UPDATED: Case Thrown Out: Rick Van Pelt: Lawsuit Claims $250,000 Bribe and Trip to India Solicited

Photo:  PCC Courier

The Los Angeles Times Pasadena Sun is reporting that Rick Van Pelt, Pasadena City College Vice President and Al Hutchings, Facilities Chief,  sought a $250,000 bribe from a Los Angeles based lighting company and a trip to India in exchange for a lighting contract for the College.

Van Pelt and Hutchings have countersued claiming while they do go to India, they never solicited a bribe from the company.

Van Pelt was the former Facilities Administrator for Ambassador College and a Worldwide Church of God member.

The Pasadena Sun reports:

Lawsuit: Former Pasadena City College officials sought $250,000 bribe

Lighting company alleges executives facing criminal probe sought kickback. Van Pelt, Hutchings deny claim.

By Joe Piasecki, joe.piasecki@latimes.com

September 7, 2012| 5:50 p.m.

Two former Pasadena City College administrators facing a criminal bribery probe offered a lucrative campus contract to a lighting company in exchange for a lavish visit to India and $250,000 in payoffs, a lawsuit claims.

A countersuit filed Tuesday by former PCC Vice President Richard van Pelt and then-campus facilities chief Al Hutchings acknowledges the pair traveled to India, but denies they sought a bribe.

Los Angeles-based LED Global LLC, a manufacturer of energy-efficient light bulbs, alleges in a suit filed July 26 in Los Angeles Superior Court that van Pelt and Hutchings solicited kickbacks in 2011 after promising the firm a $5-million contract to upgrade campus lighting.

The company refused to make the illegal payments, was denied the contract and contacted law enforcement authorities, according to a related claim LED Global filed July 30 against PCC with the city of Pasadena.

On July 7, investigators with the L.A. County district attorney's office seized computers and documents from the homes and campus offices of van Pelt and Hutchings. The men have not been charged, and the investigation remains open, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. David Demerjian, who heads the office's public integrity section.

PCC fired van Pelt after the raid and removed Hutchings from his job pending an administrative hearing.

LED Global's lawsuit claims that the company's owners met with van Pelt and Hutchings in January 2011 to discuss a contract, and that in February 2011 the firm examined the college's lighting needs.

The suit claims that the company received a $5-million purchase order for LED lighting from van Pelt and Hutchings on March 17, 2011, after agreeing to pay for the men to travel to Mumbai, India, from May 1 to May 6 for a factory tour.

During that trip, van Pelt and Hutchings twice asked for a 5% kickback on the proposed PCC contract and on future contracts they would broker for LED Global at other community colleges, according to the suit.

The lawsuit also claims van Pelt and Hutchings made “unusual and expensive” requests during the trip, asking for company-paid stays at luxury hotels in Mumbai and New Delhi, an excursion to the Taj Mahal, access to prostitutes, limousine rides, lavish meals and $2,000 worth of Cuban cigars.

LED Global owners Robert Das and Salia Smith claim the company paid for most of those demands but refused to hire prostitutes for the men. They allege that Hutchings — a former Los Angeles Police Department officer — made veiled threats after they refused to make the payoffs.

Van Pelt and Hutchings did not inform the college about the trip to India, said PCC spokesman Juan Gutierrez.

The rest of the article is here.

UPDATE:  

‘Wild Claims’ Against Ex-PCC Officers Turn Out to Be Unbelievable

A CorrespondentOctober 11, 2013News

Re “The Latest PCC Protest Hits Home”

Dateline Pasadena – A lawsuit filed July 26, by Robert Das and Saila Satter Leiter Smith of LED Global Corp, LLC, against Richard van Pelt, former Pasadena City College Vice President of Administrative Services, and Alfred Hutchings, former Facilities Services Supervisor, was dismissed with prejudice yesterday by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Suzanne G. Bruguera. 

Another lawsuit filed by the same persons against Pasadena City College was dismissed earlier this year.

Previously, all parties were ordered by Superior Court Judge Louis M. Meisinger to appear for a mandatory settlement conference on Aug. 28. But Mr. Das and Ms. Smith apparently left the country. They  were sanctioned $3,000 by the court for their failure to appear. Judge Meisinger scheduled another mandatory settlement conference for Sept. 13. Once again ordered all parties to appear. The pair failed to appear again, and were sanctioned an additional $3,000.

