The HB Historical Society wants to be set at its new site before the city turns 100.

By Andrea Sudano
Daily Breeze

"We'll finish it," said Koenig, president of the society. "If we don't, I'm taking off for Fiji for a month. It's doable and it's going to happen."

The historical society has been working on plans to expand the museum for several years, he said. But Saturday marks the beginning of crunch time, as volunteers begin packing up everything in the museum to make room for construction.

Artifacts, trinkets and baubles fill the museum to the brim, cluttering the tiny space that once served as a former middle school's girls locker and shower room -- the pink tiles running halfway up the wall and sloped floors are the only clues to its past.

The museum will expand into the room next door, a former wood shop at the school, Koenig said. Volunteers have until noon Jan. 14, when a ribbon-cutting ceremony will kick off the city's centennial celebration.

For now, just exposed beams, pipes and electrical conduit decorate the cavernous room, but the society has big plans.

Koenig's blue eyes light up as he maps out the floor plan with his hands, explaining exactly where the exhibits will sit in 142 days.

"Like any good story," Koenig said, "you need to have a past, present and future."

The past will start at the very beginning, with the Gabrielino-Tongva tribe of American Indians that experts believe first inhabited Hermosa Beach. A garden full of native plants will honor the tribe from outside the new entrance, now facing the tennis courts lining Ardmore Avenue.

Inside, museum exhibits will march through time, stopping at significant portions of the city's history -- including its roots in banking, commerce and jazz music.

An ancient aqua blue lifeguard tower, plucked about five years ago from the beach at 16th Street, serves as the door between the old and new museums, a sort of wardrobe to Narnia.

Visitors will step onto the shack's platform and cross into what will fittingly become the museum's beach culture portion, covering everything from surf, skateboards, volleyball and lifeguards, Koenig said.

Rotating collections, a temperature controlled vault, presentation center and gift shop should round out the museum's offerings.

For years, Koenig has been salvaging windows and doors from old houses torn down around town.

He hopes one day to put them to good use at the museum as a mock-up of an original Hermosa Craftsman's living room.

"You can see the house, but you can also sit in Granny's rocker," Koenig said.

As Hermosa Beach's housing stock goes more the way of the big box than bungalow, a replica could be the closest future generations will come to seeing how Hermosa's first homes looked.

And that's the crux of this museum's purpose -- preserving Hermosa Beach's history as newer residents flock into town completely unaware that the city once printed its own money or how significant a role it played in the West Coast jazz scene, officials said.

"I think (the historical society) has always been lacking on community awareness," said Councilman J.R. Reviczky, who's doing the museum's electrical work in his spare time.

"A lot of people don't even know they're there, but once they've been there, they go back again. It's really a wonderful organization that's tried to preserve the history of Hermosa Beach."

The entire overhaul has a $180,000 price tag, Koenig estimated.

Aside from $20,000 in city funds, the society is scraping the money together itself through fundraisers and private donations.

Barbara Robinson, a four-year resident and local business owner, just handed over a check for $50,000.

"Once history is lost, it's hard to put it back together," she said. "It's a worthwhile investment -- I'm investing in the museum and in the future."

Former Hermosa Beach councilman dies at 68

Roger Creighton had a reputation among friends and political foes alike as a gruff but passionate watchdog.

By Andrea Sudano
Daily Breeze

Roger Creighton, a former Hermosa Beach city councilman known for a forceful but insightful approach to city politics, has died. He was 68.

The lifelong Hermosa Beach resident committed suicide in his home Thursday night after a short battle with prostate cancer, said son Dane Creighton.

Doctors recently diagnosed the elder Creighton with the disease and gave him a 50 percent chance of survival, his son said.

A civic activist elected to the City Council in 1987, Creighton was notorious for being fiscally conservative. He was often called a tightwad by critics. Creighton did not run for re-election when his term was up in 1991 but did seek another term in 1995 as a write-in candidate.

Creighton enjoyed weight lifting and had an imposing physical stature. He wore a suit and tie to every council meeting but often traipsed around town shoeless and driving old cars with bullet holes in the side.

In his nearly lifelong role as a Hermosa Beach watchdog, Creighton was steadfast, persistent and known for hauling opponents into court when he suspected wrongdoing.

In 1982, he famously filed a lawsuit against several council members for giving gifts -- including expensive gold jewelry -- to departing politicians and department heads. The judge favored Creighton, and a city policy limiting gift-giving was soon established.

