Corruption Archives - Friends For Fullerton's Future

May 1, 2026May 1, 2026Ahmad Zahra

Derek Smith and the Anaheim Cabal

Backscratching is fun – with other people’s money…

This blog has introduced Mr. Derek Smith to our friends. He is the appointee of “Doctor” Ahmad Zahra to the so-called Budget Sustainability Committee. His qualifications? Well, none are apparent. But we do know that Smith is (or was) the political lobbyist for the union that organizes cannabis store employees.

We already knew that Smith’s union was bankrolling a PAC for the benefit of Cannabis Kitty Jaramillo’s scampaign in 2024 to the tune of $60,000, $4000 of which went to The Councilwoman Shana Charles Self-improvement Fund.

And now thanks to detailed reporting by Mr. Duane J. Roberts, a true citizen journalist, we know that the union in question, UFCW Local 324, was up to it’s neck in schemes to bring legal cannabis to Anaheim. Roberts’ post is a must-read, for it details the close alliance between Anaheim’s crooked cabal and the union. For several years Smith and his union worked closely with disgraced Anaheim Chamber of Commerce head Todd Ament, Anaheim fixer Jeff Flint, and the Mayor, Harry Sidhu.

Ament, Flint, and Sidhu (graphic by Duane J. Roberts)

For the cabal the dope incentive was money, and lots of it. Money that would go to the cabal leaders, the Chamber of Commerce, and campaign funds of the later-convicted Mayor. For Derek Smith’s union, the promise of a Labor Peace Agreement (LPA) that would eventually cover even part-time workers was the goal.

First this association of strange bedfellows tried to get the City Council to go along. Then they began the process to put the issue on the ballot, with proposals written by the cabal, and then by the lobbyist for the Long Beach dope cartel; they were submitted by a UFCW Local 324 employee, and then a local realtor and insurance salesman, Belal Dalati, respectively. Both were eventually retracted, but not without threats, according to Roberts.

Left unreported by Roberts was the role of Melahat Rafiei, the acknowledged queen bee of OC dope lobbying, and a player deeply involved with Anaheim’s cabal. She later went to jail after she was busted by the FBI for wire fraud; Harry Sidhu did a prison stint, too for destroying evidence; Todd Ament pleaded guilty to fraud and his buddy Jeff Flint left town – for a while. Nice people, right?

While none of the Anaheim MJ activities were illegal, at least as far as can be discerned, the whole episode gives off a real bad smell; and in the middle of it was Derek Smith’s union.

Anybody who thinks Ahmad Zahra was ignorant of what was going on in Anaheim and with Rafiei (whom he recommended to at least one Fullerton businessman as a necessary contact) is pretty credulous. And his appointment of Derek Smith to the budget committee comes into sharper focus.

All that transparency can give a lad a headache…

The fact that the self-righteous clamorers who have decried the appointment of Tony Bushala to this committee have diligently ignored the appointment of Smith is telling. Bushala’s political involvement is a disqualification; Smith’s political history is assiduously ignored – just like the Fullerton Observer Sisters relentlessly ignored the Scott Markowitz conspiracy and the massive contribution by Derek Smith’s union to a pro-Jaramillo political action committee.

Both Zahra and Charles are beholden to the dope lobby, but they still need another vote to revive the 2020 marijuana ordinance approved by Jan Flory, Jesus Quirk-Silva, and Ahmad Zahra. They won’t get it this year.

April 28, 2026April 28, 2026Ahmad Zahra

Derek Smith and the Budget Sustainability Committee

by Mr. Peabody38 Comments

Reading all that Das Kapital stuff will give a young lad a headache…

The Fullerton Boohoo claque has made a big deal about how Tony Bushala is unfit to be on the ad hoc Budget Sustainability Committee. His disqualification? He is involved in politics. He is a “rent seeker” in the words of Tender Young Elijah Manisserro, who remarkably is not ashamed at being a dedicated Marxist in the 21st Century. Bushala has a conflict of interest, these people keep bleating.

The Dodgy Doctor from Damascus recommends the Weed Therapy to his patients…

Tony’s real offense is that he has money and is willing to spend it to keep aggressive imbeciles like Cannabis Kitty Jaramillo from getting into office; and for that he has gained the animus of the Damascus Dodger, Ahmad Zahra and his small collection of sycophants.

