CA Insurance Candidate Padilla Challenges Poway Use Of Public Funds For Crooked Toyota Dea

Mouldy Cover-up
CA Insurance Commissioner Candidate Padilla Challenges Poway Use Of Public Funds For Crooked Poway Toyota Dealer

Dina Padilla
California Insurance Commissioner Candidate
tele: (916) 725-2673 fax: dinajpadilla [at] gmail.com
http://www.padilla4insurancecommissioner.com

August 17, 2010

Mayor Don Higginson
City of Poway City Hall
13325 Civic Center Drive
Poway, California 92064 y

Council Member Merrilee Boyack
Council Member Jim Cunningham
Council Member Carl Kruse
Council Member John Mullin
Re: $3 million in taxpayer redevelopment funds to a Poway business that has: i.) harmed
the health of employees via a known environmental work exposure; ii.) has attempted to
shift the cost burden of the injuries onto CA taxpayers; and iii.) has attempted to
intimidate an employee into silence by threat of libel from the workers comp attorney.

Honorable Mayor Higginson and Poway City Council Members,

My name is Dina Padilla. I am running for California Insurance Commissioner for the
Peace and Freedom party. My primary area of interest that caused me to run for this
position is my deep concern for workers’ rights, health and safety, being adversely
impacted by rampant, questionable insurer practices in the State of California.

I am concerned of not only the adverse impact this is having on the injured workers and
their families themselves, but also the cost burden it is placing on the taxpayers of the
State of California. When employers and their insurers are able to successfully game the
workers comp system to deny their financial responsibility to injured workers, these
injured workers and their families end up on depending of state and federally funded
programs for survival. The taxpayers are footing the bill.

According to Governor Schwarzenegger, when addressing the California Chamber of
Commerce in May of this year, Workers’ Comp “Reform” has given back or saved
California industries and their insurers $50 billion since the Ca Senate Bill 899 was
implemented in 2004. However, California is now $20 billion dollars in debt with much
of the problem being our now beleaguered state disability fund.

As the saying goes, “Think globally. Act locally.” It has been brought to my attention that
the City of Poway is intending to give the owners of Toyota of Poway $3 million dollars
of taxpayer dollars in the name of redevelopment. Questions should be asked of these
new business partners of Poway regarding how they handle injured worker claims.



Is the City of Poway aware that these same owners appear to have:
i.) knowingly exposed employees to the health hazard of a moldy building; and
ii.) have fired no less than one of the employees injured by the moldy building; and
iii) have attempted to run from their responsibility to this injured worker by
attempting to deny his workers comp claim, running him through the gaunlet; and
iv.) have attempted to shift the cost burden for this injured employee onto state
disability funds; and
v.) are documented as threatening this employee via their workers comp legal
counsel, with libel for daring to inform his prior fellow employees, fellow human
beings, of the potential long term health threat to which Toyota of Poway is
continuing to expose them?

Does the City of Poway condone this type of behavior among businesses with whom they
intend to partner while using taxpayer funds? I am not inclined to believe this is the case.
Poway and its leaders have a well respected reputation of doing what is in the best
interest for the residents and taxpayers of Poway.

I am aware there are senior residences within close proximity of the new body shop that
is to be built by Toyota of Poway with a portion of the redevelopment funds. What has
the City of Poway done to assure that their new business partners, Toyota of Poway, will
protect the health, safety and welfare of the Poway area residents from body shop
contaminants, better than Toyota of Poway has demonstrated they protect the health,
safety and welfare of its own employees?

I urge you to investigate this matter further before you choose to allocate $3 million
Poway taxpayer dollars to a business that has demonstrated they have little regard for the
use of taxpayer dollars if it means they can shift their responsibility for environmental
exposures and resultant illnesses on to the taxpayers of California.

