Democratic Underground Latest Greatest Lobby Journals Search Options Help Login
Google

Plea on behalf of Steve Heller, Diebold whistleblower

Printer-friendly format Printer-friendly format
Printer-friendly format Email this thread to a friend
Printer-friendly format Bookmark this thread
This topic is archived.
Home » Discuss » Topic Forums » Election Reform Donate to DU
 
feelthebreeze Donating Member (570 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Feb-27-06 09:46 PM
Original message
Plea on behalf of Steve Heller, Diebold whistleblower
Hello to the family and friends of Steve Heller. My name is Peter
Soby, Jr. I am a very close friend of Steve's. I am writing on his
behalf, with the advice and consent of his lawyer, because Steve is
in serious legal trouble and he needs our help - not $$ help, but
help by writing a letter, making a phone call, sending a fax or an
email, things just about anyone can do.

Steve is a whistleblower; he is alleged to have seen and then exposed
legal documents showing that Diebold Election Systems, Inc., the
country's leading manufacturer of electronic voting machines and
voting machine software, was using illegal, uncertified software in
their California voting machines. He has been charged with 3
felonies, which is an outrageous abuse of the law and of power.
Details on what is happening to Steve and how to help are in the
following links. Please feel free to forward this email to anyone
and everyone. Read on...

First, here is a link to a story in the Feb. 22 edition of the Los
Angeles Times. If for some reason you cannot open the link, let me
know and I will email you the text of the article.

Man Pleads Not Guilty in Voting Device Case
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-diebold22feb22,1,7096292.story

Now, here are more details on this situation, with corroborating
links, from I post I wrote for Arianna Huffington's blog. This is
the link with important information on how to help Steve Heller.

Whistleblower Charged With Three Felonies for Exposing Diebold's Crimes
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-soby-jr/whistleblower-charged-wit_b_16411.html

Another way to help Steve is by writing a letter to the editor of the
Los Angeles Times. You can use the same talking points from my post
(the link above) in your letter to the editor. Directions on how to
send a letter to the editor can be found at this link under
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/letters/ Their snail mail
address is Letters to the Editor, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st
Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012. They want letters to be 150 words or
less, with your name, address and daytime phone number.

The next link is to a post from the same blog written by Lyn Davis Lear

Whistleblower Hero is Threatened with Prison for Exposing Diebold
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lyn-lear/whistleblower-hero-is-thr_b_16409.html

I thank you in advance for any help you might be able to give Steve.
He is a patriot and a whistleblower and should not be prosecuted.
And again, this email can be forwarded to anyone you think might be
interested.

Sincerely,

Peter Soby, Jr.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
fooj Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Feb-27-06 10:03 PM
Response to Original message
1. You are right! Whistleblowers should NOT be prosecuted!
KandR!

Peace.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Melissa G Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Feb-27-06 10:05 PM
Response to Original message
2. K&R! n/t
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
stillcool Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Feb-27-06 10:07 PM
Response to Original message
3. Book-marked for letter writing....
easy retrieval...and thanks!
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Gregorian Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Feb-27-06 10:48 PM
Response to Original message
4. They made a big mistake.
This is going to blow the whole thing wide open. Just my hunch.

Don't worry, Steve. We have your back.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Sperk Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Feb-27-06 10:50 PM
Response to Original message
5. I emailed the attorney generals office this morning...more importantly
I send this info to all on my email list and asked them to call or write also and then pass on to others.

No wonder the most good guys keep their mouths shut...look at the price you pay. What a freakin' upside down world we live in...we should have damn monuments to wistleblowers not be trying to save them. Jesus sweet Jesus.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
EFerrari Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-28-06 12:17 AM
Response to Original message
6. Peter, I've sent this morning's post to my peeps in SoCal
and will to the guys in NorCal.

Tell Steve, we're all VERY GRATEFUL to him and please keep us posted.

:hi:
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
rumpel Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-28-06 12:28 AM
Response to Original message
7. On CA Whistleblower Statute SB 777 FYI
Edited on Tue Feb-28-06 01:18 AM by rumpel
However, this ammendment did not go into effect until Jan 2004. If the law firm requested that theft charges be filed against Mr. Heller it is a clear violation of the law.
Can someone post the actual indictment? How did the DA decide to file an indictment?