But Mr. Bushala is not the point of this post. Rather it is another member of the Committee, one Derek Smith.

Mr. Smith is Ahmad Zahra’s personal appointee to the group, and has a lot of interest in Fullerton’s budget. Why? Because he is the political lobbyist for the local union that represents marijuana dispensary employees. He is part of a coalition that has been trying to get these places legalized in Fullerton for years. Their point man is Ahmad Zahra who doesn’t seem to see a contradiction between dope use and his alleged Muslim convictions.

In the the 2024 District 4 election Smith’s union funded a political action committee dedicated to electing Cannabis Kitty. He funded it to the tune of $60,000 which included a $4,000 payment to Andre Charles, husband of councilmember Shana Charles. How come? To elect the pro-cannabis candidate who would re-instate the old dope law repealed in 2021.

That’s a lot of political activity, activity that has received zero scrutiny by the Fullerton Observer Sisters, Sharon and Sickia. Come to think of it, the delicate rose petal Elijah Manissero has never mentioned it either. How’s that for hypocritical “transparency?”

Moreover, Brother Smith is not an accountant, or a business owner, or a entrepreneur. Instead, he is a dedicated union functionary, virtually the last person I would want on a municipal budget sustainability committee. The apex of Smith’s business experience has been blowing through $60,000 of his members’ dues on Jaramillo. Did he know about the fraudulent Scott Markowitz campaign? I wonder.

Applying the rhetoric and logic of Fullerton’s boohoos would immediately disqualify Derek Smith from the Budget Sustainability Committee. Will anybody apply it? I wonder.

In the meantime Ahmad Zahra the eager messiah of marijuana in Fullerton has once again raised the topic. The issue isn’t dead as far as the dope lobby is concerned.

March 7, 2026March 7, 2026About Us

Zahra Tells All – Part I

by The Fullerton Harpoon15 Comments

No, of course not. The truth is not in him. If it were he would have explained how he, the first gay Muslim in America married a local woman in Arkansas to jump the Green Card line.

Not asking real questions is a great way to avoid getting real answers…

The Damascus Dodger is featured in a three part interview with Stiskia Kennedy in the Fullerton Observer. It’s an opportunity for the Kennedy Sisters to give the scam artist another of their tongue baths and to avoid anything that resembles the truth about Zahra and his career, a career that resembles a jailbreak more than anything else.

“In a recent discussion, I spoke with Fullerton City Council Member Ahmad Zahra about his role and responsibilities. We engaged in a Q&A session that delved into the challenges and rewards of serving the community at the municipal level. “

First Satkia wants to know how to stand up to influential donors. Suddenly Tony Bushala’s unseen presence fills the room. Zahra’s response? He lies of course. Naturally, Zahra is a profile in courage, standing up to the “special interests” over whom he prevailed in his two elections. This demanded his “wisdom and thick skin.” This history is false, of course. Nobody knew who he was in 2018 and he slipped in past a couple others; naturally he ignores the facts of his 2022 run when his victory was not won on any issues, but by spending $120,000. And then there was his recruitment of Tony Castro, the dummy Latino candidate who the OC Dems set up to take votes away from Oscar Valadez. Oops.

Stikia follows up with campaign finance. Zahra complains about political action committees and the poor plight of the “community-focused” candidate (presumably just like him). No questions are asked or answered about Zahra’s big campaign donors, just as the Kennedy Sisters never bothered to ask who gave money to Cannabis Kitty Jaramillo in 2024, and what they hoped to get out of it. The cannabis workers’ PAC gave $60,000 to help Cannabis Kitty, but that’s not the sort of mean, nasty PAC Zahra has in mind.

Zahra says his opponents spent more than he did and he still won in 2022. That’s a lie, too, but he knows the Sisters won’t check him on it. Dredging up another Fullerton Boohoo gripe about Mr. Bushala, Zahra bemoans the fact that donations can be returned so that councilmembers can vote on the donor’s project. This is reference to Councilwoman Jamie Valencia’s return of money to Bushala before the vote on the stupid Walk on Wilshire in which Bushala had no legal interest. That return wasn’t even necessary per state law so why is this a problem?