Attached are letters I have sent this week regarding the matter of Toyota of Poway being
indicative of how commerce is gaming the workers comp insurance system to: SD
County District Attorney, Bonnie Dumanis, CA Commissioner of Insurance, Steve
Poizner; and CA Attorney General Jerry Brown. Also attached is the attempted threat into
silence of injured worker, Tim Hack, by Toyota of Poway’s workers’ comp insurer,
“legal” counsel, Ms. Amy Lessa, Fisher & Phillips LLP.

Thank you in advance for your attention to this very serious matter. By properly
addressing how taxpayer dollars are used by businesses in Poway and what are the
businesses’ societal responsibilities to the workers and citizens of Poway before you
allocate dollars; you are helping all injured workers, citizens and taxpayers of California.

Sincerely,

Dina Padilla
Enclosure (4) CA Commissioner of Insurance Candidate
Dina Padilla
California Insurance Commissioner Candidate
inajpadilla [at] gmail.com


August 16, 2010

District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis
San Diego County District Attorney
Hall of Justice
330 W. Broadway
San Diego, CA 92101

Dear Ms. Dumanis,

As a candidate for California Commissioner of Insurance, I have had the opportunity to
meet several citizens of California with concerns of our insurance system, including our
workers’ compensation system. I am writing to you today because I am gravely
concerned of what I am being informed is occurring at the car dealership of Toyota of
Poway, located in Poway, California. I believe there is insurance fraud occurring with
the dealership’s owners, management, their workers’ comp insurer and their legal counsel
when attempting to deny financial responsibility for the dealership’s employees’ injuries
from the well documented moldy place of employment.

I know there has been attempted intimidation into silence by the legal counsel of the
dealership of the employees, who have spoken out of the health hazard. I have seen the
letter sent by attorney Amy Lessa of Fisher & Phillips, LLP to Toyota of Poway injured
worker, Tim Hack. The letter was sent by Ms.Lessa on August 5, 2010, with an order for
Mr. Hack to “cease and desist” from sending emails to other employees “either damaging
or competitive with the Company, detrimental to its interests or to promote [Mr. Hack’s}
personal interests...it could have legal consequences.”

Within these emails deemed detrimental to the interest of Toyota of Poway, Mr. Hack
included documentation of medical publishings of the known adverse health effects
caused by mold and other contaminants found in water damaged buildings. He writes of
how the same thing occurred to the injured Toyota of Poway employees. Mr. Hack states,

“I hope that these reports give you a better understanding of the conditions of
the new and used car buildings and the potential health risks you face by being
inside of them. I urge you to become as informed as possible and make the best
decisions for your long term health. A great amount of information on the effects
of mold can be found at the sites listed below.
http://WWW.CDC.GOV http://WWW.NIOSH.COM”

Clearly, this “Cease and Desist” letter is a threat to a California worker’s right to warn
and educate his fellow employees of the potential health dangers of their working
environment. Since when did it become legally acceptable in the state of California to tell
one human being he cannot warn another of a potential threat to their health? In addition
to not protecting the health and safety of their workers, intimidation threats to silence
Californians who try to protect other human beings from harm is outrageous behavior not
to be tolerated by employers or legal professionals in a civilized society.
There are approximately five employees of Toyota of Poway who have pending workers’
compensation claims, as I understand it. Mr. Hack has been the most publicly outspoken
and the most diligent in his documentation of the situation. The OSHA complaint, air
quality testing results indicating a problem and many other documents concerning the
injury to the workers at Toyota of Poway may be found on Mr. Hack’s website,
http://moldtruth.wordpress.com/
Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident in the state of California. Under the premise of
workers’ comp “reform”, several employers and their insurers have been given undue influence
and have been able to game the system in recent years like Toyota of Poway is obviously
attempting to do. What this is causing when employers and their workers’ comp insurers can
successfully shirk their duty to employees, is a shifting of the cost burden from the employers and
workers’ comp insurers to the taxpaying citizens of California. Injured workers who claims of
injury are wrongfully deny typically end up on state and federally funded disability programs.
The perverse situation harms us all.
Commissioner Poizner and Attorney General Brown are also being made aware of the matter in
Poway and how it illustrates a deeply seeded problem of systemic insurer fraud occurring in
California when workers are injured by mold in water damaged work places. I strongly urge you
to investigate the workers’ comp insurance fraud occurring at Toyota of Poway and the
intimidation tactics used to silence the injured workers of the fraud.
As I understand it, Mr. Hack and the other injured workers of Toyota of Poway will be calling
your office this week to set a meeting. They can detail and document the matter for you of how
their rights as workers are being violated by insurance fraud that is occurring in San Diego
County.
If I may be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to ask. I have seen this similar scenario
playing out all too often in the state of California in recent years. This needs to stop. The
situation is adverse to the health and safety of the workers and citizens of California. It is causing
the taxpayers of California to get stuck with the bill when employers don’t protect workers, and
then deceptively run from their responsibility for the injuries while trying to intimidate the injured
into silence and into the poor house.
Sincerely,
Dina Padilla
C Commissioner of Insurance Candidate
Enclosure (2): Fisher & Phillips Aug 5th Cease and Desist threat
Mr. Hack’s email to fellow employees/human beings

