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A Message From San Francisco
District Attorney George Gasc�n
I am excited to announce two public education campaigns my office is organizing in honor of October's National Anti-Bullying Prevention Month and Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
This week, my Women's Advisory Committee is launching "Bye Bye Bullying", a video contest for middle and high school students in San Francisco. "Bye Bye Bullying" is part of my office's ongoing work to keep kids in school. 36% of children who've been bullied report missing school in the last thirty days because of bullying. We hope this video contest will inspire young people to take a stand against bullying in a creative and proactive way.
For Domestic Violence Awareness month, my office is organizing our annual event on October 29. This year, we have put together a panel of experts to discuss best practices in serving domestic violence survivors. Domestic violence is an underreported crime, especially in immigrant communities. We hope that through public education, we can better ensure the safety of domestic violence victims and prevent the cycle of violence.
Sincerely,
George Gasc�n
San Francisco District Attorney
P.S. It's National Hispanic Heritage Month from Sept 15 to Oct 15. We'll be announcing our honoree later this month.
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Bye Bye Bullying
A Video Contest for SF Middle School and High School Students
 CREATE a 60-second video on any of these themes:
1. What is Bullying?
What does bullying and harassment mean to you?
2. Effects of Bullying.
What is the impact of bullying and harassment?
3. Effective Ways to Respond to Bullying.
What positive responses have teachers, administrators and/or classmates, provided to address bullying and harassment at school?
Videos will be evaluated by a panel of Judges. Contest winners will be announced on Dec 4th. Contest winners will win prizes including iPads, Giants tickets, Barry Zito autograph baseball, sailing lessons, graffiti art classes and much more.
Submission period for "Bye Bye Bullying" starts on Oct. 3rd and ends Nov.7th, 2012. For more information, www.sfdistrictattorney.com
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SAFE COMMUNITIES
Best Practices for Supporting Immigrant Domestic Violence Survivors
Monday, October 29, 2012
12 p.m. to 2:00pm
SF Public Library
Latino/ Hispanic Community Meeting Room on the lower level
1001 Larkin St. (At Grove), San Francisco, CA 94109
To RSVP, contact Jackie Ortiz at the District Attorney's Office
(415) 558-2408
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Financial Fraud Community Meeting
Learn how to Protect Yourself and Avoid Being A Victim
Join District Attorney George Gasc�n, Supervisors David Chiu, Carmen Chu, Malia Cohen, San Francisco Police Department, Adult Protective Services, API Legal Outreach
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
1:30 p.m. to 2:30pm
Visitacion Valley Community Center
66 Raymond Ave
San Francisco CA 94134
For info, contact Rebecca Prozan at the District Attorney's Office at 415.558.2449 or rebecca.prozan@sfgov.org
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Realignment One Year Later
One year after Governor Brown signed into law the PublicSafety Realignment Act, San Francisco is on its way to becoming a model for the state. With money from the state designated for realignment, the DA's Office hired Alternative Sentencing Planner Luis Aroche tohelp guide prosecutors' sentencing decisions. Since Aroche was hired six months ago, he has reviewed one-third of the over 1100 Realignment cases the District Attorney's Office has received and conducted an in-depth investigation on 50 of these cases making recommendations such as community service, outpatient treatment, residential treatment and anger management. With the District Attorney Gasc�n leadership, San
 | | DA Gasc�n w/ Adult Probation Chief Wendy Still |
Francisco held its first inaugural meeting of the Sentencing Commission l
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Truancy Continues to Decline
Last month, District Attorney George Gasc�n and Superintendent Richard Carranza announced the fourth consecutiv e year of truancy reduction in San Francisco public schools. Since the 2007 partnership between the SFDA's Office and SFUSD, there has been a 38 percent decline in truancy. From the 2010-2011 to 2011-2012 school year there was a 12 percent reduction in the number of absent students. Given that 94 percent of younger murder victims are also high school dropouts, truancy is a particular concern for the D.A.'s office. DA Gasc�n also announced that for the second year his office will fund the Burton High School Truancy Program, a program that helps approximately twenty formerly truant students successfully transition into the ninth grade.
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SFDA Cases of Note
Two Defendants Convicted of Mortgage Fraud for One Rincon Hill Properties
On September 20th, Winston Lum,48, and Jay Shah, 48, were found guilty of multiple felonies after devising a sophisticated scheme to illegally transfer the title of three condominiums, orchestrating a $2.2 million dollar loan against the property, and laundering the money. Lum and Shah are two of the five defendants charged in the case. Lum was found guilty of 6 felony counts of filing false documents and grand theft. Shah was was found guilty of 13 felony counts, including grand theft, money laundering, forgery, filing forged documents, and conspiracy. Shah posted his $7.5 million bail but failed to appear for the verdict. His whereabouts are currently unknown and he is considered a fugitive from justice. The case has been the subject of significant public attention in San Francisco due to Kaushal Niroula, also known as "The Dark Prince". One of five defendants in the One Rincon Hill Properties, Niroula also had an alleged role in the demise of New College and a Riverside County murder case. He has since been convicted of murder in Riverside County and is awaiting sentencing. Assistant District Attorney Sandip Patel prosecuted the case. Full press release here
Three Realtors Convicted in Real Estate Investment Fraud On September 7th, Carlos Parada, 49, his daughter Karla Parada, 21,and nephew Geovanny Avendano, 22, were convicted of felony counts of grand theft, filing false tax returns, and accessory charges. The three were involved in a scheme to sell an elderly victim's home, steal $100,000 of the sales proceeds, and take another $65,000 relating to a subsequent investment. In the course of the transaction Carlos Parada acted as the buyer, while Karla Parada acted as the real estate agent, and Avendano as the loan broker. Carlos Parada was sentenced to three years in county jail for his involvement in the grand theft, and filing a false tax return. Karla Parada and Avendano were sentenced to an accessory charge, and are to serve one year in county jail. The judge ordered restitution to be paid to the victim in the amount of $165,000. San Francisco Police Inspector Robert Steger is the case investigator and Assistant District Attorneys Sandip Patel and Sam Totah are prosecuted the case. Full press release here
Man Charged with Murder and Residential Robbery
On September 10th, James Rickleffs, age 45, was charged with one count of murder and one count of first degree residential robbery. The victim Eriq Escalon, 28, was found bound, gagged, and deceased in his apartment on the 5000 block of Diamond Heights Boulevard on June 12, 2012. The defendant and Escalon met early in the morning at a Castro District bar, before they both took a taxi back to Escalon's apartment. The San Francisco Police Department is looking for anyone who has had any contact with the suspect. Assistant District Attorney Diana Garcia is prosecuting the case. Full press release here
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Thank you for taking the time to read this issue of the San Francisco District Attorney's Office monthly newsletter. For more information, please contact our Communications Director Stephanie Ong Stillman at stephanie.ong.stillman@sfgov.org.
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