UPDATE: Like I Said He Would… Magnum P.I. Settled.

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Well that was quick. Two days ago we reported on Tom Selleck’s recent water debacle with the Calleguas Municipal Water District in Ventura County, California.  In a nutshell, it was alleged that a water truck siphoned off water from a municipal hydrant and then delivered the water to Selleck’s ranch and avocado farm located in Hidden Valley.  Private investigators working for the Calleguas Municipal Water District allegedly observed this activity on multiple occasions.

This was a problem because Selleck’s ranch is located in a different water district.  In light of California’s great drought, where residents are asked to cut back by as much as 25% of their water consumption, this mini-drama caused a very embarrassing snafu for the Hollywood star.

What made it so bad, was the alleged ignorance of cease and desist letters at a time when literally every drop of water is counted.  Ultimately, the Calleguas Municipal Water District filed a legal action in court.ferrari 308 gts

As I predicted, Selleck has entered into a settlement with he Calleguas Municipal Water District.  The details of this settlement are not yet known, but I bet it includes two things: 1) Compensation for the water; and 2) An agreement to never do it again.

Once this matter goes to court, the judge will review the terms of the agreement and make a ruling that I expect will ultimately result in the case being dismissed.

As bad as this drama has made Tom Selleck look, kudos to him for handling this the right way and quickly.  We all mess up, but sometimes its how we handle our mess ups is what separates the men from the boys.  I am glad to see Magnum P.I. man up, yet again…

STOP! Jared May Be Innocent… Keep Eating at Subway!

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Maybe, maybe not.  Is Jared Fogle into kiddie porn? Should we hate him and only eat at Jimmy John’s? Should we give Jared the benefit of the doubt? But what about the fact that the F-B-freaking-I executed a search warrant on his home – ostensibly in relation to the child pornography prosecution of the guy who used to head up Jared’s charitable foundation.

Let me be the first to say that Jared may not be involved in any criminal activity at all and may in fact be an innocent casualty of someone else’s misdeeds.  While he may have had evidence in his home that the FBI was looking for, it does not mean he was aware of its existence.

When you first heard of this case, did you ask  How do police investigate child pornography cases?  If so, you may have the skepticism needed to see why Jared may not be guilty at all – because you are definitely onto something.  In fact, you may be asking some of the same questions I am.

What does the FBI search mean for Jared Fogle and Subway?

As a criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor who has handled many child pornography cases, two distinct things light up in my mind about the Jared situation.  First, law enforcement has not clarified whether or not he is a target of their investigation.  The second, is that the search is being done at Jared’s home a few months after the head of his charitable foundation was charged with possession of child pornography and production of child pornography.

On the one hand, people’s first reaction is that Jared must have been involved. Why else would the FBI search his home?  More importantly, why isn’t the FBI clarifying that he is not a suspect?Subway Jared Fogle

On the other hand, Jared may simply be in possession of computers, electronic equipment, and electronic storage devices (cd’s and usb drives) that the former head of his charity was given to use for legitimate work purposes – but which were abused by the former head.

Because I have seen this in other cases, I suspect that Jared may have had no idea what his former employee was up to (because people who download kiddie porn at work rarely let their bosses and co-workers know – crazy, right?!?)…  He also may have had no idea that the former employee abused his position of trust and hid child pornography on computers and other devices that he was given to do his job.

Equally, Jared may keep some of these devices in his home in the normal course of running the charity.  Countless business owners in this country have their garage full of work related equipment or maintain their own home offices that are cluttered with work usb sticks, dvd’s, cell phones, laptops, iPads, and the like.

However, the one unanswered question that bothers me most is:  Why hasn’t the FBI clarified that Jared is not a suspect?

The answer may be because they themselves do not yet know the answer.

As the FBI conducts a digital forensic analysis on the computers and other devices it seized from Jared’s home, it will look for logons, email activity, and other indicators (such as online banking, Facebook, and Twitter activity) to determine who was using the computer at the time child pornography files were accessed, opened, modified, deleted, etc. –  assuming child pornography is even found on those devices in the first place. Remember, all computers have an internal clock and calendar and keep detailed records of who, what, how, and when the computer was used.

If that evidence points to Jared, then he may become a target.  If the evidence points solely at the former charity head, Jared will not become a target.  If the evidence is inconclusive, then Jared will not become a target.

Other considerations include where and how child pornography may be stored on the computers and devices.  If they find a computer labeled “Jared’s Computer” where Jared has clearly accessed his own email, online banking, Facebook, Twitter, and the like, and it clearly has child pornography on it, say for example in large numbers on the home screen, then Jared will likely become a target.

