Trutanich crackdown has Craig X. Rubin facing a 5 to 12 year sentence
A city-wide crackdown on marijuana dispensaries launched by City Attorney Nuch Trutanich has ensnared an unusual political figure in its net. Craig X. Rubin, a well known marijuana advocate who ran for Mayor of Los Angeles in March of 2009, was arrested recently for his cannabis activism.Rubin, who has appeared on the television series "Weeds", has led an activist lifestyle for cannabis for many years while working full-time as a pastor at The Family Church in Pasadena. Rubin has also been an outspoken critic of the LAPD Narcotics Division, whom he accuses of stealing millions of dollars from the people they arrest, pointing out the fact that cannabis is usually a cash business and the temptation for officers is very high.
Rubin claims that his arrest was politically motivated. "This prosecution is completely political retribution because of my outspoken stance in favor of cannabis against city officials who waste taxpayer money," Rubin said. Rubin adds to his claims of persecution the fact that City Attorney Carmen "Nuch" Trutanich has proposed a law that would affect only Rubin. It is already illegal to own and operate a cannabis club while on probation without the approval of the judge and the probation department. Nuchs proposed law would make that illegal, and Rubin claims that the only person out of the over 1,000 pot clubs in Los Angeles it would affect is himself.
The arrest and prosecution have brought troubling times to Craig X. Rubin and his family. Rubin's wife and children are staying in a hotel while Rubin is sleeping on the floor of The Family Church, trying to sell the lease to raise money for his family should he be incarcerated. Rubin raises some troubling issues when he says "Personally, I think Cooley and Trutanich should spend a week in County Jail. They stole the money my wife worked for over the last six months and the funds were in no way co-mingled with the church's money. These guys are thieves stealing peoples life savings without a hearing and prior to conviction."
Rubin and his wife Tara say that the local police took over $8,000 away from them when he was arrested.
Tara Rubin said their family had planned to lease a house with that money.
These are strong allegations by Rubin and I intend to contact the City Attorneys Office for comment or response.
Craigs trial is scheduled to begin on Monday, November 23rd at the LAX Airport Branch of the Superior Court.
11701 S. La Cienega. Division 146 at 8:30 am. Rubin asks that his fellow cannabis activists support him during his trial and help raise money for his defense.
On a side note, today, Nov. 22nd, is Craigs birthday.
You can contact him at craigxrubin@hotmail.com.
Posted by Phil Jennerjahn @ 11/22/2009 09:06:00 AM
31 Comments:
I guess Chris E$$el isn't too thrilled to have a lawbreaker endorse her then.
If this guy broke the law, he deserves to go to jail as a drug dealer.
Let's see if E$$el stands up for Craig.
I like Craig X Rubin, he's a really nice guy who believes that what he is doing, selling marijuana is lawful. Unfortunately, the law does support Craig's position.
As Trutanich, Cooley, and as recently as Friday, AG Jerry Brown, have all said, State and Federal law prohibits SALE of marijuana.
All the bullshit in City Hall about making 'non-profit' sales lawful is, as Cooley said, "pissant irrelevant."
If Los Angeles City Council passes an ordinance to make "non-profit sales" lawful, then there will be a lot more people going to jail, like poor Craig X, who will be misled and become convicted felons.
The City Council does not like the idea that state and federal law is telling them what they can and cannot do, and they don't like the idea that anyone else can tell them what they can and cannot do. So for their vanity, Craig X and dozens like him have to suffer.
If you don't like the law, if you don't agree with the law, then change it. Don't blame the messenger.
Why didn't you get the "other side before you printed this story? Or, were you trying to sway the public for sympathy for your "friend" first? Perhaps you need to smoke a little yourself to take away the sting of always getting beat up because of your inferior reporting.
You are high. I don't think a City Attorney can bust anyone for drugs.
Craig is probably hallucinating as well.