Staksia’s last question is about ranked choice voting about which her interlocutor knows nothing and doesn’t care. He wants to curb “unethical practices” by PACs, saying nothing about the fraudulent candidates Tony Castro and Scott Markowitz whom his party set up so their pals like Zahra and Jaramillo could get elected in Fullerton. And that betrays Zahra’s true feelings about the community he pretends to love so much.

February 20, 2026February 20, 2026Boohooism

Poor Pilfering Paulette Digs Hole

by Disillusioned Ex-Hippy15 Comments

A number of women’s group got together to buy some trees to be planted in the County’s Ralph Clark Regional Park. This effort produced a self-congratulatory press release by the Women’s Club.

Well, so far so good. Except for one thing. Pathetic perpetual candidate for office and admitted petty thief, Paulette Chaffee, has weaseled her way into yet another group photo.

There she is in her pretty pink sweater pretending to use a shovel at the ceremonial ground breaking (for a tree).

But even that’s not the problem, per se. The real issue is identified in the Women’s Club press release text, wherein we read:

Representatives from several of the participating groups attended the ceremonial groundbreaking, along with Mike Wilson, Deputy Director of OC Parks, and Paulette Chaffee, Fourth District Ambassador.

Wilson emphasized the importance of community partnerships in maintaining healthy public spaces. “Our parks thrive when community members take an active role in caring for them,” he said. “These new trees will benefit visitors for generations to come.”

Chaffee echoed that sentiment. “It is wonderful when community groups come together to purchase replacement trees and help out in this way,” she said. “Everyone loves OC Parks and we can all appreciate the beauty of the trees.”

Now we discover that Mrs. Chaffee’s presence, whatever her clubby associations may be, is in attendance in her role of “4th District Ambassador” a completely fake job created by her husband, the odious rodent Doug, who happens to be our 4th District County Supervisor. She got herself a mention and even one of those fatuous quotations that are only believed to be genuine expressions by imbeciles.

Mayor-for-Hire Fitzgerald and her pal, Pilferin’ Paulette the Perpetual Candidate

Pilferin’ Paulette has been photo bombing official photo ops courtesy of Doug for the better part of ten years in order to help her visibility in her various runs for office. So far the strategy doesn’t seem to have helped much, but it sure hasn’t been for lack of trying. This year her electoral attempt is for the North Orange County Community College Board of Trustees, so we can expect to stumble over a lot of images of the 4th District Ambassadress in the coming months.

My personal opinion is that the less people see of Mrs. Chaffee, the better she is likely to to at the polls.

January 31, 2026February 1, 2026Ahmad Zahra

Doug “Bud” Chaffee Screws Liberal Supervisor; Fullerton Boohoo Ignores Story

by Grover Cleveland15 Comments

The relentlessly corrupt Nguyen spots unattended cash…

A couple weeks ago the Voice of OC did a couple of stories about the succession of the new Chairman of the OC Board of Supervisors. The first story posited the appointment of the incomprehensively corrupt Janet Nguyen as the new chair, over the then current Vice Chair, Katrina Foley. Foley has been passed over several times. The Voice’s reasoning was that Republicans Nguyen and Don Wagner would vote for the former; Democrats Vicente Sarmiento and Foley would vote for the latter. And our own home-grown rodent, Democrat Doug Chaffee? He has already endorsed Foley’s re-election opponent – a Republican – he thinks so little of her.

Brothers in arms: Chaffee and his mentor, the recently imprisoned Andrew Do.

Not one to miss an opportunity to promote himself (and his wife, Pilferin’ Paulette), the octogenarian made a deal to keep the office for himself another year. The little drama was scripted to make it look like Foley was behind the idea, which is pure nonsense. She didn’t have a third vote and was obviously cajoled into voting for Chaffee so she could remain Vice Chair..

After the little Kabuki was done it was stamped by all five of the Supervisors.

Now here’s a fun snippet from the second Voice article:

Chaffee said he was “looking forward to a little more restful year,” but that he looked forward to using his last year in office effectively.

“I would accept the position if so elected.”

What predictably disingenuous bullshit from this decrepit, evil chipmunk.

But here’s the kicker: there has not been a single mention of Chaffee’s screw job of Foley by the Fullerton Observer that spends so much energy bemoaning the poor travails of “Dr.” Ahmad Zahra who also can’t scrape up that necessary third vote for elevation to the lofty title Mayor of Fullerton.