CALIFORNIA CODES
LABOR CODE
SECTION 1101-1106

1101. No employer shall make, adopt, or enforce any rule,
regulation, or policy:
(a) Forbidding or preventing employees from engaging or
participating in politics or from becoming candidates for public
office.
(b) Controlling or directing, or tending to control or direct the
political activities or affiliations of employees.

1102. No employer shall coerce or influence or attempt to coerce or
influence his employees through or by means of threat of discharge
or loss of employment to adopt or follow or refrain from adopting or
following any particular course or line of political action or
political activity.

1102.5. (a) An employer may not make, adopt, or enforce any rule,
regulation, or policy preventing an employee from disclosing
information to a government or law enforcement agency, where the
employee has reasonable cause to believe that the information
discloses a violation of state or federal statute, or a violation or
noncompliance with a state or federal rule or regulation.
(b) An employer may not retaliate against an employee for
disclosing information to a government or law enforcement agency,
where the employee has reasonable cause to believe that the
information discloses a violation of state or federal statute, or a
violation or noncompliance with a state or federal rule or
regulation.
(c) An employer may not retaliate against an employee for refusing
to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of
state or federal statute, or a violation or noncompliance with a
state or federal rule or regulation.
(d) An employer may not retaliate against an employee for having
exercised his or her rights under subdivision (a), (b), or (c) in any
former employment.
(e) A report made by an employee of a government agency to his or
her employer is a disclosure of information to a government or law
enforcement agency pursuant to subdivisions (a) and (b).
(f) In addition to other penalties, an employer that is a
corporation or limited liability company is liable for a civil
penalty not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for each
violation of this section.
(g) This section does not apply to rules, regulations, or policies
which implement, or to actions by employers against employees who
violate, the confidentiality of the lawyer-client privilege of
Article 3 (commencing with Section 950), the physician-patient
privilege of Article 6 (commencing with Section 990) of Chapter 4 of
Division 8 of the Evidence Code, or trade secret information.


1102.6. In a civil action or administrative proceeding brought
pursuant to Section 1102.5, once it has been demonstrated by a
preponderance of the evidence that an activity proscribed by Section
1102.5 was a contributing factor in the alleged prohibited action
against the employee, the employer shall have the burden of proof to
demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that the alleged action
would have occurred for legitimate, independent reasons even if the
employee had not engaged in activities protected by Section 1102.5.


1102.7. (a) The office of the Attorney General shall maintain a
whistleblower hotline to receive calls from persons who have
information regarding possible violations of state or federal
statutes, rules, or regulations, or violations of fiduciary
responsibility by a corporation or limited liability company to its
shareholders, investors, or employees.
(b) The Attorney General shall refer calls received on the
whistleblower hotline to the appropriate government authority for
review and possible investigation.
(c) During the initial review of a call received pursuant to
subdivision (a), the Attorney General or appropriate government
agency shall hold in confidence information disclosed through the
whistleblower hotline, including the identity of the caller
disclosing the information and the employer identified by the caller.

(d) A call made to the whistleblower hotline pursuant to
subdivision (a) or its referral to an appropriate agency under
subdivision (b) may not be the sole basis for a time period under a
statute of limitation to commence. This section does not change
existing law relating to statutes of limitation.

1102.8. (a) An employer shall prominently display in lettering
larger than size 14 point type a list of employees' rights and
responsibilities under the whistleblower laws, including the
telephone number of the whistleblower hotline described in Section
1102.7.
(b) Any state agency required to post a notice pursuant to Section
8548.2 of the Government Code or subdivision (b) of Section 6128 of
the Penal Code shall be deemed in compliance with the posting
requirement set forth in subdivision (a) if the notice posted
pursuant to Section 8548.2 of the Government Code or subdivision (b)
of Section 6128 of the Penal Code also contains the whistleblower
hotline number described in Section 1102.7.


1103. Any employer who violates this chapter is guilty of a
misdemeanor punishable, in the case of an individual, by imprisonment
in the county jail not to exceed one year or a fine of not to exceed
$1,000 or both and, in the case of a corporation, by a fine of not
to exceed $5,000.


1104. In all prosecutions under this chapter, the employer is
responsible for the acts of his managers, officers, agents, and
employees.


1105. Nothing in this chapter shall prevent the injured employee
from recovering damages from his employer for injury suffered through
a violation of this chapter.