Rubin brings alot of this on himself. He doesn't know when to shut up and his flimsy "I provide marijuana as a religious sacrament" us so much BS. He enjoys playing the part of the martyr. Good luck Craig. Your gonna need it.
Phil, your lady friend Chris Essel is all FOR this, here's what she said this week on the 18th at the debate at SOHA/ Sherman Oaks, about her position on pot sales:
After some general comments rambling about sales to school kids and how sales for money are taking place,
"The City Attorney who's backing me, Carmen Trutanich, a supporter of mine, I will work closely with him when I get to City Council to make sure we shut down all the illegal facilities."
**Can it be any clearer? She and Trutanich are joined at the hip.
By illegal she clearly means what Trutanich and Cooley do: ALL sales, period. "I will work closely with him." I.e., do his bidding.
Now you see why she's dragging Sheftel around (and why they bribed that homeless idiot who's also pushing the IBEW lobby) - to try to dupe the public especially the medical cannabis community into thinking she's their FRIEND only to throw them under the bus AND JAIL ASAP. Exactly out of the Trutanich-Shallman playbook. Another tipoff: they LOATHE Koretz and have vowed to destroy him, go after him next election.
Krekorian said he sees Oakland and West Hollywood as examples of safe regulation, supported Koretz's/the State's Compassionate Use bill, but wants to crackdown on the excess and the community-harming aspects, will work with LAPD and the Sheriff's dept.
(BUT Essel wants to be part of the rightwing vigilante posse with Trutanich/Cooley; even Zine backed off a bit to save his own fat ass.)
Your gal wants Rubin in jail, PHIL
Phil: you write that Rubin "was arrested recently for his cannabis activism." As far as I know, "activism" is not even a misdemeanor.
What exactly is Rubin being charged with?
9:52 E$$hole, Jerry Brown did NOT agree with fascists Cooley/Trutanich that ALL sales for profit or not are illegal, liar. You people are such low-lifes in the way you distort the law and facts and have a contempt for democracy.
Doug McIntyre UNDER- played the Nooch who plays by the rules of the sewers of pedro and the loud thug-master Cooley: your role model isn't N. Korea, it's Old School Stalin.
You're going down as is that Empty Vessel E$$el.
She's got ALL the scum behind her and it's so heavy it's sinking with the Empty VeS$$el.
Another example of how braindead Trutanich/Stoolie of Cooley the Foolie AND their Emtpy Ve$$el are:
They blame Paul for putting thousands of parolees on the streets - wrong, it's a federal government mandate and he opposes it - WHILE being intent on filling UP the jails with the likes of Craig Rubin and medical marijuana patients and caregivers and people who've sold it complying with state law (REAL state law, not the bogus reading of Mensh these idiots claim - read the literature and analyses by REAL lawyers).
Not only are these 2 idiots intent on making criminals out of these people, with the sworn support of Essel like 11:20 says - I was there at SOHA and it's on YouTube - but they're inviting class-action lawsuits they're sure to lose.
The national attention they're getting is that they're rightwing vigilantes going AGAINST the state and federal gov't, which does NOT want to create new classes of FELONS for partisan grnadstanding, but their sneering at "pissant" (thanks, Nuch thug 9:52, for showing who you people are once again) executive powers of local government makes Lou Dobbs look like a leftie and an ACLU activist by comparison.
Anyone who votes for E$$el is eithr an idiot or bought and sold. We KNOW she's doing a lot of pay-to-play buying like the Nooch did (that Cockney Brit Bergr and Usher - who's got a vendetta against Rubin for exposing her - are just the TIP of the black-with-soot-of-corruption Iceberg that is TITANIC TRUTANICH and SINKING OF THE $$ EMPTY VE$$EL.)
Phil. Please check your facts: "Rubin adds to his claims of persecution the fact that City Attorney Carmen "Nuch" Trutanich has proposed a law that would affect only Rubin."
The law proposed by Trutanich makes it unlawful for anyone convicted of a felony to be involved in the management of a collective.