Tenacious and relentless, Creighton pummeled away at his pet issues, often standing for hours outside the post office to gather signatures for a petition, said Gary Brutsch, a former councilman who also served as city treasurer when Creighton was in office.

"Roger Creighton didn't sit on the sidelines," he said. "Very seldom were Roger and I on the same side of the issue, but he always brought a sound argument. The city is probably better because he was around."

Born in 1938, Creighton attended Redondo Union High School and later worked in construction, often billing himself as a "dumb bulldozer operator."

But Creighton was no dummy, friends said.

"People dramatically underestimated his intelligence and abilities," said longtime Hermosa Beach resident Fred Huebscher. "He knew a lot more than he let on. He played the role of being a curmudgeon."

Dane Creighton said his father was gruff inside and out, but Huebscher thought otherwise.

"People never gave him credit for being kind," he said. "Once I was at his house and his kid called, and Roger is such a tough cookie, but he was so nice to his kid on the phone."

Creighton's lifelong fascinations included rare stamps, coins and postcards. Recently he was interested in mining and had traveled to the Gold Country, said friend Carol Prenter.

He was also an avid gardener, covering much of his large property with greenery and blooms. His favorite flower was the tiger lily, which grew all over his Third Street property, said his son.

His interest in horticulture led to several anonymous donations for city trees, Councilman J.R. Reviczky said.

By all accounts, though, Creighton was a complex character known for passionate highs and lows.

"One had to put up with a lot from him," Huebscher said. "He'd go off the deep end and then call you the next day like nothing had happened."

Creighton's sudden death Thursday came as a shock to loved ones.

Diagnosed with prostate cancer just months ago, Creighton was scheduled for surgery today.

Late Thursday night, Dane Creighton went to check on his father and found he had hanged himself in his garage. He left no note, police said.

Dane Creighton believed the elder Creighton was despondent over his condition, especially after his own father died of the same disease in the 1960s.

"He could have recovered from it," Dane Creighton said. "But his dad died a miserable, ugly death of it. For some reason, unbeknownst to me, he decided it wasn't going to happen to him. Instead of dying a painful death, he just decided to end it."

Brutsch said he spoke last week to Creighton, who sounded troubled.

"He sounded really weak," he said. "I asked what I could do to help. He said, 'Just think of me in your prayers.' Roger Creighton just didn't talk like that. I knew it was worse than he was letting on."

Memorial services for Creighton are not yet planned.

Tattoo artist sues to leave mark on Hermosa Beach

Johnny Anderson claims the city's unwillingness to allow a parlor violates his First Amendment rights.

By Andrea Sudano
DAILY BREEZE

Johnny Anderson wants to leave his mark on Hermosa Beach.

But because tattoo parlors aren't allowed in town, the Harbor Gateway tattoo artist this week filed a federal lawsuit against Hermosa Beach, alleging the city is violating his right to free expression.

"I'm not talking about damages," said Anderson, who has been tattooing for 10 years and charges $150 an hour. "I just want the shop. I just want the right to practice in Hermosa Beach."

The practice isn't outlawed in town, but the city's zoning code makes no mention of tattoo parlors, leaving proprietors no place to ink legally, said Robert Moest, an attorney for Anderson.

In the mid-1990s, the City Council twice denied tattoo artists permission to open parlors in town. With that track record, Anderson decided to skip the traditional civic avenues of petitions and public hearings and head straight to U.S. District Court, where Moest filed papers Monday.

In them, the Santa Monica-based attorney argues tattoos are a form of expression protected under the First Amendment -- no different than a painting, sculpture or film. Because the city's zoning code keeps tattoo parlors out of town, Anderson is deprived of the right to express himself, the suit claims.

This isn't the first time the 30-year-old Anderson has tried to legally needle his way into a South Bay city. About two years ago, he and Moest filed suit against Torrance, alleging its all-out ban on tattooing in town violated Anderson's rights.

The case settled shortly after Anderson opened his Harbor Gateway shop, Yer Cheatin' Heart, two years ago. But the focus was always on Hermosa Beach, he said.

"We began the Torrance lawsuit but, essentially, we decided we'd rather have a shop in Hermosa Beach," said Anderson, whose colorful and plentiful tattoos belie an articulate and formal manner. "The goal was always to get Hermosa Beach."

A soft-spoken Republican father of two, Anderson got his first tattoo in a Hermosa Beach house when he was 15. Anderson would prefer to provide nervous first-timers with a more upscale and refined setup, though.