Subject: Centers for Disease Control Niosh Report On Toyota Of Poway & Policy Holders of
America &Workers Compensation Evaluation of Used Car Building
Date: Thu, 5 Aug 2010 08:05:24 -0700

I hope that these reports give you a better understanding of the conditions of the new and used
car buildings and the potential health risks you face by being inside of them. I urge you to
become as informed as possible and make the best decisions for your long term health. A great
amount of information on the effects of mold can be found at the sites listed below.


http://WWW.CDC.GOV

http://WWW.NIOSH.COM


Timothy A Hack
619-572-3337
CLOSEURDEAL [at] HOTMAIL.COM
http://WWW.MOLDTRUTH.WORDPRESS

Dina Padilla
California Insurance Commissioner Candidate
tele: (916) 725-2673 fax: dinajpadilla [at] gmail.com

August 16, 2010

Steve Poizner
Insurance Commissioner
California Department of Insurance
300 Capitol Mall, Suite 1700
Sacramento, CA 95814

Honorable Commissioner Poizner,

As a candidate for the office of Insurance Commissioner for the state of California, I am
writing you today to bring a serious matter of rampant insurance fraud to your attention.
Under the premise of workers compensation reform, the 2004 CA Senate Bill 899 has
given $50 billion dollars to businesses and insurers according to Governor
Schwarzenegger. Much of this savings is through the ability of employers and insurers to
deny liability for causation of worker illnesses and injuries.

However, when workers are wrongfully denied medical treatments or disability payments
by their employers and their workers’ comp insurers, the injured worker must then turn to
state and federally funded disability and health care programs for survival. The cost
burden for these legitimately injured employees, who have been wrongfully denied
benefits, then shifts to the taxpayers of California and the US as a whole. While private
sector businesses and insurers are tooting SB 899 as a success for the money it has given
and saved them, California is now $20 billion in debt with our state disability programs
being a large part of the deficit.

The misapplication of scientific and medical information by the American College of
Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM), who write the workers’ comp
treatment guidelines for the state under SB899, has caused much of the wrongful denial
of workers compensation insurer and employer responsibility. When scientific and
medical misinformation is systematically used in our courts and state policies to give
insurers and employers unfair advantage to avoid their financial responsibility to injured
workers, the term for this is “insurance fraud”. I urge you to implement an investigation
of systemic insurance fraud in the state guidelines set forth by ACOEM, under SB899;
and other health policies allowed to be established by ACOEM in California.