Rubin X is not the only convicted felon who would be barred from managing a collective. There's a guy who spoke before the joint session of the Public Safety and Planning and Land Use Management committees last week. His name is Virgil Grant III.
According to a press release issued not by Trutanich, not by Cooley but by the US Attorney, detailing Grant's indictment for:
one drug conspiracy count,
four counts of aiding and abetting the distribution of marijuana within 1,000 feet of a school and
four counts of maintaining a drug-involved premises within 1,000 feet of a school,
conspiracy to commit money laundering conspiracy and
six counts of money laundering.
Here's the link:
http://www.justice.gov/usao/cac/pressroom/pr2008/070.html
Virgil Grant has pleaded guilty and remains to be sentenced in Federal Court in January. While out on bail, Virgil attended the joint committee meeting and spoke passionately about "civil rights" and taking drugs away from street dealers, all the while the doe-eyed committee members lapped up all the rhetoric nodding their heads sympathetically, not realizing a convicted felon was addressing them.
There are very good reasons why convicted criminals should NOT be involved in medical marijuana, and very good reasons why some people want to be able to continue their bidness; go to Craigslist and take a look at how many "Medical Marijuana Dispensaries" are being offered for sale.
Then read the US Attorney's press release about Virgil Grant III - he owns 6 yes SIX medical marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles. Do you think Mr. Grant wants to cash in by getting the City Council to allow sales and boost the price of his drug shops before he goes to prison?
Oh, and it just so happens that all of Virgil's drug shops are in Jan Perry's district. She was one of the clowns who want to allow sales. Coincidence, of course.
When you've done your research, maybe you can give us the facts straight for a change.
I checked the County Jail website www.lasd,org and found Craig's arrest under "Inmate Information." He was arrested on 10/22 at 5:30pm by LAPD Narcotics Officers. The arrest had nothing to do with Trutanich or the City Attorney's Office because it's a FELONY, and the City Attorney only has jurisdiction over misdemeanors.
The case number SA07262601 is a FELONY case that will be heard at the Airport courthouse and is being handled by the DA's Office.
Anyone ever want the facts here?
2:40pm, If it's a story by Phil, rest assured that no fact checking has been done.
Phil wouldn't know accuracy or confirming with multiple forces if he tripped over it.
PHIL, HOW MANY "RECALL ANTONIO VILLARAIGOSA" SIGNATURES DO YOU HAVE?
YOU ONLY NEED 240,000 OF THEM.
YOU DON'T HAVE ANY DO YOU? YOU WOULD HAVE TOLD US BY NOW IF YOU HAD ANY. YOU TOLD US YOU'D UPDATE US IN OCTOBER. IT'S GETTING CLOSE TO DECEMBER.
YOU'RE A FUCKING IDIOT!
1:17pm & 1:50pm = Krekorian on the ropes, lashing out with wild feckless falsity.
Jerry Brown was interviewed on KFI on Friday. Said he agrees with Nooch and Cooley.
Look who's lying now.
Krekorian wants Oakland and West Hollywood style pot shops? Bullshit. Krekorian, like the rest of the dimwits in City Hall, hadn't even heard of what's going on in other cities until the LA Times article last Monday.
The Krekorian mouthpiece hasn't got a clue as to how different the Oakland model is from West Hollywood. Both cities only have 4 pot shops, but one of those cities has pot shops the size of Wallmarts and Costcos with over 800 patients a day, and lines around the block. The other city is a little different.
Now, let's see if the Krekhole can rationalize the difference.
I'm confused. I haven't really been following the pot thing that much. Is Nuch really proposing a law, or is he just stating he will enforce the existing law?
Craig Rubin gets 5-12 yrs?? I wonder what'll come first, Craig's release, or the recall signatures.