"We'd like something that kind of reflects the beach area," he said, while tattooing a frequent customer Tuesday. "Maybe we'd hang some black-and-white photos of old Hermosa Beach. It has a rich history. ... I see something more high-end, more like a hair salon and less like a parlor."

Licensed to teach tattooing, Anderson has a plan for Hermosa Beach that includes an educational component, which he hoped the city could incorporate into new zoning language.

He thought that was a reasonable compromise that would keep the city from becoming a magnet for tattoo parlors, like Councilman J.R. Revickzy worried would happen in 1996 when the City Council last addressed tattoo parlors.

Revickzy on Wednesday hadn't yet heard about Anderson's suit: "I guess we'll see how it plays out in court," he said.

City Attorney Mike Jenkins hadn't reviewed the papers Wednesday.

One expert believes Hermosa Beach cannot legally keep Anderson from tattooing, but it can tell him where he can set up shop.

"They can limit where he (practices tattooing), but they can't keep him from doing it completely," said Erwin Chemerinsky, a constitutional law expert and former USC professor now at Duke University.

Few legal cases address whether tattooing is considered protected speech, said Moest, who has litigated several First Amendment cases, including one over fortune telling.

"This is going to affect tattooing, if we win, in a major way," Anderson said. "Tattooing has been so wonderful for me. This would be one way of giving back to the tattooing community."

Hermosa voters reject higher fees

City officials will have to find another way to balance their budget after their proposal fails.

By Andrea Sudano
DAILY BREEZE

A pitch asking Hermosa Beach landowners to pay higher fees for street lighting and landscaping has fallen short, forcing city officials to find another way to bridge a $170,000 budget shortfall.

About 52 percent of 2,867 mailed-in ballots turned down the formation of a supplemental assessment district. The votes were weighted based on type and size of property, as well as the proximity of street trees and lights.

City staffers must now crunch numbers to find another way to pay for lighting and landscaping for the rest of the year, said City Manager Steve Burrell.

He expected a funding source would be pinpointed by September, nearly three months after the City Council approved the 2006-07 budget -- which was balanced, as long as residents agreed to ante up for lights and trees.

"We've been taking (the funds) out of another account anyway," Mayor Peter Tucker said. "We're just going to have to rob one account, instead of paying another."

If approved, the supplemental assessment district would have added $14.30 to homeowners' existing $41.45 annual costs, and nonresidential properties would have been assessed an extra $42.90.

Commercial properties in the city's tree section would have paid $166.11 extra, and those in parts of town needing additional lighting and tree maintenance would have expected $210.81 more on their property tax bills.

It's all moot now, though, as the 41 percent of landowners who returned votes by the July 25 deadline told city officials to find the cash elsewhere.

"I was pleased that the voters are finally wise to this stuff. ... Why do we need to pay more tax?" said Jim Lissner, a local activist opposed to the assessment district.

The voters' decision could have come down to poor timing on the city's part, Tucker said.

Hermosa Beach voters in June turned down Measure A, a $13.1 million school bond that would have extended the length of a previously passed bond by four years.

"I'm a little disappointed, but based on maybe the election we had in June, maybe the timing was bad," Tucker said. "People looked at it like, 'Oh, they wanted too much money.' "

About 7,000 ballots were mailed to landowners in June asking for landowners' take on special lighting and landscaping districts.

Voters had until the end of a July 25 public hearing to return ballots.

Creating assessment districts was one of a couple of recent ideas from the city to make up the shortfall.

The city turned off a quarter of streetlights around town in October 2004 as part of a three-month experiment.

The move angered residents, who said the decreased lighting compromised safety and security.

Man revived after collapsing in Hermosa Beach surf

Incident delayed start of International Surf Festival competition.

By Josh Grossberg
DAILY BREEZE

He was in the wrong place at the right time.

Minutes before the annual International Surf Festival was about to begin near the Hermosa Beach Pier early Saturday, some spectators saw a man walking along the surf, knee-deep in the water.

When he fell face down into the water, they thought it was some kind of a prank.

"At first they thought this guy was joking," said Terry Yamamoto, a captain with the Los Angeles County lifeguards. "Everyone thought, 'Oh, this clown.' All of a sudden, he wasn't moving."

Stunned beachgoers watched as rescuers pulled the man out of the water. He quickly revived after lifeguards put an oxygen mask to his mouth.

