Atherton Backgrounder...Number II: Johns, Marsala, Blackmail, and Baseball Bats

Last Thursday Watch Dog posted Atherton Backgrounder...Number I. It was meant to be a brief background on the "John Johns Issue" and some of the issues surrounding it.

While there are a ton of things that happened between the dismissal of John Johns from Atherton's employ and today, I have some new information, so I'm fast-forwarding considerably.

Below is an email from John Johns to Charles Marsala dated Friday, October 10, 2008. It is pretty threatening and probably worth a little background. So here is some background from Marsala that sets the table for the Johns-to-Marsala email.

Background from Charles Marsala:

I understand he [Johns] picked up a box of requested documents on Friday afternoon.

I had nothing to do with his dismissal and was not "instrumental". After a staff member went to the Interim City Manager upset about remarks John Johns made. Her son was in intensive care after being hit with a baseball, John commented he knew where there was a sale on baseball bats. John was put on leave.

After the investigation the Interim City Manager Wende Protzman decided to fire him, during that time I had requested credit card receipts to review as the auditors said there was a problem. [Watch Dog Editor's Note: See the Declaration from Wende Protzman here about this issue with highlights.]

I defended Wende's actions with some of the findings on John Johns' credit card and that his claims against Mike Hood and Chief Brennan were bogus.

Now, here are relevant selections of an email (or black(e)mail) from John Johns to Atherton City Councilmember Charles Marsala. The following is printed with the permission of both sender and receiver. In fact, Mr. Johns state: "The more folks learn about this the better." Edits made to this email did not change the content:

From: john johns
Subject: almanc news articles
To: cemarsala
Date: Friday, October 10, 2008, 7:39 AM

Dear Charles

For reasons that are beyond my understanding, the Town, with malice, attempted to end my career and very nearly succeeded.

...

You have let it be known via the Almanac News and the Palo Alto Daily News that you were instrumental in my dismissal. Until now you have been able to portray yourself as a hero in pursuit of a just cause. However, the more the truth comes out, the more apparent it will become that you have acted in a manner that is both irresponsible and detrimental to the interests of the Town you profess to serve.

I am prepared to end my dispute with the Town and to disengage from that awful power struggle that Kathy McKeithen warned you two years ago that was about to erupt. Whether I do so is up to you and your colleagues on the Council.

One thing that should concern you most is that the more I press on, the more likely it is that the truth will emerge. If anyone finds such a prospect troubling I would expect it to be you.

For that reason, I strongly urge you to seek a reasonable settlement to my claim. After all I have often wondered whether I was collateral damage or the intended target. The conclusion I reached is that it really doesn't matter, the wounds cut just as deep either way.

Sincerely,

John P. Johns, CPA

Other compelling reads on this topic that seems to have consumed so many people:

• John Johns email to me about the 'baseball bat' incident.
• The Almanac posted several op-eds during this period of discontent in Atherton. Here is Councilmember Kathy McKeithen pushing for civility and here is Sam Goodman who was on the Audit Committee for Atherton. (Yes, the same Sam Goodman that dropped out of the City Council race earlier this election season.)
• John Johns and Randy Lamb (an involved Atherton resident) respond in the comments section of the Almanac to a March 2008 story titled: John Johns loses round in legal fight. (These two are on opposite sides.)
• A thread of comments following an August 2008 Almanac story titled McKeithen denies involvement in Johns case. It looks like someone cut and paste Kathy McKeithen's public records request into the 'comments' section and the next person accuses McKeithen of providing that information to John Johns for his lawsuit. (Randy Lamb's call for transparency also reappears here.)
• In this series of comments following an October 8, 2008 Almanac story titled: Ex-official seeks $1 million from Town, Councilmember Charles Marsala takes a shot across John Johns' bow in the comments section. The money quote:
  

"John Johns used town equipment for his outside consulting work, and was repeatedly asked to correct his time card and take vacation or sick time for days not in the Atherton Town Hall."

So, this serves as the Atherton Backgrounder Number II. For those readers who find all this Atherton stuff boring -- apologies. I'm a blogger who goes where the action and information are and there is no shortage of action or information in Atherton...