2:40/2:51, oh PUHLEEZE - Trutanich is always talking about "walking you across the street" to DA Cooley's office, even threatened Jan Perry with it she said. You people can't boast about being joined at the hip when it suits you and claim separation when it doesn't. Tho of course you do.
That's HOW he got the clients he did, not because he's smart because he's a moron, because he operated on "juice" in getting the DA to file charges or drop them depending on how much money changed hands or other factors were involved like "helping out" Pete Carroll. All Trtutanich or that power-hungry pay-to-play fool Usher have to do is say the word.
IN RETURN and the ONLY reason Cooley recruited the idiot was to act as his puppet, do his bidding in the city level.
4:50 I don't work for Krekorian but getting rid of lying puppet scum who wastes our money filling up prisons when we're releasing prisoners early is a civic duty.
What's the second part, that Krekorian never heard of what goes on in the other cities? Another blatant lie - he was in Assembly when Koretz passed the law he supports. And NO Brown didn't say he supports Trutanich and Cooley - Carter admitted as much to council. The courts have also NOT ruled all sales illegal, to the contrary. Profit vs. sales are two different things. There you go again, shamelessly twisting semantics into intentional lies - like the way you shameless a-holes have your mouthpiece Bill Carter claim that Woocher vowed to work for FREE because ONCE the Times quoted Chick saying "pro bono" when she meant no money upfront.
Only an IDIOT would work for free and Woocher is no idiot. Carter knows damn well he's lying to try to find cover for Trutanich's insane egomania in refusing to pay him any amount, after he swore up and down that Chick and Woocher
are "fighting for truth, justice and the American way," in rightwing ranter Doug McIntyre's words.
As she and Woocher said, she's not a lawyer and it was a casual statement - LOW to try to use it as an excuse to defraud her. But LOW is Trutanich Titanic. Having such a thug and liar in the office makes me feel dirty as an Angeleno - I don't know Paul and think it's a shame the real grassroots candidates didn't make it as far.
Just this August, the Calif. 4th circuit in Calif. vs. Hochanadel said that according to the Aug 08 guidelines laid down by the STATE ATTY GENL BROWN, dispensaries are subject to sales tax WHETHER THEY MAKE A PROFIT OR NOT. In fact this confirms that sales ARE legal in certain circumstances, that shops CAN qualify as collectives.
And the Calif. vs. Mentsh Trutnooch keeps throwing out - making things up when real case law doesn't suit his pre-conceived partisan wars, as he always does and has been proven when he was running - only discusses WHO can qualify as a caregiver, it has ZERO to do with banning sales.
ANYWAY the issue you Trutanich opportunist slimeballs choose to gloss over is that he promised to uphold the pro-medical cannabis community's point of view on Compassionate Use, knowingly and intentionally milked their help - hands and money and feet pounding pavement - always meaning to throw them under the bus like with Chick.
That's what Essel's doing, trying to disarm the community in advance of rolling them over big, dragging around Sheftel and bribing the homeless mutt (who's also shilling for D'Arcy/IBEW's lobby, claiming it's grassroots), who between that and suing L A is showing he'll do anything for money instead of work honestly.
She said in so many words last week that she's itching to support Trutanich/Cooley any way she can. IF Rubin, Sheftel and others still support her they deserve to get thrown under the bus for being stupid.
WhyProhibition.ca/blogs
The Oct 23 article has a good summary of why Trutanich is wrong and how he and Cooley are twisting everything out of context - reviews recent case law supporting sales and requiring that all sales whether or not they make a profit be taxed, the Mentsh case, AND singles out Craig X Rubin and his unique case because he claims that pot is part of a religious ritual when used within certain churches.
THAT makes him particularly dangerous to the fanatical Nooch who has tried in vain to use Mexican Fire Ants, Raid and Russian Mafia scare tactics to justify his filling the prisons with those who comply with state Court and Atty Genl interpretation of Compassionate Use.