"He came to," Yamamoto said. "He admitted he was drunk."

The man was taken to a nearby hospital.

His name was not released.

The incident forced organizers to postpone the 7 a.m. start of the surfing championships.

"It was just before the start of the contest," Yamamoto said. "They had to wait 10 to 15 minutes, maybe longer, because the rescue trucks were there."

It was beginning of a busy day for lifeguards. With large south swells and riptides, they conducted more rescues than they could count.

"There were a couple of spinal-mobilization injuries, a couple of sporting injuries, bike path injuries, boat distresses," Yamamoto said. "The weather's been so great. This is the last blast of summer."

Hermosa Beach measure would fix North School for kindergartners

A draft of the proposed bond resolution will be considered by trustees Tuesday.

Under the district's plan for North School, which is currently rented out, buildings would be replaced, eight classrooms would be constructed, parking areas repaved and a grassy area installed.

By Brandy Underwood
Daily Breeze

Renovating the North School site was among the priorities for a possible November bond measure unveiled Wednesday by the Hermosa Beach school board.

Trustees have directed staff members to draft a bond resolution to be considered at the board's next meeting Tuesday. The proposed bond amount has not been determined, board President Greg Breen said.

Many residents told trustees at the Hermosa Beach City Hall meeting they would not support a new bond measure and voiced concerns about the district's gym project, funded under the $13.6 million Measure J approved four years ago. Voters rejected a proposed $13.1 million bond on the June ballot.

"I'm reluctant to vote for another bond," said Jim Lissner, who questioned why the Hermosa Beach City School District would want to pay to operate a third campus, closed in 1985.

Though some residents of the North School neighborhood expressed support for the proposed campus improvements, others were still troubled by the gym project, which cost more than was originally expected because of delays incurred by a lawsuit, and offered emotional opposition to a bond.

As tensions increased during the meeting, Hermosa resident George Schmeltzer stepped up.

"I came down to listen to people talk about something other than the gymnasium," Schmeltzer said. "You can't continue to revisit that. You have to move on."

Trustee Lance Widman also urged the community to focus on future improvements.

"It's a done deal," Widman said.

Under the district's plan for North School, which is currently rented by the Seasprites Preschool and South Bay Adult School, buildings would be replaced, eight classrooms would be constructed, parking areas repaved and a grassy area installed. The site, at 417 25th St. in Hermosa Beach, could be used for the district's kindergarten.

The change would allow the district to move its third-graders, who now attend the district's third through eighth-grade Hermosa Valley School, back to Hermosa View School, which presently houses kindergarten through second-graders.

"These improvements will give the district the ability to move students within three campuses," said Hermosa Valley School Principal Sylvia Gluck.

The other priorities outlined in a document distributed during the meeting included constructing three new classrooms at Hermosa Valley School and reconfiguring the school's parking lot to increase off-street parking.

Hermosa View School enhancements were also on the district's wish list, which included asbestos abatement, technology improvements and classroom rehabilitation.

Jeff Bronchick, a Hermosa resident, liked the proposed changes at Valley and View schools, but wanted to hold off on the North School plan.

"I think this is a sellable, doable package," Bronchick said.

142 votes win Bobko a spot on HB City Council

"I thought it was gonna be close," said the victor, who will take over the vacant seat in July.

By Gene Maddaus
Daily Breeze

Patrick "Kit" Bobko emerged with a narrow victory to capture the vacant seat on the Hermosa Beach City Council, beating his closest competitor by 142 votes.

Bobko, who finished behind Jeff Duclos in November, won 40.7 percent of the vote Tuesday to runner-up Duclos' 36.2 percent. He is expected to take office in mid-July.

"I thought it was gonna be close," Bobko said. "I can't say I was expecting to win."

For Duclos, it was "always the bridesmaid, never the bride." Duclos finished fourth in the race for three council seats in November. When the second-place finisher, Howard Fishman, stepped aside to care for his ailing wife, two council members wanted to appoint Duclos to fill the vacant seat.

The other two objected, prompting Tuesday's special election.

"When we were forced into this special election, I had $187 left in my campaign funds," Duclos said. "I knew I was never going to be able to spend what my fellow candidates did. I'm really proud of the campaign we ran. It was an old-fashioned grass-roots effort."

Bobko, 36, is a municipal attorney and former Air Force captain. Duclos, 61, is a home-based communications consultant. Bobko said he hopes to work on improving infrastructure, disaster preparedness, and public safety during his term on the council.

