Adelanto Jail Talks Weren’t Criminal

San Bernardino County prosecutors on Monday criticized the negotiations behind the county’s controversial $31-million purchase of a privately run jail in the Mojave Desert, but said their investigation determined that no laws were broken.

The report, released Monday, found that county lobbyist Brett Granlund “acted to serve the interests” of jail owner Terry Moreland and his companies while the county was considering whether to buy the Adelanto facility.

But because Granlund did not ultimately control the board’s decision to buy the jail last year, he did nothing criminal, the district attorney office’s report concluded.

County Supervisor Dennis Hansberger said the investigation showed that the county should sever ties with Granlund, a lobbyist for the Sacramento-based firm Platinum Advisors LLC.

“He, frankly, just simply worked against the county,” Hansberger said.

Granlund declined to comment, calling the allegations “old news.”

Prosecutors also investigated the actions of the private jail’s negotiators, who “exercised every advantage” to set the sale price, according to the district attorney’s report, released after a three-month investigation.

Some of the negotiators’ positions “could be interpreted as being deceptive,” the report said, but prosecutors determined that their actions were not criminally fraudulent.

Moreland could not be reached for comment.

The report also addressed the relationship between Granlund, a former state assemblyman who represented the Yucaipa area, and Supervisor Paul Biane.

Granlund co-guaranteed one-sixth of a $150,000 campaign loan for Biane in June 2002, the report said. Six months later, Biane voted to award a lobbying contract to Platinum Advisors.

Because Granlund does not own the lobbying firm, and donating the same amount of money -- $25,000 -- to Biane’s campaign would not be considered a criminal offense, prosecutors said the transaction was legal.

“I have not and will not conceal or hide any political contributions to my campaign,” Biane said in a statement. “As the D.A. concluded, there was absolutely nothing unethical or illegal about my voting on the Platinum contract, and I stand by my vote in favor.”

The investigation, handled by the district attorney’s Public Integrity Unit, follows a lengthy inquiry by special counsel Leonard Gumport, whom the county hired for an administrative investigation into the jail purchase and other matters.

In January, Board of Supervisors voted against releasing Gumport’s report, although the county did issue a four-page “statement” about the findings the month before.

Hansberger, who advocated releasing the investigative report, has challenged the statement’s accuracy and said the district attorney’s investigation proved that the report ought to be made public.

Gumport’s investigation determined that Granlund had not disclosed in writing that he worked for the jail’s owner, a requirement of the county’s contract with Platinum, according to the statement released by the county. Granlund has maintained that he orally notified officials.

While he discussed the jail with the county’s top administrator, Mark Uffer, and Sheriff Gary Penrod, Granlund did not unduly influence the sale, according to the county.

The county inquiry began in the summer amid allegations that Hansberger’s top aide, Jim Foster, had violated ethics rules by buying surplus county land using Granlund as an intermediary. It gradually widened to include the jail purchase.

Foster resigned in September. The district attorney’s probe into his land transaction continues, officials said.