Last Thursday, October 8th, and last Friday, October 9th, I attempted to interview all four of the accused.  I started out by driving to the Orange County Jail and entering the Attorney and Bonds room. There I stumbled around very disoriented until an attorney told me to speak through a very dark glass window with a small vented circular insert stuck in the lower middle at about the level of my shoulders. I looked at the lawyer (or bondsman, I really am not sure which type he was) like a deaf-mute. So, he again said to me, "Just talk through there."

Henceforth, acting very perplexed, I talked into this black hole.  And I mean, that is literally what it was: a black hole.  So, I said into the circular vent, "Hello."  And a voice answered, much like the Wizard of Oz from the beyond where nobody can see him, "Yes, may I help you?"

And then I spoke into the darkness, "Yes, I am here to fill out a Media Request for interviewing some inmates."

The black hole cheerfully answered back in a friendly male voice. "Oh, those forms aren't out there. It's been a while... How many do you need?"

I instantly guessed that most likely nobody famous had been thrown in the Orange County Jail lately so Barbara Walters hadn't been around. So I went on talking to the black hole while he slipped the forms under the crack at the very bottom of the glass where there's a scooped out metal gulley for passing papers. As I leaned forward to take the papers I caught a glimpse of clarity through the right bottom corner of the glass.  I caught it at such an angle that the opaque effect of the glass was rendered more transparent and I could barely make out a man in a Sheriff's uniform.

With the four forms I requested, I went to the back of the room where there was a shelf to write on, and from there my experience was to become like a cross between being on a wild goose chase and being a character in a George Orwell novel.

For new readers who are unfamiliar with this case I am writing about, I will give now a very brief recap:   

Montes, Porrata, Martinez and Cruz-Thompson are all accused of embezzling 1.1 million dollars out of AIG (American International Group) via the Costa Mesa workers' compensation claims office (South Coast Metro).  Montes, Porrata, and Cruz-Thompson are additionally accused of embezzling 310,000 dollars out of Matrix Absence Management via that TPA's Chino workers' compensation claims office. Hector Porrata was a claims supervisor there at Matrix for some time during the late 90s and early 21st Century. He later moved to AIG in Costa Mesa where he worked as an examiner up until the investigation brought on by a hospital demanding payment for a lien which had already been paid to Rene Montes reached a climax in 2007 and the Orange County District Attorney was notified.

The four were all arrested on May 6th 2009; thus, they have all been in the Orange County Jail at 550--555 No. Flower Steet, Santa Ana, California, for just a little over 5 months.  All are being held on one million dollars bail each. Since the arrests, the Women's Jail has been closed.  Now, the one woman defendant, Cara Cruz-Thompson, has been transferred to the Intake and Release Center (IRC) where all the women inmates are now housed. The three men: Montes, Porrata, and Martinez are still all in the Central Men's Jail.

As I waited in the Attorney/Bonds room after I gave my forms to the black hole Deputy Sheriff, I studied the questions that Christopher Lear, the Managing Attorney of the Orange Office of Floyd, Skeren and Kelley, had suggested to me that I ask the inmates.  He gave me brilliant advice, including a lot of warnings about things I shouldn't ask and shouldn't say. I would naturally not have thought of these things, being that I'm not a lawyer and tend not to think like one.

"Avoid any questions about the specifics of the alleged crime," Christopher wrote, "Or anything that makes it seem as though you already believe that they are guilty. Or innocent. Perhaps just ask them how they felt when they found out they were accused, and let them talk from there. Ask them how they felt when their friends and co-workers had been informed."

This is good, I thought. I would etch all of Christopher's suggested questions in my memory and have them in the forefront of my mind when I sat down with any one of the accused.

"(Ask) how they felt when they saw the inside of the jail for the first time," Chris wrote on, "Perhaps you can ask them to discuss their lifestyles. Cars they drove. The properties they owned.  Or own. How long they've been in the insurance industry. I'd definitely make sure you always refer to them as the accused. Never make it seem as though they are already guilty." 

Totally. This is the proper attitude. Innocent until proven guilty.  Their trial has not even started yet.

"Ask them if they can recall other stories of fraud accusations. Dr. Vogel. Or fraud cases they've worked on themselves. Ask them how they felt working with the law enforcement obtaining a fraud conviction.  That should be interesting. Ask them if they can remember any specific fraud convictions and ask them how they felt when the accused were convicted of the crime.  How they feel people convicted of insurance fraud should be treated.  What type of sentences they feel are appropriate."

These are all great questions.  I read them over 3 or 4 times. Beginning about the fifth read the Deputy Sheriff in the black hole called to me and said that the process could take as long as 5 to 6 hours to notify and get the consent of the inmates.  He explained that the inmates don't have to talk to me, which I already understood, and that if they agree to talk to me the arrangement has to be approved by the Watch Commander. 

Then he said the inmates could call me on my cell phone. So, I said fine, my cell phone number was written on the forms. So, he talked me into leaving, since 5 to 6 hours would run into the evening and he indicated that it wouldn't be worth it for me to wait. He told me to come back the next day. I told him I would return the next day at 1 pm. 

Everything I was told here was sufficiently different from what I had been told over the phone.  I had called days prior and had gotten specific instructions on how to request an interview. But what was happening now was substantially different from what I had been told by phone. This would turn out to be the beginning of my experience with everybody at the Orange County Jail being on a different page.

To be continued Friday, October 16th.

Readers may write to writer Lonce LaMon at lonce@adjustercom.com