Man held in weapons scare / Residents evacuated, military called after mortar shells found

By PETE BENNETT - Contra Costa Watch EMAIL
Phone: 510-460-5641
Posted: 10/26/2013

WALNUT CREEK / Man held in weapons scare / Residents evacuated, military called after mortar shells found

Wyatt Buchanan, Chronicle Staff Writer

Published 4:00 am, Wednesday, April 13, 2005

• 
  hazmat_018_db.jpg Contra Costa County Hazardous Materials Responce Unit personnel and Walnut Creek bomb squad police investigate a garage at 2781 Ross Place in Walnut Creek. Event on 4/12/05 in Walnut Creek. Darryl Bush / The Chronicle MANDATORY CREDIT FOR PHOTOG AND SF CHRONICLE/ -MAGS OUT Photo: Darryl Bush

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Walnut Creek police arrested a man Tuesday who they say had an array of weapons -- including a machine gun and mortar shells -- at his home near Larkey Park.

The discovery of the weapons at about 10 a.m. led to an evacuation of residents living within a half block of the home on the 2700 block of Ross Place. Residents remained evacuated into the evening.

Police arrested Denny Hazarabedian, 44, on suspicion of possession of assault weapons, possession of a potentially destructive device and possession of a machine gun, said Lt.Loren Cattolico of the Walnut Creek Police Department.

The evacuation was ordered after Walnut Creek police served a search warrant on Hazarabedian's home and found what appeared to be military ordnance. The explosive ordnance disposal unit from Travis Air Force Base was called to the house and confirmed the presence of a Japanese and U.S. mortar and a U.S. hand grenade, said Master Sgt. Tom Mullican, base spokesman.

The Air Force unit examined the ordnance and determined that there was no potential for an explosion and left the devices with the Walnut Creek police, Mullican said.

"If they were still dangerous and could explode we would have taken them, " Mullican said.

Hazarabedian owns Lafayette Motorsports, a BMW repair shop in Lafayette.

Neighbors described him as a single man who would invite teens into his home to play pool and show off his gun collection. Tyler Santoro, 17, who lives a few blocks away, said he met Hazarabedian through a friend who had car repairs done at the auto shop.

Santoro said he never saw a machine gun or mortars but recalled seeing a rifle and drawer of ammunition. He described Hazarabedian as a cool guy who helped the teenagers build a halfpipe for skateboarding in the neighborhood a few summers ago.

"He just liked to hang out with the kids in the area," Santoro said.

Some parents in the neighborhood had told their children not to go to his house because of the weapons, area residents said.

The Contra Costa County Hazardous Materials unit and federal agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms also responded to the scene, and a robotic bomb retriever was sent into the home at one point.

Police would not say why the search warrant was served.

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By PETE BENNETT - Contra Costa Watch EMAIL
Phone: 510-460-5641
Posted: 10/26/2013

Reposted to Protect My Sons

Walnut Creek's Bomb Squad serves entire area

By Lou Fancher
Correspondent

POSTED:   10/24/2012 01:20:56 PM PDT

WALNUT CREEK -- Dressed in a $20,000 Explosive Ordinance Disposal suit, Jay Hill is a bulky, green, crime-fighting machine.

But in reality, Hill is less Amazing Hulk than Bruce Wayne.

Accompanied by the Walnut Creek Bomb Squad's four-foot-tall, 400-pound Andros F-6A -- a remotely controlled robot whose disrupter platform, cameras, microphones and speakers can maneuver through tight spaces and even mount stairs -- the 16-year veteran of the Walnut Creek Police Department takes on superhero capabilities.

As the sole bomb squad in Contra Costa -- a "shared resource throughout the county," police lieutenant Hill says -- the Walnut Creek unit gets called out once a week on average. Most calls involve known incendiary devices or suspicious packages. The team also provides tactical support for other departments' SWAT teams, as in the case of a suspect who had barricaded himself in a Pleasant Hill home in November 2011. In that incident, the squad's Talon -- a smaller, more portable robot that Hill says can be out of the truck and rolling in five minutes -- was able to enter the house, locate the suspect and communicate conditions to distant officers.

Naturally, maintaining a distance is vital.

"The objective is to put a robot in harm's way instead of a person," Hill says. "Better to blow up a garage, or even a $200,000 robot, than an officer."

Hill said former Walnut Creek police officer Dick Grossman (My former Roommate's girl friend) had a particular interest in bringing a bomb squad to the local department, and led that effort in the late 1990s. "He wrote all the grants, did all the legwork," Hill says.

Funded almost entirely by the State Homeland Security Grant Program and the Urban Areas Security Initiative, the city's only costs are the regular salaries of the six technicians and one assistant who work part time on the squad.

"We don't employ extra officers or get hazard or specialty pay," Hill emphasizes.

With experience on the departments's SWAT team, where he learned tactical skills like using shields and making dynamic entries into buildings, Hill was promoted to a supervisory position in 2006, and had been the Bomb Squad's supervisor until his recent promotion to lieutenant. He remains a bomb squad technician.

Earning a technician's position on the squad requires a six-week session at Alabama's Redstone Arsenal, a hazardous devices training center that is a joint operation of the U.S. Army and the FBI.