The promotion that ACOEM’s purportedly scientific understanding of illnesses from
mold be adhered to under the directive of Governor Schwarzenegger, and the California
Department of Health and Human Services needs to be investigated for the systemic
insurance fraud it is enabling.1
Businesses and their workers’comp insurers are gaming the system by their ability to rely
on this purported science. One such case is Toyota of Poway located in Poway,
California. I urge you implement an investigation of insurance fraud by the owners and
management of Toyota of Poway for their role in using the state sanctioned, purported
science of the ACOEM guidelines of mold induced illnesses to wrongfully deny their
responsibility for their workers’ injuries from mold at the dealership.
Much of the information and legal documents regarding the fraud in workers comp denial
and delays at Toyota of Poway may be found on the website,
http://moldtruth.wordpress.com/ . They have also attempted to intimidate no less than one
employee into silence of the health hazards at the dealership. On August 5, 2010, their
legal counsel sent a threat of libel should the injured employee continue to speak out of
well documented health hazard at the Poway location. San Diego District Attorney,
Bonnie Dumanis, is also being asked to investigate the matter.
The environmental science of ACOEM is identical to that of the US Chamber of
Commerce with purported proof of lack of causation of illness from mold. Both
organizations’ white papers on subject of health hazards from mold are penned by the
same authors. Both profess to have scientifically proven mold does not harm in the work
place. Both, carry the University of California name in validation of their purported
science. And both are penned by prolific insurer defense witnesses in mold litigations.

Toyota of Poway, like many businesses in the state of California, have been able to carry
out denial of workers comp claims under the rules established in workers’ compensation
“reform” as set forth by ACOEM. In reality, so called insurance reform is in many
situations like Toyota of Poway, insurance fraud used to shift the cost burden onto the
taxpayers of California and away from private sector insurers and industry.

Please let me know your intent of addressing these gravely serious charges of systemic
insurance fraud adverse to the health, safety and welfare of the citizens and taxpayers of
California. And you intent to work with District Attorney Dumanis regarding Toyota of
Poway. If I may be of assistance in your investigation, please do not hesitate to ask. The
matter is well documented.
Sincerely,

Dina Padilla
Enclosure (2): Letters, Dumanis & Brown Commissioner of Insurance Candidate

1
“Physicians can refer to the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) statement,
Adverse Human Health Effects Associated with Molds in the Indoor Environment.
http://www.acoem.org/guidelines/article.asp?ID=52.” Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor State of California; Kimberly
Belshé, Secretary Health and Human Services Agency; Sandra Shewry, Director Department of Health Services; John
Rea, Acting Director Department of Industrial Relations November 2005
http://www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/IAQ/Documents/moldInMyWorkPlace.pdf

Dina Padilla
California Insurance Commissioner Candidate
tele: (916) 725-2673 fax: dinajpadilla [at] gmail.com



August 16, 2010

Edmund G. Brown, Jr.
Attorney General
California Department of Justice
1300 I Street
Sacramento, CA 95814

Honorable Attorney General Brown,

Congratulations on being a frontrunner in the upcoming election for Governor of
Califorina and future President of the Regents of the University of California. As a
candidate for Insurance Commissioner, I can attest to the fact that we have our work cut
out for us to bring the golden state and her universities back to their former glory. The
past few years have not been kind to the people of California. A key problem area has
been industry’s undue influence in California’s medical universities adversely impacting
the true understanding of current accepted science, which plays a key part in determining
insurance costs and payouts.

According to Governor Schwarzenegger in May of this year, $50 billion dollars have
been given or saved by industry under the 2004, “Workers Comp Insurance Reform”
Senate Bill 899. This bill has been held out as a success of fixing our workers’
compensation insurance system while basing claims’ acceptance or denials on
purportedly evidence based medicine, much of which is established by physicians
affiliated with the UC.

While the Chamber affiliates may view SB899 as a success; the citizens of California
should not. Fifty billion to private sector industries and workers comp insurers, translates
into a $20 billion state deficit for the citizens of California, with our state disability
programs stretched to the limits and in shambles.