If child pornography is found on a shared computer in a hidden, encrypted file, given some weird innocuous name that was accessed at times that do not connect with times Jared accessed his email, online banking, Facebook, Twitter, or the like, then Jared may not be in trouble.

Last Issue

There is one last thing that does bother me a lot about this case… that is, how did the FBI come to search Jared’s home?  Why do they think he has evidence in his house?  What has led them to that conclusion?

At this point there are only questions and no answers.

Is the former head of the charity cooperating with investigators?  Did he accuse Jared of being involved or having his own child pornography? Did he admit to investigators that he stored child porn on computers that are now stored at Jared’s house?

In the alternative, did the FBI discover a digital cookie crumb trail that led to Jared’s computers?  Such as Dropbox sharing where child porn was transferred from the former charity head’s computer to a Dropbox account down to Jared’s computer? Did the two men email child porn to each other? Did an IP address associated with Jared’s computer download child porn from a known child porn sharing website?

The possibilities are seemingly endless, but the question still remains.

When more about this case comes to light, we will be able to clarify what is really going on.  In the mean time, I suggest there is good reason to believe that Jared may in fact be completely innocent.  Then again, maybe I am wrong…

 

 

Is Magnum P.I. Stealing Water in California?

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Wow… so this is a weird one.  We all have heard of the massive drought plaguing California.  Residents are tasked with cutting water use by as much as 25%, farms are suffering, lakes are at an all time low… all we need now is a massive wildfire to tear through the driest areas.

But not for Tom Selleck… the famous actor who portrayed Magnum P.I. in the 1980’s.  As a side-note, I always wondered why they never did a remake of this one… Hollywood has been remaking everything… even Schwarzenegger is coming back as the Terminator.

Anyway, here’s the scoop:  According to news sources, Selleck owns a large ranch and avocado farm in California’s Hidden Valley.  Due to their geographic location, the ranch and farm are part of the Hidden Valley Municipal Water District.  However, according to real private investigators hired by the Calleguas Municipal Water District, a white truck took water from a hydrant located in Calleguas and delivered the water to Selleck’s ranch in Hidden Valley.  According to Calleguas Municipal Water District, this happened more than a dozen times since 2013.

The Real Issue

The real issue in this case concerns knowledge.  You need to realize that uber-wealthy people who live on 60 acre ranches do not manage the day to day operations of their properties.  They have staff for this.  In a sense, sprawling estates like the one owned by Selleck are like a corporation.  Selleck may be the CEO, but that does not mean he has personal knowledge of every single thing that goes on at the property.

However, this is where Selleck may have trouble – according to news reports, Calleguas Municipal Water District tried to get Selleck to stop.  They even sent cease and desist letters to his home and another address linked to the property.

Even if he could have initially claimed ignorance, the law will “impute” knowledge to him based on the cease and desist letters.  Meaning, once the water district sent him formal written notice that this was going on and that it needed to stop, the law will hold him accountable, regardless of whether he actually knew or not.  At that point, the law presumes he knew or should have known and will hold him accountable.

At the end of the day, I expect this matter to settle out of court on two points.  First, Selleck will likely agree to pay the water district for the value of the water taken and for attorneys fees.  Second, Selleck will agree to immediately and permanently refrain from taking water again in the future.

The Alternate Real Issue

All of the above sounds right, except for one thing: a third party may be to blame.  Selleck may have hired a management company to maintain his home, including its water needs.  Alternatively, he may have hired a third party to supply his home with water.  Unbeknownst to him, this third party may have acted unlawfully without Selleck’s knowledge or consent.

In other words, a third party may have acted unilaterally.

That said, we still are left with the “notice issue” – meaning all those pesty cease and desist letters Selleck had been getting.  The only way he could realistically blame a third party would be if he in fact gave those notices to the third party, told them to stop, did everything you would expect a reasonable person in his position to do – yet they persisted without him knowing.

Admittedly, this is probably the most unlikely possibility, but it is a possibility nonetheless.

If this is the case, Selleck may have a claim against that third party.  When a person is sued but another party is to blame, that person can then turn around and sue that party.  If Selleck is not responsible, but a third party that he contracted with is the culprit, he may need to sue them.

Conclusion

In the end, this case is more embarrassing for Selleck than anything else.  In light of California’ drought, it makes him look like a privileged rich guy who doesn’t have to follow the rules.  Whether he knew or didn’t know, was involved or not involved, the bottom line is that he will likely be writing a check to make this disappear soon.