"The council makes decisions too much based on personality," he said. "The first thing I want to do is bring a sense of optimism and enthusiasm back to the council."

Duclos, a longtime Hermosa Beach resident, said he was disappointed by Bobko's campaign.

"I'd be less than truthful if I didn't express my disappointment in him for his deceptions at the end of the campaign," he said. "It was a little too much old-school Hermosa Beach politics."

Contract lawsuit at center of council candidates' concerns

All four Hermosa Beach candidates say the action brought by Macpherson Oil Co. must be resolved. They differ on the most effective way to do that.

By Deepa Bharath
DAILY BREEZE

Just how to handle an oil company's $500 million breach of contract lawsuit against the city of Hermosa Beach has emerged as a central issue in the race for a City Council seat.

All four candidates in the June 6 special election said the suit by Macpherson Oil Co., which could potentially bankrupt the city, is one of their main concerns, and they don't agree on how to best resolve it.

Jeff Maxwell said he would settle, while Janice Brittain would not. Patrick "Kit" Bobko said he wouldn't rush into a settlement; he would wait for now. Jeff Duclos said he would like to see a resolution to the suit, but couldn't say if he would settle now, not without knowing the terms.

Macpherson acquired oil drilling rights in 1992 through lease arrangements with the city. Before any drilling started, voters in 1995 passed Measure E to ban oil drilling in town. The Hermosa Beach City Council voted in 1998 to deny Macpherson drilling permits based on a consultant's opinion that it would be unsafe.

Later that year, Macpherson filed a lawsuit alleging breach of contract. In 2002, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge upheld Measure E as an effective and legal end to a slant-drilling lease held by the Santa Monica-based petroleum company. But an appellate court overturned that decision last summer. The city appealed to the state Supreme Court, which denied the appeal in November.

Bobko, a municipal attorney who prosecuted cases for Hermosa Beach from 2000 to 2004, said the city should "watch and wait" on the Macpherson case.  "This is like buying a used car," he said. "You can't go in and tell the salesman you're going to buy, no matter what. Settlement is always an option, but it's important to be patient."

Maxwell said he sees the Macpherson issue "as a time bomb waiting to explode."  "There's a 50 percent chance here that we'll go bankrupt," he said. "If I were on the City Council, I'd look to settle."

Brittain said she would be reluctant to settle.  "I think the city should stick with the process," she said. "I don't think that we should give up and settle for the big amount (Macpherson Oil) seems to be asking for."

Duclos said he, like most others, is looking for a resolution to the conflict that has been raging for the past 15 years or so.  "The numbers that have been thrown out make it a significant issue for the city," he said. "But that said, I don't think the numbers are anywhere near realistic."

Duclos said apart from the Macpherson lawsuit, he only sees two major issues in Hermosa Beach.  "Public safety and infrastructure," he summarized. "Our quality of life in this town largely depends on those two factors."

The city must find a way to allocate money to keep its streets and key facilities in good shape, Duclos said.  "Our fire facility is in a state of disrepair," he said. "Our City Hall seems worse than a World War II bunker. We keep doing patchwork here and there. We fix stuff, but we're not enhancing or building our community in any way."

Maxwell said his primary goal as a councilman is to remain accountable to his constituents.  "I don't think there's much accountability right now," he said. "People are not getting answers to their questions. I'd like to change that."

Keeping the beach clean is also high on his priority list, Maxwell said.  He said neighboring Manhattan Beach got its wake-up call in January with a massive sewage spill that flooded homes and discharged 2 million gallons of raw sewage onto the sand.  "I think we need to be alert and work toward avoiding situations like that," Maxwell said.

Brittain said her main concern is communication.  "I don't think city officials are communicating very well with the public," she said. "The city needs to clarify their policies to people."

Brittain gave the example of the issue of lot mergers that came up recently with a property owner on Prospect Avenue.   The owner had gone through the planning process with the understanding that he could build two homes on his lots, but was told later that the lots must be merged.  "That should've never happened," Brittain said. "City policies and regulations must always be clear and well communicated."

Bobko said his big issues apart from the Macpherson case are public safety, parking, density and "infusing optimistic leadership" into the council.  "Our Police Department is going through a crisis," he said. "We need to go through the process of strengthening not only our Police Department, but also our Fire Department and improve our level of disaster-preparedness."