Personally, I couldn’t care less how the Chairman of the OC Board of Supervisors gets three votes; ditto for the Mayor of Fullerton. Three is three and that’s all that matters. Got your feelings hurt? Stay out of politics. But I have to admit my annoyance (not surprise) by the hypocrisy of the Kennedy Sisters’ refusal to even mention the story of how a liberal woman was kept from her “turn” in their precious uber-liberal rag.

January 27, 2026January 27, 2026Boohooism

Pilferin’ Paulette: Busted Thief Running for North Orange County Community College Board

by The Fullerton Harpoon26 Comments

Paulette discussing critical education issues with a bunch of helium-filled balloons.

And that would be Paulette Chaffee, disgraced wife of our senile and corrupt County Supervisor Doug “Bud” Chaffee. It had been rumored last summer that this perennial candidate was again looking for an elected job, and that this seat might be it.

Mrs. Chaffee is desperate to be elected something. Her strategy has been to cling like a barnacle to the hope of something education related, that being the easiest sort of thing to be elected to. She has run and failed twice to be on the opaque Orange County Board of Education spending who knows how much of her kids’ inheritance in the process.

Before those BoE runs, Mrs. Chaffee bought a condo in the newly formed 5th District, and faux carpetbagged into it to try to get on the Fullerton City Council, even though she really lived in a posh house up on a hill. That election saw her get into trouble with the long arm of the law.

Paulette Stolen Sign — Crime doesn’t always pay in Fullerton…

Chaffee was caught on video – twice – stealing campaign signs. She pleaded guilty and paid a fine and quit that race. But she wasn’t done self-promoting for future political advantage.

And that’s where I put the sign in the back of the car…

Her community service, it was said, provided education related photo content for her future OC Board of Education attempts.

This unelected’s strategy has been to photobomb just about every political event imaginable, always haunting the background like the chorus in a Greek tragedy. You name it, there she is. Her husband anointed her OC 4th District Ambassador, whatever the Hell that was supposed to be.

Even the most cynical political creatures might be understood for withholding their endorsement of Pilferin’ Paulette. However some seem not to be even bothered by her checkered past. Here are some of the endorsements from her website:

The future is getting shorter all the time…

But Mrs. Chaffee has a problem and it isn’t callow youth. She is at least 76 years old and time is running out. Moreover, the seat she is running for has two rivals.

One is the dim bulb Jesus Quirk-Silva, former Fullerton councilmember, who has his own set of endorsements, several the same as Chaffee’s. Even his wife endorses him. Could he be bought off to go away? Not likely.

And then there’s the 24 year incumbent, Jeffrey Brown, who isn’t going anywhere and will enjoy the title NOCCCD Board Member as his job title on the ballot.

The only thing we can be sure of in this election is that the potential for merriment, FFFF style.

November 30, 2025November 30, 2025A Manfro All Seasons

The Strange Case of the Ambulance Bonds

by Disillusioned Ex-Hippy21 Comments

Back in March 2025 the Fullerton City Council decided to fire the City’s ambulance contractor and take the responsibility in-house. Why? Well, naturally there’s the official story, which is that there will be some sort of saving, which is nonsense, since it means adding 20 new public employees on the payroll, and was all based on wishful thinking. So instead of shopping out the paramedic business like Placentia did, Fullerton did the opposite, requiring acquisition of ambulance rolling stock and the various other appurtenances like gurneys, etc.

On this Tuesday’s Council meeting Agenda Item #10 proposes a payment plan for this nonsense. Guess what? It looks desperate. City staff is still proposing to finance the acquisition of all the ambulance stuff through acquiring debt, via a master agreement with Bank of America to buy City bonds at a coupon rate of 3.5%, and then use the proceeds to lease ambulances.

Well, there she goes. Don’t worry. There’s more where that came from…

Yes, you read that right. We’re paying for Fire Department empire creation with $2,000,000 credit. The capital repayment and interest on the bonds would amount to $2,175,000 by the time the last bond matures in November 2031. And let’s not forget the dough paid to bond counsel and financial consultants (UFI) who are selling this deal. And oh, yeah, let’s consider there’s now insurance, maintenance, fuel, etc., of vehicles owned by the lessor (BofA), which was all glossed over last April 1st, as was the cost of financing which is over $200,000.

