Hi Everyone,

Wanted to share a few updates and an URGENT call to action for tomorrow’s Fremont City Council Meeting.

CALL TO ACTION - NEED CONCERNED CITIZENS TO SPEAK AT TOMORROW'S CITY COUNCIL MEETING

There will a city council meeting tomorrow, 9/13/22 at 7pm. It will be in-person. One of the items is approving updates to the Conflict of Interest Code. While this is an administrative exercise, it would be a very symbolic time for those who are concerned about corruption in Fremont to come to the meeting and sign up to speak. Our community needs to get on record asking for an independent investigation into Mark Danaj, the contracts the city signed while he was city manager, and a forensic audit of our accounting and contracts.

http://fremontcityca.iqm2.com/Citizens/Detail_Meeting.aspx?ID=1855

If we can get 10-20 people willing to attend and sign up to speak about their concerns, it will show that this is a major concern in the community and we are paying attention, and we are not backing down! It will make it harder for our elected officials to continue ignoring these concerns and hiding from the public.

Take 5 minutes to Send an Email!

If you can’t attend, or in addition to attending we need as many people as possible to write to the city clerk and get these concerns into the public record for this meeting. This is crucial for creating a paper trail to show the community is demanding answers and make it harder for them to continue avoiding this topic.

Here’s what to do:

a.       Email: citycouncil@fremont.gov

b.       Subject: Public Comment for City Council Meeting 9/13/22

c.       Body (can copy/paste or write your own):

Dear City Council,

I am writing this public comment to express my concern in regards to corruption and misappropriation of city funds. As you know, our former city manager Mark Danaj has been indicted on felony charges of embezzlement and fraud. To date, the mayor and city council have refused to address this concern, as well as the financial implications of how much could have potentially been embezzled through theft, bad contracts, and/or unnecessary projects in exchange for kickbacks, political pro quo, or other financial or material benefit. Seeing as city funds are funded by our tax dollars, we have a right to know how much of our funds were misused or paid out for personal or political rather than city benefit. It is critical that we hold all involved accountable as well as seek restitution, particularly before Danaj’s criminal case is decided, as we do not fully know the extent of the embezzlement without an audit. I respectfully request that the City of Fremont actively seek an independent investigation into Mark Danaj’s tenure at the City of Fremont, including a forensic audit of all accounting, spending, communications, and contracts. Because Mark Danaj is being prosecuted by DA Nancy O’Malley’s office, is represented by her brother, and DA O’Malley had been an official endorsement of Lily Mei’s Senate campaign until recently removed from the website, the DA’s office represents a conflict of interest. It is important that the investigation be conducted by either the CA Attorney General’s office, or by an investigative body based on the CA AG’s recommendation to ensure that all involved or with knowledge will be held accountable.

Local government transparency is protected under the Brown Act, and it is important that our city council act in good faith towards their responsibility of transparency to the people who elected them. Given the circumstances of Danaj’s felony indictments, it is not only reasonable but necessary to investigate all activity and spending to fully understand how much of our funds have been misappropriated.

Regards,

[your name]

Please share and ask your friends, family and neighbors to take 5 minutes to send an email before tomorrow’s meeting to get on record. We need lots of voices to pressure them into an investigation.

If anyone has connections to the local media as well, please let them know. It is very important that we get an investigation before Danaj’s case concludes or he takes as a plea deal.

Call To Action #2—Email the California Attorney General’s Office

Please use this contact form to contact California’s Attorney General’s office to voice your concerns.

General Comment, Question or Complaint Form | State of California - Department of Justice - Office of the Attorney General

Sample message (better to write your own but copy/paste is okay):

Dear Attorney General Bonta,

I am a resident of Fremont, CA, and writing with concern about potential corruption and cover up in relation to the felony indictment of our former city manager, Mark Danaj. Mark Danaj has been indicted on felony embezzlement and fraud charges by the Alameda County District Attorney’s office. However, we have concerns about conflict of interest, and a potential cover up that would obscure the full extent of how much of our funds have been embezzled through theft and bad contracts/unnecessary projects in exchange for kickbacks or political quid pro quo.

Here is a summary:

-Danaj’s defense attorney is Dan O’Malley, the brother of Alameda County DA Nancy O’Malley, whose office is in charge of this prosecution. Nancy O’Malley had also been an official endorsement for Lily Mei, Fremont’s Mayor who is currently running for a state senate seat (Mei has since removed this endorsement amidst public outcry over conflict of interest). Mei has stated she led the hiring of Danaj despite community concerns that he had previously been fired as city manager of Manhattan Beach for misappropriating funds.