Bobko said he would also be eager to create a "fertile business environment" in the city, which he said is one of the best ways to increase city revenue.  "By creating a business corridor in Hermosa Beach, we'll increase our sales tax base," he said.

Three out of the four candidates -- Bobko, Duclos and Maxwell -- ran, and lost, in the November council election. Howard Fishman, who was elected to the council in November, declined to take his seat after his wife was diagnosed with a serious illness. It is this seat that the candidates are vying for in the June election.

3 Hermosa Beach city council candidates boycott a forum

One says the Q & A format "didn't feel right." Janice Brittain was the sole contender to attend the session.

By Deepa Bharath
DAILY BREEZE

Three of the four Hermosa Beach City Council candidates vying for the vacant seat in the June 6 election said they would not attend a candidates forum held by a community group Thursday night because they were not comfortable with the format.

The Hermosa Beach Neighborhood Association, a community watchdog group founded by resident Al Benson, announced its first candidates forum this year.

But as it turned out, it ended up as a question-and-answer session between one candidate, Janice Brittain, and the audience.

Candidates Jeff Duclos, Patrick "Kit" Bobko and Jeff Maxwell took a pass on the event.

Brittain is the only candidate in this election who did not run in November. In the fall contest, Duclos finished fourth behind incumbent J.R. Reviczky, Bobko finished fifth and Maxwell was seventh among 10 candidates vying for three seats.

Howard Fishman, who collected the most votes in November, declined to take office after his wife was diagnosed with a serious illness. It is this seat that will be filled in the June 6 election.

Maxwell said he was overwhelmed with the amount of information Benson sent him to prepare for Thursday's debate.

"The questions were leading," he said.

It was after another local debate held by the League of Women Voters that the candidates met briefly and discussed Thursday night's forum, Maxwell said.

"I think we felt that it wasn't a debate forum, but a personal forum for Mr. Benson," he said. "It just didn't feel right."

Brittain said she had made a commitment to Benson that she would attend.

But Brittain said she shares the other candidates' feelings.

"In most debates, questions are open-ended," she said. "Here, it feels like we're writing a research paper."

Benson, himself a City Council candidate in November, said his intention was not to overwhelm candidates.

"The council packets are usually the size of two phone books," he said. "So you'd think they'd get used to seeing a lot of information."

The questions were meant to be "direct and pointed," Benson said.

"I'm worried about public safety issues," he said. "I'm worried about our Police Department, the bars, the alcohol and our quality of life."

Duclos said the candidates' decision not to attend was nothing personal against Benson.

"There were some issues in relation to the tone and direction of this debate, which was enough to influence our decision on whether to participate," he said.

Benson said all he wanted was to give candidates time to prepare their answers and asked for their responses so he could ask follow-up questions.

"I'm not disappointed they're not coming," he said. "I'm disappointed that they had this little powwow on this issue and made a collective decision behind my back."

Border Patrol agents are upset by releases

Only 6 percent of smugglers they arrested were prosecuted for the crime, according to report. Some claim overcrowded courts are the problem.

By Elliot Spagat
The Associated Press

SAN DIEGO -- The vast majority of people caught smuggling immigrants across the border near San Diego are never prosecuted for the offense, demoralizing the Border Patrol agents making the arrests, according to an internal document obtained by The Associated Press.

"It is very difficult to keep agents' morale up when the laws they were told to uphold are being watered-down or not prosecuted," the report says.

The report offers a stark assessment of the situation at a Border Patrol station responsible for guarding 13 miles of mountainous border east of the city. Federal officials say it reflects a reality along the entire 2,000-mile border: Judges and federal attorneys are so swamped that only the most egregious smuggling cases are prosecuted.

Only 6 percent of 289 suspected immigrant smugglers were prosecuted by the federal government for that offense in the year ending in September 2004, according to the report. Some were instead prosecuted for another crime. Other cases were declined by federal prosecutors, or the suspect was released by the Border Patrol.

The report raises doubts about the value of tightening security along the Mexican border. President Bush wants to hire 6,000 more Border Patrol agents and dispatch up to 6,000 National Guardsmen. He did not mention overburdened courts in his Oval Office address Monday on immigration.

The report was provided to the AP by the office of Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., who has accused the chief federal prosecutor in San Diego of being lax on smuggling cases. Issa's office said it was an internal Border Patrol report written last August. It was unclear who wrote it.