The single Agenda Item #10 staff report sentence justifying the financing is laconic, and notable for what it doesn’t say; that the City still plans to finance the purchase orders for this equipment supposedly issued in April. Here’s all we are told:

“Urban Futures, Inc. (UFI), the City financial advisor, and staff determined private placement financing offers the most beneficial and cost-effective solution for the City.

But there is no explanation why. None at all. Zip. Is the City borrowing $2,000,000 at a lower interest rate that it is making in an investment pool? Who knows? The City Council and the public aren’t informed, just as they weren’t informed when financing was proposed back in April.

The fun aspect of this is that the lease of these ambulances would be rent-to-own, a little con – making the credit-risk-uninformed think they are getting something great. I mean, who doesn’t want to own stuff, right? What good is a owning a six year old old ambulance? I don’t know, but my guess is they depreciate really fast. Maybe even faster than rent-to-own toasters.

I really don’t know what to say about this completely unnecessary move. If the Council had just voted no on the unsolicited plan from the FFD we wouldn’t be looking at having to cover any loan vig at all. Neither the Councilmembers who voted for this – Zahra, Charles, Jung and Valencia had much if anything to say about this bond/lease back in April.

This is how I bought my first car, a 1991 Yugo!

Of course Zahra and Charles don’t give a rat’s ass about wasting money, especially when they script some sort of feel-good performance. Hopefully, Jung and Valencia will change their minds about this resistible offer, but I’m not optimistic. Maybe Dunlap can talk some sense into them.

With Fullerton tottering on the edge of financial meltdown the Council’s behavior towards the fire department (and its union employees) has been highly irresponsible. In October they accepted a one-time FEMA grant to hire a platoon of new “fire fighters” that we will become completely responsible for in 3 three short years, pensions and all.

No, I’m not optimistic at all. The financial leveraging is bound to be used as a pretext to pass a sales tax increase next year. And what if that fails?

November 14, 2025November 14, 2025Ahmad Zahra

The Saga of Zahra’s Immigration

by Joe Sipowicz25 Comments

A week and a half ago Fullerton councilman Ahmad Zahra agendized an item to dole out $200,000 from the General Fund to immigrants hassled by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He thought it was an excellent opportunity to burnish his own immigrant travails to the full house. He didn’t bother sharing any of the details of his own arduous trail to citizenship, of course – like his marriage fraud – a federal crime.

Fortunately, the distinguished ladies of FFFF’s Fine Arts, Cinema, and Book Club Division have recreated the elevation of the poor, Syrian immigrant to what he is now – a poor (targeted, don’t forget!) American citizen.

Enjoy the histrionics: the wistful smiles, the knowing head bobs, the empathetic tone.

I guess Zahra figures he can get away with telling only a small part of his heroic origin story, even if it changes a little now and then. The whole story, or most of it, was hidden for decades in order to create the Zahra brand he sells to the ignorant.

I guess we’ll see what the 4th District voters have to say.

April 10, 2025April 11, 2025Ahmad Zahra

We Get Screwed. Again.

by Disillusioned Ex-Hippy22 Comments

You know when last week’s volunteer proposal to put public employees in ambulances popped up, I had to smile, just a little. The whole thing was so shaky, so duplicitous, so-ill conceived that you had to admire how the Heroes were able to so easily put up a hollow con job that a little kid, unlike our City Council, would question.

Of course the interests of the Fire Department and its employees jumped ahead of the interests of the citizenry.

And then it struck me. There are all sorts of ways our elected officials put others’ welfare ahead of the public, and nowhere is this better seen than in the way massive development projects that overwhelm Fullerton’s landscape. There is never any dissent. The councilpeople fall all over themselves to approve giant cliff dwellings for no discernable reason other than someone wants to do something to make a shitpile of money, and City staff gets to charge hours against fees and permits.

In short: no one is looking out for the interests of the people as the infrastructure gets taxed, neighborhoods get overwhelmed, and parking deficiencies are assumed by everybody – except the developer – who comes up with the best tale about why his project doesn’t need cars.