The misapplication of scientific and medical information by the American College of
Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) and some of their UC physicians
affiliates, who write much of the workers’ comp treatment guidelines for the state under
SB899; has caused much wrongful denial of workers compensation insurer and employer
responsibility when employees are injured on the job. This then shifts the burden for the
sick and injured onto state and federal disability programs.
When scientific and medical misinformation is systematically used in our courts and in
state policies to give insurers and employers unfair advantage to avoid their financial
responsibility for sick and injured workers, the term for this is “insurance fraud”.

As such, I urge you along with Commissioner Poizner, to implement an investigation of
systemic insurance fraud in the state guidelines set forth by ACOEM, under SB899;
along with other health policies permitted to be established by ACOEM in California
with the Governor’s endorsement.

Foremost, is the needed investigation and halting in policy that ACOEM’s purportedly
scientific understanding of illnesses from mold be adhered to under the directive of
Governor & President of the UC Regents, Schwarzenegger; and the California
Department of Health and Human Services.1

This purported environmental science of ACOEM is identical to that of the US Chamber
of Commerce with their purported proof of lack of causation of illness from mold. This
is because the two organizations’ white papers on subject of health hazards from mold are
both penned by the same authors, who are professional insurer defense witnesses in mold
litigation. Both white papers profess to have scientifically proven the toxic components
of mold do not harm in the work place. Both, carry the University of California name in
validation of their purported science. And both are aiding workers’ comp insurers to
game the system to the detriment of California taxpayers, workers and citizens.

As such, I urge you, along with Commissioner Poizner; to implement an investigation of
systematic insurance fraud caused by the ACOEM and US Chamber mold white papers.
The matter is well documented. It was even the subject of a front page Wall Street
Journal article in 2007.2 Yet the systematic insurance fraud that mold does not harm and
therefore insurers are not responsible for injury, continues in our courts to the detriment
of injured workers and California citizens, to this very day.
As an example, five such workers compensation cases for injury from mold are occurring
at Toyota of Poway located in Poway, California.. While the city of Poway will be
assisting the owners to build a new building as I understand it; the injured workers are
being left to fend for themselves and their families. Much of the information and legal
documents regarding the fraud in workers comp denial and delays at Toyota of Poway
may be found on the website, http://moldtruth.wordpress.com/ Through their legal
counsel, they have also attempted to intimidate no less than one employee into silence of
the health hazards at the dealership. A threat of libel was sent to one of the injured on

1
“Physicians can refer to the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM)
statement, Adverse Human Health Effects Associated with Molds in the Indoor Environment.
http://www.acoem.org/guidelines/article.asp?ID=52.” Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor State of California; Kimberly
Belshé, Secretary Health and Human Services Agency; Sandra Shewry, Director Department of Health Services; John
Rea, Acting Director Department of Industrial Relations November 2005
http://www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/IAQ/Documents/moldInMyWorkPlace.pdf

2
“Court of Opinion Amid Suits Over Mold, Experts Wear Two Hats Authors of Science Paper Often Cited
by Defense Also Help in Litigation” January 2007 http://www.drcraner.com/images/suits_over_mold_WSJ.pdf
August 5, 2010; should he continue to speak out to other employees of the health hazard
at the dealership. San Diego District Attorney, Bonnie Dumanis, has also been sent a
request to investigate the matter. I urge you, along with Commissioner Poizner and San
Diego DA Dumanis; to implement an investigation of insurance fraud by the owners and
management of Toyota of Poway. This is for their role in using the state sanctioned
concept and purported science of the ACOEM guidelines of mold induced illnesses to
wrongfully deny their responsibility for their workers’ injuries from the moldy dealership
and attempted coercion to silence an injured worker.
Please let me know your intent of addressing the gravely serious evidence of systematic
and systemic insurance fraud adverse to the health, safety and welfare of the citizens and
taxpayers of California; and involving the University of California. The UC has been
made aware of the role they are playing in the deception, both in California and interstate.
Please let me know of your intent to work with Commissioner Poizner and District
Attorney Dumanis regarding the mistreatment of injured workers at Toyota of Poway.

