005)
 
 
There is a clear contradiction to what Carmen “Nuch” Trutanich’s campaign claimed— that it was Carmen “Nuch” Trutanich who “made sure he was punished and performed community service at a marine mammal rescue center,” since Carmen “Nuch” Trutanich opposed this additional punishment.
 
Convicted shooter – now a donor to Carmen “Nuch” Trutanich’s campaign
In December 2007, Pursuit Sportfishing LLC gave Carmen “Nuch” Trutanich’s campaign $1,000.