Which brings me, finally to the god-awful monstrosity going up on Chapman Avenue. I think it’s called “The Hub” a pathetic marketing tag that the developer hopes will generate buzz among the crowd that can afford a $3000 per month one bedroom apartment.

Just look at this hideous cliff-dwelling, which must now be the tallest residential building in Fullerton. Seven stories, eight stories? Forget about how this project was completely deficient in parking and how it’s going to impact traffic for everybody who uses the Chapman corridor. Think about the thousands of toilet flushes into the City’s sewers every day; think about the stress on Fullerton’s antique water transmission system needed to bathe these new residents and wash their clothes. Just think about the poor bastards who live across the street and will get to ponder this ponderous pile of overbearing, overbuilt, over-dense, under thought-out mess – for the rest of their lives.

Remember, Friends, this project, just like so many before it was a voluntary erection on the part of the City, rubber stamped by the people we elected. Nobody forced anyone to vote yes on this, but they all did, and they would all do so again. And they looked the other way as the burden of environmental impacts were shifted to the public. This project required General Plan Amendments and zone changes. These government entitlements are worth a fortune to a developer and that benefit reflects the shift of negative externalities to everybody else. What did the people of Fullerton get for the entitlements giveaways?

So take a drive along Chapman one of these days and see if you think our City Council is working for you…or somebody else.

March 24, 2025March 25, 2025Ahmad Zahra

Accessory to Commit Perjury

by The Fullerton Harpoon28 Comments

Last August supporters of Fullerton 4th District Council candidate, Democrat Vivian Jaramillo, created a fake “conservative” candidate to draw votes away from the person presumed to be Jaramillo’s principal opponent – Linda Whitaker. The candidate, Scott Markowitz, committed, and plead guilty to perjury.

It’s abundantly clear that at least one person helped phony candidate Scott Markowitz commit the perjury when he falsely swore that he collected his nominating signatures. How is it clear? Because at least one of his nominators told the District Attorney Todd Spitzer that it wasn’t Markowitz who got them to sign, it was someone else; either that or Markowitz himself volunteered the information, which isn’t likely since he was arrested and booked into the Santa Ana Jail.

Speculation is increasing and questions are still being asked, such as: what’s the name of the person or persons who suborned Marko’s perjury, and why hasn’t Spitzer prosecuted him/her/them? In fact, a Public Records Act request was recently made to Spitzer’s office to reveal the name of the person or persons involved in the Markowitz case.

Back in the fall, suspicion fell immediately on a guy named Ajay Mohan, a former Democrat operative who held Markowitz’s hand at the City Clerk’s office while picking up nominating materials. But could Mohan have known any of the nominators well enough to get them to sign the papers of a MAGA-sounding candidate?

The Usual Suspects are smiling. For now.

Some folks behind the scenes put early money on creepy and desperate Councilman Ahmad Zahra, the immigrant marriage fraudster and serial prevaricator. Then attention turned to the equally seedy Aruni Thakur, the guy who tried to get elected to the Fullerton City Council in 2020 in a district he didn’t live in. Both are well-known local Democrat office holders who would have been familiar to the Democrat nominators like our old friend Diane Vena. Hey, what about Jesus Quirk-Silva, the dim-witted ex-councilman and husband of wannabe king/queenmaker, Assemblycreature Sharon Quirk?

Recently a new front runner has emerged, a chap named Andre Charles. Charles revels in the lofty title of President of the North Orange County Democrats club. His wife, the self-important, wordy, and ingratiating gasbag, Shana Charles, is on the City Council. Charles had both the motive and the means to sucker local Dems to nominate Markowitz in absentia. Indeed, several nominators of the faux Trumpy Markowitz are members of Charles’ Democrat club. Hmm.

So what was the result of the PRA request? Predictably, the DA’s office isn’t answering, saying they don’t have to – the records are confidential even in closed cases. But if no other crimes were committed, then who cares, right? Yet the response from some guy named Wayne Philips in the DA’s office does include this tidbit:

Is this merely a boiler plate brush-off, or is some investigation really still underway? Personally, I doubt any investigation is going on, but if I were one of the perps involved I’d still be a little nervous. There are probably lots of weak links in the chain of this scandal, and even Spitzer may be induced to do his job if evidence he is now suppressing is published.