-Shortly before the announcement of the felony indictment, in a closed session on 9/28/21, it was announced that Danaj had resigned, yet he was paid $360,000 in severance despite his contract stipulating no severance if he resigned. The separation agreement signed between Danaj and Mayor Lily Mei includes an NDA that appears to be in violation of the Brown Act. The city council and Mayor Mei are claiming this NDA prevents them from addressing the public about Danaj, the criminal charges, and any recourse to identify if more funds have been misappropriated.

We are asking for a full independent investigation as well as a forensic audit of our city’s spending and accounting, as well as contracts, to understand the full extent of how much in funds have been misappropriated as well as who was involved. Seeing as we have concerns about conflict of interest with the Alameda County DA’s office, we ask that the CA Attorney General assist in ensuring that there will be a fair and impartial investigation.

Thank you so much.

Other Updates:

1.       Nancy O’Malley, the Alameda County District Attorney whose office is in charge of prosecuting ark Danaj, is no longer listed as an official endorsement on Lily Mei’s senate campaign page. https://lilymei.org/endorsements/

Either she has decided that she can no longer be associated with an elected official dogged by so many scandals, or this is an effort to hide the impropriety of officially endorsing a candidate who self-proclaimed “led” in the hiring of a corrupt city manager being defended by her brother, and whom her office is prosecuting on felony embezzlement and fraud charges for stealing city funds of said mayor.

The concern is that this is still part of an ongoing cover up ahead of a potential plea deal in which Danaj pleas to a slap on the wrist and restitution of the funds he misused. However, keep this in mind: he was paid $360,000 in severance from city funds; so if the punishment is restitution, he will essentially be paying $18,000 back using part of the $360,000 payout of CITY MONEY, continuing a lose/lose for the city of Fremont.

IT IS NOW MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER THAT WE DEMAND AN INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION AND FORENSIC AUDIT OF CITY SPENDING AND CONTRACTS DURING DANAJ’S TENURE BEFORE HIS CASE IS DECIDED.

2.       City of Fremont is currently being sued by the family of former police captain Fred Bobbitt, who allege that Bobbitt was a whistleblower with concerns about Danaj misusing his position and possible corruption. He was retaliated against, including being demoted from captain to Animal Control. More details can be found here: https://www.postnewsgroup.com/family-of-late-police-captain-pushes-for-prosecution-of-ex-fremont-city-manager-for-embezzlement-fraud/

There is also an on-going civil suit filed by a current fire division chief that is sealed.

https://unicourt.com/case/ca-ala-hendry-vs-city-of-fremont-1248781

While we do not know the nature of this second suit, we do know that city council had a closed session on 4/12/22 to discuss the Hendry suit, as well as the Mondragon wrongful death suit in which the jury awarded the family $21 million, half of which City of Fremont is on the hook for https://www.npr.org/2022/06/26/1107684359/jury-21-million-pregnant-teen-killed-police  (seriously, we are in a budget crisis without these penalties...WHAT ARE THESE PEOPLE DOING)

On 7/19/22, they met in a closed session to discuss the Bobbitt suit.

However, in a council meeting on 7/12/22, city council announced that Fremont police and firefighters will get the max 17% raise over 3 years, as well as the mayor, city council, etc. While most of us do not have issue with paying our valuable city workers what their worth, there was concern from council that this announcement was made without determining where the cuts will come from to pay for these raises, and also the fact that both the police and fire unions had made max donations to Lily Mei’s senate campaign shortly before she decided on the raises.

With the family of a former police chief and a current fire division chief currently suing the city, there are concerns that these raises could potentially be aimed to influence departmental opinion against the lawsuits rather than decision making based on what’s best for the city. We would love some answers, not to be told our concerns are "attacks from [Lily Mei's] political enemies." We are constituents and deserve to be treated as such.

Posting this link to get around the Mercury News story that has a paywall:

https://lawglitz.com/fremont-workers-get-pay-raise-city-relies-on-federal-funds/

Please share this petition and updates with friends, family, and neighbors within Fremont, as the longer we go without an investigation, the less likely there will be accountability or financial restitution. It is unheard of that a scandal of this magnitude can simply be swept under the rug with a “no comment.”