If I may be of assistance in your investigations, please do not hesitate to ask. The matter
of systematic insurance fraud and intimidation tactics through legal proceedings to
wrongfully deny insurer responsibility is well documented when mold illnesses are
involved in the State of California. It has happened numerous times in numerous cases.
This needs to stop.

Congratulations again as being a forerunning for Governor of our great state.

Sincerely,


Dina Padilla
Insurance Commissioner Candidate

Enclosures: (3)
Padilla Press Release On Felony Fraud By Poway Toyota Owners Vincent Castro, Troy Duhon and Manager Gallagher
http://www.padilla4insurancecommissioner.com/document/pressrelease8-13-10.htm

PRESS RELEASE 8/13/10

Padilla stated, "The issue of illness from mold is a growing problem for working people and the public in California and the cover-up by employers, the insurance industry and unscrupulous property owners to deny liability for mold illness must end."

8/13/2010, San Francisco, Dina Padilla, candidate for California Insurance Commissioner is calling for the investigation and prosecution of Poway Toyota dealership owners Vincent Castro, Troy Duhon along with manager Rick Gallagher.
http://www.padilla4insurancecommissioner.org

Evidence strongly indicates Vincet Castro, Troy Duhon and Gallagher knowingly contaminated many workers at this dealership who were sickened from mold at his business. He has also threatened and attempted to bully workers into silence, who complained about health and safety problems at the dealership. “This is illegal.” Padilla said.

OHSA Complaint Filed Against Toyota Dealership http://moldtruth.wordpress.com/

Padilla called for the San Diego District Attorney and the California Insurance Commissioner, Steve Poizner, to immediately launch an investigation and for prosecution. She also called on Democratic Party candidate Insurance Commissioner candidate Dave Jones and other Insurance Commissioner candidates to support investigation and prosecution of Poway Toyota dealership owner Vincent Castro for attempting to shift his workers compensation costs to others. "We cannot allow companies and their workers’ compensation insurers to shift their responsibility for the illnesses caused by their actions onto the taxpayers of California" said candidate Padilla.

Padilla warned the tens of billions of dollars in healthcare costs are now being shifting to public agencies and SSI as a result of this cost shifting scam encouraged by the Schwarzenegger deregulation of workers compensation bill SB 899 and under the guise of “Workers Comp Reform”. This bill was supported by nearly all the Democrats and Republicans in the legislature. "It is the public who eventually will pay the cost of this cost shifting as workers and their families end up getting their healthcare from SSI or other public agencies. We can no longer allow these employers and insurance companies to rip-off the people of California."

Padilla stated, "The issue of illness from mold is a growing problem for working people and the public in California and the cover-up by employers, the insurance industry and unscrupulous property owners to deny liability for mold illness must end."

Padilla also called for the removal of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) regulations concerning mold from Ca health policies. "ACOEM is a trade group of workers comp physicians representing insurance companies, drug corporations and employers in California who have inserted regulations into California law. These regulations provide no protection or compensation from injuries and illnesses due to mold. This conflict of interest and systemic corruption of California legislators and their destructive legislation has harmed the people of California and must be overturned. I will work for the removal of ACOEM rules in workers compensation laws and will fight to protect all Californians who are contaminated and sickened by mold on their jobs and in their homes." She also called for a Federal investigation of the fraudulent claims made by ACOEM about diseases and other illnesses caused by mold, and their close affiliation to the US Chamber of Commerce over the matter.

"ACOEM has many paid off company doctors who provide fake reports that justify denying healthcare for injured workers and the public. This organization needs to be investigated for corruption and systemic lying to the American people in order to protect the profits of it's funders by aiding to limit the liability of crooked insurance companies and the drug industry." Padilla said.

Support Dina Padilla For California Insurance Commissioner
"The Insurance Industry's Worst Nightmare"
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