On Sept. 18, Mr. Das and Ms. Smith’s attorneys, the Layfield Law Firm of El Segundo, asked Judge Bruguera to be relieved of their responsibility to represent the two petitioners and LED Global Corp. LLC. The judge granted the request.
John Schmoker, attorney for Mr. van Pelt and Mr. Hutchings, said that dismissal of the case “was a long time coming because Das and Smith did not have a single piece of evidence that could support their wild claims.

 “The harm caused to van Pelt and Hutchings never can be repaired.

“A malicious prosecution lawsuit against Das and Smith is being prepared and will be filed if they return to California.”

In court documents filed by Pasadena City College, the school claimed it relied primarily on the accusations by Mr. Das and Ms. Smith to terminate the employment of Mr. van Pelt and Mr. Hutchings. The District Attorney also relied on the allegations made by Mr. Das and Ms. Smith to begin an investigation.

Mr. Das and Ms. Smith made a number of allegations, including bribery, extortion, kickbacks and racketeering. In an apparent attempt to garner additional interest in their claims, they alleged that LED Global paid for all of Mr. van Pelt’s and Mr. Hutchings’s expenses to India, that they provided a stretch limousine while in India, that they turned down a request by Mr. van Pelt and Mr. Hutchings to provide prostitutes while in India, and that while an officer with the LAPD, Mr. Hutchings murdered people. Not a single document could be produced by Das or Smith to even remotely substantiate any of their claim

Bob Thiel SURPRISED That Rod Meredith Has Concerns About His Books

Today Bob Thiel wrote on his blog under the News of the  Living Church of God that he is surprised that Rod Meredith has concerns about his writings and books.  Rod Meredith will be calling Bob this week to discuss this situation.

09/08/12 p.m. Attached to the Weekly Update from the Living Church of God, Charlotte (LCG), that is being read today in congregations throughout the world, was a letter from Dr. Meredith related to me, the Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States book, etc. FWIW, I was unaware of any LCG concerns about this book prior to seeing Dr. Roderick C. Meredith's letter, so this has come as somewhat a surprise. 

In the past, the Charlotte-based evangelists such as Dr. Meredith, Richard Ames, and the late Dibar Apartian have always been supportive and encouraging regarding my writings and books. And while a couple of suggestions have been received in the past related to the books, no serious doctrinal concerns have ever been raised.

I am unaware if Dr. Meredith has yet had the time to read the book in its entirety and he is supposed to call me next week to discuss his concerns. A careful read of his letter shows that nowhere does he state that the book actually contains any error, but that it is not an official LCG document and that people need to check out what I write--"Prove all things" as the Apostle Paul wrote (1 Thessalonians 5:21, KJV)--and, of course, I completely concur with that.

From the beginning, it has been my intent to update the Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States book in November 2012 or January 2013 (I updated my previous book Fatima Shock! within a couple of months of its release), so I look forward to discussing details with Dr. Meredith.

Anyway, although I have served LCG in many capacities over the past 14 plus years, I have never been an employee, accepted any salary, etc. thus I have never been an official employee. And, of course, since LCG did not produce the Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States book, it should be clear to all that it is not an official LCG publication. In case there have been concerns about my non-official capacity or writings, the following information is at the www.cogwriter.com home page:

Important Notice
This is the personal home page of Bob Thiel, the Church of God writer AKA COGwriter. The opinions expressed are my own, based upon my understanding of history, various facts, and the Bible. This is not an official Living Church of God, United Church of God, Church of God (Seventh day), etc. site. This site is maintained by a genuine Church of God believer who is solely responsible for its content. The official website of the Living Church of God is http://www.lcg.org. The opinions and positions expressed within this page should not be taken to be the official position of the Global Church of God (which, for practical purposes, no longer exists), the Living Church of God, United Church of God, COGWA, etc.

The purpose of this web page is to promote biblical doctrines, help unify the remnant of the Philadelphia era of God's Church (so that those who are truly part of it may more effectively get the Gospel truth out as a witness per Matthew 24:14; Revelation 3:8), support the Ezekiel warning (Ezekiel 2 & 3), support Matthew 28:19-20 (etc.), and to alert true Philadelphian Christians so they can be kept "from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth" (Revelation 3:10). It is also hoped that those who are not Philadelphian will be able to benefit from its content, including those who had never previously received the witness of Christ's gospel of the kingdom.

My intent is to continue to try to support Matthew 24:14, 28:19-20, and other aspects of the work. And I look forward to discussing those matters, including the final phase of the work, with Dr. Meredith.