CLEARLAKE — Joey Luiz accused Lake County Sheriff Frank Rivero of crossing the lines of professionalism and appropriateness in a phone conversation between the two men on Friday.
Luiz said that Rivero, responding to his text messages, called the councilman on his cellphone and, before the call ended, said to him, “Why don”t you go play with your young boy” ? a comment that Luiz said referred to his partner of two-and-a-half years.
Luiz, 31, called the comment “homophobic.”
In the same conversation, Luiz also said Rivero accused him of not having “the balls” to ask for his resignation in person, at which time Luiz said he made an appointment for Monday at 10 a.m.
Luiz said he met with the sheriff as a private citizen and not as a representative of the Clearlake City Council.
Rivero confirmed that they did indeed meet in the sheriff”s office for about 20 minutes Monday morning, and that Luiz asked for the sheriff”s resignation, but they had differences of opinion on the tone and the particulars of the meeting.
The embattled sheriff denied saying anything close to the alleged homophobic comment, and that it was Luiz who broached the topic of testicle size, and that Rivero was merely following up on the same theme in his response.
Luiz said at least two witnesses, including a law enforcement officer, heard Rivero”s alleged comments on his speaker phone Friday night.
The two men confirmed that they did indeed meet in the sheriff”s office for about 20 minutes Monday morning, and that Luiz asked for the sheriff”s resignation, but they had differences of opinion on the tone and the particulars of the meeting.
Luiz said he was visiting with friends Friday night when someone asked him if he thought Rivero and/or the Lake County Sheriff”s Office (LCSO) would have to pay the large-scale marijuana grower whose arrest last year was overturned on July 31 when a judge ruled that Rivero violated the man”s Miranda rights.
“I said, ?I don”t know, but let”s ask him,” Luiz said, who promptly sent Rivero a text message at about 10 p.m., asking him if he was going to pay the estimated $600,000 that the grower”s lawyer argued was the value of the confiscated pot crop.
“He sent me a few more (text messages), along with a copy of the U.S. Constitution, and I called him and told him to quit harassing me,” Rivero said. “I told him if he had anything to say to me, he could come to my office and say it there.”
At one time, Rivero and Luiz were politically aligned, but the relationship has changed in recent months, Luiz lobbied the Clearlake City Council to collectively support the Rivero recall.
Before Monday was over, Rivero exchanged salvos with another outspoken critic ? Lake County Supervisor Rob Brown, who said the sheriff has cost the county more than $250,000 in attorney fees this year, including $110,000 in the media access case involving a news blogsite, and another $123,850 in the back-pay of employees who were subsequently reinstated following their firings.
Rivero countered by accusing Luiz and Brown, proponents of the sheriff”s recall effort, of failing to live up to their campaign promises.
“They told me that they would join me in fighting the two-tier system of justice in this county,” Rivero said. “Instead they”ve turned their backs and joined that system.”
Rich Mellott is a staff reporter for Lake County Publishing. He can be reached at 263-5636, ext. 14 or rmellott@record-bee.com.