1106. For purposes of Sections 1102.5, 1102.6, 1102.7, 1102.8,
1104, and 1105, "employee" includes, but is not limited to, any
individual employed by the state or any subdivision thereof, any
county, city, city and county, including any charter city or county,
and any school district, community college district, municipal or
public corporation, political subdivision, or the University of
California.

on edit to add Attorney Client Privilege as certain items are exempted as 1102.5 in this case attorney-client

EVIDENCE CODE
SECTION 950-962

956. There is no privilege under this article if the services of
the lawyer were sought or obtained to enable or aid anyone to commit
or plan to commit a crime or a fraud.

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/index.html
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
rumpel Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-28-06 01:21 AM
Response to Original message
8. k&r.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
nicknameless Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-28-06 02:07 AM
Response to Original message
9. K&R
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Dora Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-28-06 10:10 AM
Response to Original message
10. Kick for Tuesday Morning.
Wake up!
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
kster Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-28-06 12:07 PM
Response to Original message
11. kick.nt
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
MH1 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-28-06 12:53 PM
Response to Original message
12. Can someone PLEASE post the charges and details.
34 recs and there is no detail here about what Heller is actually charged with?

If the indictment itself could be posted that would be great...but please also an english-language explanation for the non-lawyers here. What statutes, why does what he is alleged to have done fall under those statutes? What are the potential penalties?

Thanks!

I'm recommending anyway because I don't doubt at all the general point of the post. But details would be very nice!
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
ooglymoogly Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-28-06 02:52 PM
Response to Original message
13. k&nom
this matter needs our attention
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Lochloosa Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-28-06 03:45 PM
Response to Original message
14. Kick
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Wheezy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-28-06 03:58 PM
Response to Original message
15. Contact Information HERE:
Email the Los Angeles District Attorney's office at lada@co.la.ca.us.

A good old fashioned snail mail letter is very powerful tool:

District Attorney's Office
County of Los Angeles
210 West Temple Street, Suite 18000
Los Angeles, CA 90012-3210

And of course, phone calls:

Telephone (213) 974-3512
Fax (213) 974-1484
TTY (800) 457-7778 (8:30am - 5:00pm M-F)


(as copied from huffington)
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
femrap Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-28-06 05:20 PM
Response to Reply #15
16. K & R...
Here's a LTE:

Letter to the Editor
LA Times
202 W. 1st Street
LA, CA 90012

To the Editor:

Has our supposed ‘Democracy’ gone mad? As a resident of Ohio, I am familiar with Diebold. This company and his CEO, Wally O’Dell, played their dirty voting tricks on us in the Presidential Election of 2004.

When did it become OK for a Corporation that cares only about profits to count our votes? When did our Government decide that ‘democracy’ was quaint, but the Theocracy of Greed is the modern way of ruling?

Steve Heller is a hero....he had the courage to come forward and shed light on these Corporations that benefit from the loss of our Democracy. And the LA DA wants him to be the one to go to jail? Is the DA insane or simply on the payroll of the greedy corporations?

Let Steve Heller go!
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
livvy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-28-06 06:47 PM
Response to Original message
17. Kick for the evening crowd. n/t
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
freedomfries Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-28-06 08:03 PM
Response to Reply #17
18. k & r
thanks for posting feelthebreeze!
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
feelthebreeze Donating Member (570 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-28-06 09:39 PM
Response to Reply #18
19. I am so proud of being a member of this group...
I can only say that action is called for and action is now being taken. We are a strong unifying force and together we will stop this madness. I am humbled by the support and outcry this thread has received.

Yours in the struggle,
feelthebreeze
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
salin Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-05-06 09:52 AM
Response to Original message
20. any updates?
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
DU AdBot (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view 
this author's profile Click to add 
this author to your buddy list Click to add 
this author to your Ignore list Thu Apr 25th 2024, 12:46 AM
Response to Original message
Advertisements [?]
 Top

Home » Discuss » Topic Forums » Election Reform Donate to DU

Powered by DCForum+ Version 1.1 Copyright 1997-2002 DCScripts.com
Software has been extensively modified by the DU administrators


Important Notices: By participating on this discussion board, visitors agree to abide by the rules outlined on our Rules page. Messages posted on the Democratic Underground Discussion Forums are the opinions of the individuals who post them, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Democratic Underground, LLC.

Home  |  Discussion Forums  |  Journals |  Store  |  Donate

About DU  |  Contact Us  |  Privacy Policy

Got a message for Democratic Underground? Click here to send us a message.

© 2001 - 2011 Democratic Underground, LLC