Postmus To Enter Rehabilitation, Supervisors To Provide Their $495-An-Hour Report To Public

The Sun is reporting today that disgraced former San Bernardino County assessor Bill Postmus, who resigned amid allegations of drug abuse and cronyism at the Assessor's Office, said Friday he is checking himself into a drug-treatment center.

"I'm heading to the airport right now and am heading into a long, extensive rehabilitation," Postmus said late Friday.

Postmus, 37, rose to prominence in San Bernardino County politics at lightning speed and won a seat on the Board of Supervisors at the age of 28.

On Friday, he said he has struggled with drug addiction for the past three years. MORE>>

The Press-Enterprise reported on Friday that a report on the San Bernardino County assessor's office by a high-profile, $495-an-hour lawyer is due by the end of the month or early May, and some supervisors say they intend for it to be made public.

The district attorney's office, which has been conducting its own investigation of the assessor's office for more than a year, wants to keep the report private for a while longer.

District attorney spokeswoman Susan Mickey said investigators are concerned that release of the report could affect witness testimony during a trial, if and when charges are brought.

"We want to protect a fair trial," she said.

Supervisor Neil Derry, whose office was caught up in the assessor's scandal when his chief of staff was arrested, said withholding the report would give the impression of a cover up. The full report needs to be released, he said.

"It would be even more embarrassing if we didn't release the information to the public," Derry said. "The public paid for the investigation." MORE>>

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Erwin Claims Arrest "Politically Motivated"

According to a story posted this afternoon on The Press-Enterprise web site, Highland resident Jim Erwin, top aide to San Bernardino County Supervisor Neil Derry, today described his arrest Thursday as a politically motivated prosecution.

"Erwin, 46, said he believes the San Bernardino County district attorney's office targeted him because he and his boss did not support the district attorney's request to be exempted from possible furloughs for county employees.

Erwin offered his resignation to Derry Thursday, but Derry declined to accept it. Erwin, who posted bail and was released from jail in San Bernardino on Thursday night, said his offense should have been addressed by the state Fair Political Practices Commission rather than with criminal charges." MORE>>

DA Investigators Arrest Postmus On Drug Charges

According to a news release issued by the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office, on Thursday, January 15, 2009, approximately 50 investigators and technicians served search warrants in the San Bernardino County communities of Highland, San Bernardino, Apple Valley, Victorville, Rancho Cucamonga and Rancho Santa Margarita in Orange County as part of their continuing investigation involving Assessor Bill Postmus.

During the search of Postmus' residence in Rancho Cucamonga, evidence of methamphetamine and related paraphernalia was discovered. Postmus was arrested and booked at West Valley Detention Center on suspicion of possession of methamphetamine, a felony, and possession of unlawful paraphernalia, a misdemeanor.

Both The Press-Enterprise and The San Bernardino County Sun newspapers are reporting Postmus was cited and released this afternoon.

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