The lack of prosecutions is "demoralizing the agents and making a joke out of our system of justice," said T.J. Bonner, president of the National Border Patrol Council, which represents agents. "It is certainly a weak link in our immigration-enforcement chain."

The 41-page report says federal prosecutors in San Diego typically prosecute smugglers who commit "dangerous/violent activity" or guide at least 12 illegal immigrants across the border. But other smugglers know they are only going to get "slapped on the wrist," according to the report.

'Knows the system'

The report cites a 19-year-old U.S. citizen caught three times in a two-week period in 2004 trying to sneak people from Tijuana, Mexico, to San Diego in his car trunk, two at a time. "This is an example of a kid who knows the system," the report says. "What is true is that he will probably never be prosecuted if he only smuggles one or two bodies at a time."

The report also cites a Mexican citizen who was caught in Arizona and California driving with illegal immigrants and was released each time to Mexico. He was prosecuted the fourth time and sentenced to five years in prison, after two illegal immigrants in his van died in a crash.

U.S. Attorney Carol Lam in San Diego said about half her 110 attorneys work on border cases in an area where the Border Patrol made nearly 140,000 arrests last year. She said she gives highest priority to the most serious cases, including suspects with long histories of violent crime or offenders who endanger others' lives.

"We figure out how many cases our office can handle, start from the worst and work our way down," she said.

Lam said many suspected migrant smugglers are prosecuted instead for re-entering the country after being deported, a crime that can be proved with documents. Smuggling cases are more difficult to prosecute because they require witnesses to testify.

The Border Patrol, which would neither confirm nor deny the document's authenticity, said prosecutors in San Diego recently agreed to prosecute a Top 20 list of smugglers if they are caught.

The Justice Department in Washington declined to comment. However, at a congressional hearing last month, Rep. Ric Keller, R-Fla., told Attorney General Alberto Gonzales that Lam's record on migrant smuggling was "a pathetic failure." Gonzales replied that he was urging U.S. attorneys to more actively enforce laws but noted that immigration cases were "a tremendous strain and burden" along the border.

Huge caseload

Peter Nunez, a former U.S. attorney in San Diego, said prosecutors along the border struggle with limited resources and a huge caseload of immigration cases.

"This is not an indictment of the U.S. Attorney's Office, because you have to deal with the realities of the caseload, but it is an indictment of how badly Congress and presidents have handled the immigration system," he said.

The report says immigrants in the area paid an average of $1,398 to be guided across the border in 2004.

"Smugglers are making lots of money breaking the immigration laws, and there is not much incentive for them to stop these illegal activities," it says.

"The smugglers know that even if they are caught, it will be difficult to punish them."

3 file suit against HB police over 2004 incident

Complaint alleges that two officers attacked at Pier Plaza, filed false statements and lied under oath.

By Matt Krasnowski
Copley News Service

Three people who were acquitted last year on public intoxication and resisting arrest charges have filed a lawsuit against the Hermosa Beach Police Department, claiming officers roughed up two of them, filed false reports and lied in court about the arrests.

Michelle Myers, Robert Nolan and Joel Silva filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on Tuesday, claiming Hermosa Beach police Sgt. Raul Saldana and officers Michael Frilot and Todd Lewitt violated their civil rights.

The allegations stem from a May 23, 2004, incident at Pier Plaza. The lawsuit contends that Saldana approached Myers, Nolan and Silva from behind in a patrol car "maliciously blasting his air horn to frighten plaintiffs."

The suit said the three jumped away, "condemning Saldana for his juvenile behavior." Saldana then drove past them and directed the other officers to go after Nolan.

The lawsuit contends Nolan was "attacked, choked, knocked down and maliciously struck and injured by Lewitt."

Lewitt later kicked Silva and struck him in the head, according to the complaint by lawyer Thomas Beck, who has filed several lawsuits against the department stemming from incidents at Pier Plaza.

Myers, Nolan and Silva were arrested and charged. They complained about the officers' conduct to department officials, but a sergeant investigating their allegations called them "whiners," the lawsuit states.

Last year, the three were acquitted on the misdemeanor charges after a jury trial. The lawsuit contends Saldana, Frilot, Lewitt and other officers "gave knowingly perjured testimony" during the trial.

The lawsuit does not seek specific monetary damages from the city.

Hermosa Beach City Attorney Michael Jenkins said he has not seen the complaint but was familiar with the case.

"The city is very familiar with the facts and is very familiar with the circumstances," Jenkins said. "The city intends to defend the case vigorously."