In this week of Veterans Day, we should be hearing good news.
Instead of honoring our fellow Veterans, the Los Angeles VA bureaucrats were saluting Veterans Park Conservancy, which is not a Veterans organization but a wealthy homeowner group.
The VA is allowing them to trespass, to illegally build a sham amphitheater on sacred Veterans land in spite of a federal judgment ruling that the VA entered into an unlawful real estate deal with VPC to build a public park.
Donna Beiter, executive director of the Los Angeles VA, is a co-defendant in the ACLU lawsuit that resulted in the adjudication of nine real estate deals on federal VA property with non-Veteran entities. a VPC is one of the nine.
Earlier this year, VPC violated the federal judgment and broke ground with this sham project that is being built to accommodate the public instead of Veterans
On July 15 the project was shut down and remained dark until now.
While VA employees were off for Veterans Day, VPC sent in its construction crew to illegally work on this disgraceful project while tens of thousands of Veterans remain homeless and hungry instead of sheltered and cared for on land deeded in their behalf.
Last Saturday at the VA, I spoke with Erik Gutierrez, the bureaucrat-in-chief. His mentor Ralph Tillman was forced to resign following the GAO report that exposed widespread mismanagement and misappropriation of federal funds.
Within 100 feet of the closed-down amphitheater construction site, I specifically asked Mr. Gutierrez when the VA was going to demand that VPC remove the unfinished construction. “I don’t know,” he replied.
Under what authority, I asked, was VPC allowed to break ground in the first place. Again he answered, “I don’t know.”
Mr. Gutierrez uncategorically denied knowledge of the VPC amphitheater.
What Does He Do?
Nevertheless, and by his own admission posted on the website Linked-In,” Mr. Gutierrez specifically defined his responsibility at the Los Angeles VA:
“As the Health System Specialist/Administrative Officer for the Office of Communications and External Affairs, I am a senior adviser to the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System Director on various politically sensitive and high profile issues and projects. I develop and foster key relationships with community leaders and groups, veteran service organizations, and elected offices to support the organization’s objectives and mission. In addition, I provide administrative and business operations support to the department which consists of Public Affairs, Outreach, Asset Management …”
Mr. Gutierrez answers to Donna Beiter as her “senior advisor … on various politically sensitive and high profile issues and projects.”
Make no mistake. Mr. Gutierrez is extremely connected to everything that goes on at the VA.
Yet he stood so close to the VPC project and lied to me. A couple days later VPC was back on the land – illegally.
Nobody can do anything on VA property without permission, never mind to break ground and begin construction of an illegal project. Somebody gave VPC permission. Mr. Gutierrez had to know if they had permission. He would know even if they didn't have permission. As a representative of Asset Management, he knows everything about everything, except when it comes to his wealthy friends at VPC because he serves at their behest, not for Veterans.
It took Vietnam Veterans of America, Region 9, three months to get permission to have a Veterans Summer Celebration and Picnic on VA property. It was held nearby the sham amphitheater. It was for only four hours on a Saturday afternoon.
What's going on right now at the Los Angeles VA is permanent construction.
For the record, U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman and U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein are major supporters of VPC, as are other big-time politicians, including newly elected County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, as was her predecessor Zev Yaroslavsky.
Take a First-Hand Inspection
This is a demand call for VA Secretary McDonald to come to Los Angeles and immediately remove Ms. Beiter, Mr. Gutierrez, Jeff Blake and the rest of the corrupt employees at the Los Angeles VA who answer to the wants of the power of neighboring homeowners instead of the needs of our disabled and homeless Veterans.
It's also a call to the ACLU lawyers and plaintiffs, Vietnam Veterans of America, to file for a court injunction to stop this illegal construction and to permanently ban VPC from these grounds. In addition, we request the court impose serious sanctions against VA defendants McDonald and Beiter, and the Dept. of Justice and its U.S Attorneys.
Likewise, Congressman Waxman and Sen. Feinstein must demand full investigations against all culprits involved.
Whoa. Such an investigation will have to include the congressman and senator. They have willingly aided VPC and this activity at the expense of war-injured, impoverished homeless Veterans.
Until there's a housecleaning, Veterans Day will remain as big a hoax as the amphitheater.
Speak up. Demand change.
Join us for our 350th consecutive Sunday Rally — from 1 to 4 — against this very kind of corruption.
God Bless America and the Veterans Revolution!
Mr. Rosebrock may be contacted at rrosebrock1@aol.com
