Leticia Pepper Letter May 8, 2016

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Morton, Sherry From: Russo,John A. Sent: Monday, May 09, 2016 6:45 AM To: Letitia Pepper Cc: Bailey, Rusty; Gardner, Mike; Melendrez, Andy; MacArthur, Chris; Davis, Paul; Soubirous, Mike; Perry, Jim; Burnard, John; Geuss, Gary; Morton, Sherry;Alicia Robinson; Cassie MacDuff; Letters;Thirtymiles Corruption Subject: Re: [External] Update on Corruption Investigation into "Pot Permits" and How They Are Being Issued in the City of Sacramento Dear Ms Pepper: To correct the record: I have never said I am ok with opening dispensaries "because we need the money" or anything that could be paraphrased to mean such a thing. To be clear: I have had no communication of any kind--not written, not oral, not electronic--with anyone about opening or otherwise permitting dispensaries. John Russo Sent from my iPhone On May 8, 2016, at 11:08 PM, Letitia Pepper<letitiapepper(a,yahoo.com> wrote: Hon. Mayor, City Council, City Attorney, City Manager and Madame Clerk: I have had three responses to my request for information on who is negotiating letting a limited number of medical marijuana dispensaries open. (i.e., creating an oligopoly which will make prices for marijuana higher, which in turn will fuel the black market). Council Member Melendrez responded that what he said at the Brownie Mary Democratic Club meeting wasn't any different than what he said from the dais when the Council voted to let patients grow 8 plants (I disagree with his memory), and Council members Soubirous and Gardner said that they weren't engaged in any such negotiations. The City Manager has said he's in favor of letting dispensaries open because--and I may be paraphrasing here --the City is broke and could use the money. Would it be okay, City Charter-wise, if he was negotiating such a deal without checking with the City Council first? Have any of you asked him about this? Because if I think it would look suspicious for the City to make such a deal after all the time and money it spent closing dispensaries, working against the citizens' initiative to let 10 of the prior dispensaries re- open, taking a case all the way to the California Supreme Court, and generally acting like Prop. 215 doesn't exist, imagine how suspicious it might look to the people charged with investigating corruption? That's what this update is about. The City of Sacramento just got hit with a letter from a group of concerned attorneys at a large, old Sacramento law firm seeking public records related to the Fox News show on the Green Rush and how "pot permits" are being handed out in violation of that City's existing ordinances. Inquiring minds want to know: what would motivate city officials to violate their own, hard-fought for laws? As if that wasn't bad enough, this attorney request was followed by an in-person visit from the FBI, demanding similar records. In case anyone is becoming more interested in the story about the City of Sacramento, here's the story and the video of some of the Fox show's investigation. On it, you will see the reporter ask a City employee about about a particular situation, and you will see the employee foolishly lie about something that is a matter of public record. As an attorney, let me say you can't pay enough for this kind of evidence of political malfeasance! 1