The reporter, Gene Forte, a one-time candidate for governor of California in the recall race of 2003 (http://vote2003.sos.ca.gov/recall/1-3-1-forteg.html), says he submitted the documents to Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) that reportedly show Panetta participated in covering up rampant public official corruption in connection with his son’s law firm. In a letter dated today, Forte requests that Feinstein provide the documents to President Barrack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.

“Panetta’s appointment, in lieu of the overwhelming evidence being brought forward to Feinstein and top public officials of Panetta participating in covering up public official corruption would pose a threat to the National Security as touted by the FBI (http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cid/pubcorrupt/pubcorrupt.htm),” says Forte.

Forte, who is an investigative journalist with The Badger Flats Gazette, gained national recognition when McClatchy Newspapers credited him for breaking the story of Los Banos Mayor Tommy Jones violating California’s Fair Political Practices Commission Disclosure laws by failing to disclose loans from a local, powerful real estate developer.

The evidence provided by The Badger Flats to Feinstein asks her and other senators to consider the evidence during confirmation hearings. 

“The bottom line is that Panetta regretfully got caught up in covering up for the Fenton & Keller Law Firm that his son, Mr. Christopher Panetta, works (http://www.fentonkeller.com/attorneys/panetta.htm) for fixing a real estate trial with judges on the Monterey Superior Court bench,” says Forte.

Forte says he personally told Panetta of the incriminating evidence against his son’s law firm in a conversation on Oct. 10, 2003 (Note: there are two conversations to listen, one establishing the phone call and the other with the material share with Panetta http://www.prnewschannel.tv/play-music.php?viewkey=97759aa27a0c99bff671).

He says the fact that Panetta, who heads The Panetta Institute (http://www.panettainstitute.org/institute/institute.htm), a non partisan center for the study of public policy that espouses the virtues of being an honest public servant, would engage in the cover up of politicians and hometown public officials, makes him unqualified to be CIA director.

Forte says that the documentation reveals Panetta has betrayed what he claims to be every American’s “oath to a sacred covenant to America (http://www.panettainstitute.org/commentatires/03-0713.htm).” Forte lays out the evidence in the pages of The Badger Flats Gazette which comes out on Friday, and in the archives of previous issues at BadgerFlats.com.  Calls to Panetta seeking comment were not returned prior to this release.

“The investigative report spanning eight years has been done at a high cost both personally and financially,” Forte says. 

Forte says he welcomes the scrutiny by other journalists due to his being the author of a story that pertains to him but he expects them to be open-minded and not discount solid evidence presented.

Forte, though not an attorney, has written and won two appeals overturning dismissals of his cases that focused upon the obstruction of justice by Monterey political cronies of Panetta. 

“In a nutshell due to the pseudo monopolization by MediaNewsGroup of California newspapers and the fact that The Monterey Herald, owned by MediaNewsGroup http://www.medianewsgroup.com/properties/, refused to cover the story while defaming me to the public at large, I had no choice but to bring it to the public’s attention myself,” says Forte.

About The Badger Flats Gazette:  The Badger Flats Gazette, a paper dedicated to taking on public official corruption.  It always comes out when the Good ol' Boys least expect it, and discusses issues such as unethical attorneys, unscrupulous public officials and other unsavory types skimming money off the top of projects intended for the public good.