Mainstream churches including the Episcopalian and Presbyterian urge respecting the compassionate Use Law as long as the patient has an Rx from a legit doctor, and NOT to make onerous excuses limiting quantity to absurdly tiny amounts per collective (another Trutanich Trick outlined here) or to demand that sick people grow their own pot and physically exchange it!
What's DANGEROUS about this aspect to these 2 fanatics is that it can open the door to religious practice - the way Native Americans claim payote is - so they wanted to throw an outspoken activist like Rubin in jail.
Disclaimer: I'm NOT supporting this religious use BUT throwing people in jail for exercising free expression, EVEN when it's a Councilwoman trying to do her job right or wrong OR the lawyer for AEG doing his job OR head of B&S OR volunteer commissioners - is FASCIST AND IF ALLOWED TO STAND WOULD BECOME TOTALITARIANISM.
Krekholes, read 'em and weep. Here's the transcript of what Jerry Brown said to KFI on Friday, November 20, 2009.
KFI: CALIFORNIA'S ATTORNEY GENERAL SAYS HE SUPPORTS EFFORTS BY L.A. PROSECUTORS TO GO AFTER MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES SELLING POT TO PATIENTS.
JERRY BROWN SAYS MARIJUANA'S ILLEGAL TO SELL, NO MATTER WHAT, BUT HE SAYS THE STATE'S MEDICAL MARIJUANA LAWS ARE VERY CONFUSING ABOUT WHO IS ALLOWED TO PROVIDE THE DRUG TO PATIENTS.
JB: "UNFORTUNATELY, IN SOME COMMUNITIES, LOS ANGELES IN PARTICULAR, THERE'S A LOT OF EXPLOITATION AND JUST GETTING INTO THE, ERR, DRUG BUSINESS, THE DOPE BUSINESS."
KFI: BROWN SAYS HE HOPES THE COURTS OR THE LEGISLATURE HELP TO CLARIFY THE LAWS.
Don't you just hate it when you are proved to be wrong?
"MARIJUANA'S ILLEGAL TO SELL, NO MATTER WHAT"
That's the AG's statement, so what are you going to do now? Call Jerry Brown a liar too?
No, you'll call me a liar, so why don't you hear the KFI News report: click here.
Koretz and Krekorian are idiots who don't know what the law is, and don't care.
Krekholes are desperate to try to spin anything that shows Krekorian to be the carpet bagging career politician who votes for anything and everything that screws taxpayers and homeowners.
Now the Krekholes have been caught out in a lie; Jerry Brown supports nailing sellers of medical marijuana. He may not like the law, but at least he knows what it is.
8:19PM - you need a new script. When Weiss was getting his ass handed to him on a plate, there were all the Weissholes were blogging anonymously saying "I don't know/like Jack Weiss, but ..."
I think the best one was a moron who said "I just got up to feed my baby and saw the horrible remarks about Jack Weiss. I don't know Jack Weiss but ..."
Yeah, really convincing.
I guess the wheels are finally coming off the Krekorian wagon if all his staffers can do is blog recycled crap from the SS WeissTanic.
How are those yard signs going? I see Essel's all over the place.
9:24, you proved YOURSELF wrong and a liar trying semantic tricks again to try to fit the words to the pre-conceived conclusion. Like trying the Woocher/Chick pro bono transparently low deceit - so stupid even Arnold Sachs caught it.
The "illegal no matter what" is NOT a direct quote from JB, no way - it's a summary from "KFI." All JB says is what EVERYONE including Koretz and Krekorian say, that there are too many dispensaries, many of which may be illegal, and the whole thing in L A is a sorry mess.
9:08pm - I guess you have to add Jerry Brown to your rant.
Pity Krekorian's voting record is so weak; yes on everything from legalizing marijuana to letting convicts out of prison early to destroy our communities.
One useless liberal washed up Sacramento politician is enough for Los Angeles - Paul Koretz and his WeHo ways aren't to popular around here. Bet all the "medical marijuana" money's behind him and Krekorian.
I hear CD5 is already talking about a recall now that Koretz has made his pro-drug dealer position known. Stupid really, he had voters believing that he might be a good thing for CD5, now he's showing us what a disaster he is. The two Pauls? I can just see the Shallman mailers dropping into the mailbox; Koretz & Krekorian the two dopes from Sacramento.
Anyway, it's all about name recognition for Krekorian, he will lose but then have the name recognition he needs to run for that Senate seat he really wants.
Phony Philthy Pauls.
I'm sure Essel WILL repeat the Trutanich Titanic - real Titanic, one-way ticket back to Palookaville as his homeless court jester says - trashing neighborhoods with ugly signs. Couldn't rip the HUGE ones down that were BOLTED TO PUBLIC STOPS SIGNS ALL OVER residential neighborhoods, infuriated the residents. Then they wouldn't take them down for a week afterward. TACKY. I don't think Weiss used yard signs - ask Walter how well they worked for him, must be a Republican ego thing.
Like Trutanuch Essel has nothing to run on but making up bogus "ethics violations" (even Ron Kaye's caught onto that one) so you have to bombard people and take advantage of general apathy.
BUT this time even Kaye's calling the alliance of all the rats- Trutanich/Cooley/Zine with D'Arcy-IBEW and Vampire Son of Measure B "the kiss of death."
I don't give a damn if you think I know Krekorian or not but I'd vote for (almost) ANYONE over Essel the lying second shoe to Trutanich the thuggish sue/jail-happy charlatan wasting money on crazy vendettas, lying to every person and group with fake smarmy grins, sleazy.
Working for the prison guards' union - one BIG reason the PPL is supporting him and Empty Ve$$el: their political advisor is fresh off helping bankrupt the state for the prison guards' union. Stupid is as stupid does: bitch about releasing parolees early but fill up the prisons with pot patients, so you can hire more guards.
10:25, the ONLY ones supporting the Mexican drug cartels - and the Russian Mafia cartels Cooley babbled about on tv last week after his Pooch Nooch got bitch-slapped by CC so he came out calling them "so irrelevant it isn't funny," nice respect for the executive bodies - are Cooley and TrutMooch themselves.
No one in CD5 is "talking recall" except the same few a$$holes for E$$el who bitch about everything, and everyone's fed up with THEM. They brought that slimeball Nooch into the city and people hate THEM for it, won't be fooled again.
10:22PM The "illegal no matter what" is NOT a direct quote from JB, no way - it's a summary from KFI"
You are soooo right, KFI must be lying too.
Everybody is lying about the two Pauls.
How is it that everything that shows Krekorian to be as much of a whore as Koretz is a lie, and every stupid baseless slur against Trutanich or Essel is true?
Have you thought about your next campaign? I hear Jack Weiss is thinking about a run for president of the valet parker's union. Better get in there quick.
Morons.
Two more facts about Essel:
ACORN is walking the precinct for Essel.
Essel owns a lot of Home Depot stock
I also heard what Jerry Brown said and I seriously doubt that KFI would not report his words faithfully. They would never get another interview from any politician again.
I therefore find Mr. Krekorian's remarks very disrespectful to the Attorney General and the District Attorney.
It is unfortunate for "the two Pauls" and all the people who want to make drugs legal that the law of the state does not support them.
They should both go back to Sacramento and carry on messing things up there. We've got enough crappy local politicians here in LA, we don't need any more.
If it wasn't for Trutanich and Zine, LA would continue to be the pot capitol of the nation. I'm glad they have what it takes to stand their ground.
oh gives a shit about pot. why can't you all worry about really important things that awful essel will ruin? SB1818 is a great place to start.
i heard essel was asked about the AEG situation and she said that she could see AEG from her house!
"Essel isn`t too thrilled to have a lawbreaker endorse her". I don`t think she is too concerned, being a lawbreaker herself. Birds of a feather.
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