"There are about 3,000 certified bomb technicians in the country," Hill says. "There's a waiting list to get in; more and more, they're asking departments to justify their squads."

On a typical call, the robots take X-rays and check for radiological or biological agents. Paramedics are summoned and given instructions in bomb suit removal. "It weighs 80 pounds and they have to know how to rip it off pretty quickly," Hill says.

Occasionally, a Percussion Actuated Neutralizer -- more commonly known as a "water cannon" -- is used to render a device inoperative.

"We don't like to move things unless we have to. We don't like to blow things up. We have a containment vehicle that can withstand a substantial detonation, and I know it has been used, but I've never had to use it in my six years," Hill reports.

The squad also has an official truck -- a far cry from the early days.

"We didn't have any robots, just a bomb suit and a converted bread truck, painted black, with 'Bomb Squad' on the side," Hill laughs.

His grin turns to growl when he talks about consequences for the almost-exclusively-male, often-narcotic-offending suspects who build bombs.

How come six months earlier Hill was arresting a Debra Cole 40 year old homeless woman with five pipe bombs with Commander Norman Wielsch now serving 14 years in Federal Prison who was arrested two weeks after finding a homeless woman with five pipe bombs?  Talk about weird?    

"The most common types are pipe bombs and homemade M80s or M1000s," Hill says.

Pyrotechnic explosive devices -- cardboard tubes filled with explosive powder and a fuse -- are commonly made by kids or people fascinated by fire. More dangerous pipe bombs tend to involve "devious people, like methamphetamine users," according to Hill.

"But all of these are felonies," he warns. "Making explosives, even for fun, or to blow up in a field ... kids don't realize the danger and that they are committing a felony."

Hill appreciates the specialized training he has received and plans to continue increasing officer safety through interagency demonstrations and presentations through out the county.

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Obit: John Patrick Kelly II - Another casualty of CNET

The Obituary Channel

He knew something - it leads to how Contra Costa County Jury Selection Process is tainted - all I had to do was ask Steve Weir one pointed question days before the Election in 2012.  
I'd suspected it for years . . . as so many attorneys told me it was impossible to win certain cases in Contra Costa County.  

John Patrick Kelly II

Obituary

Guest Book

• "I'm so very saddened to hear of John's passing. He was a..."

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John Patrick Kelly II Aug. 14, 1963 - May 14, 2007 Resident of Antioch Beloved husband of Corinne Kelly of over 20 years. Devoted father to 10 year old twin girls Camille and Yvette Kelly. Devoted son to Patricia Kelly and John Kelly. Son-in-law to Donna and Bill Carpenter. Brother to Karen Kelly, Erin Toth, and Lynne Frumenti. Friend to many. John touched many lives in his short time on earth. He was active with Holy Rosary School in Antioch. He coached CYO basketball and softball, worked in the classrooms, computer labs, and chaperoned many field trips. John's passion was skydiving. He accomplished many ratings with over 3,000 skydives, as an instructor, tandem master, national skydiving team videographer, coach, and a friend and mentor to the international skydiving community; his skydiving home was Byron. John graduated from Moreau High School as valedictorian in May 1981. John was active in the Air force R.O.T.C in college and served in Marine Corps. Office Candidate School in Quantico Virginia. He was released with an honorable discharge in August 1985. While working full time he received his bachelor's degree in Political Science in August 1987 and his Master's in Public Administration in June 1994. John graduated from the Alameda County Sheriff's Department's 93rd Academy on April 15, 1988 and performed many duties as a deputy in the department including the position of Classification Officer for the Santa Rita Jail. John became a BART Police Officer in October 1990 where he performed a full range of services. On July 1992 John became the BART Police's Crime Prevention/Community Relations Officer. He received a letter of Commendation from his commander in 1998 "My success as your past Commander were due in part, to your dedication and hard work." John retired from the BART Police Department on May 1, 2000. Following retirement as a police officer John worked for Contra Costa County in the County Administrator's Office as a Human Resource Analyst and in the Elections Clerk Recorder's Office as an ASA III. After leaving employment with Contra Costa County on April 7, 2004 John sold real estate and spent his time in his daughter's classroom, volunteered as an Antioch Police Commissioner for 1 year, golfed, shared skydives and taught others, loved to tell jokes and have fun. Blue skies - peace be with you now. A trust fund will be set up for his daughters' education. Holy Rosary School, 25 East 15th St., Antioch, CA 94509 (925) 757-1270, ext. 40, attention Cathy Vanderklugt. Rosary Services, 7 p.m., Wednesday, May 23, 2007; mass services with lunch reception, 10 a.m., Thursday, May 24, 2007, both at Holy Rosary Church. For additional information please visit traditioncare.com. TraditionCare(925) 755-291

- See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/contracostatimes/obituary.aspx?n=john-patrick-kelly&pid=88174518&fhid=3250#sthash.FROT2VIK.dpuf

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Fire roars through Concord tow yard (B & D Towing) ex post facto

Marriott Priced Towed Vehicle Storage Facilities

Fire roars through Concord tow yard
CONCORD, Calif. — KTVU and Wires
Several vehicles were damaged late Wednesday night when a one-alarm fire swept through a Concord tow yard and U-Haul rental facility, authorities said.Fire officials said the blaze was reported at about 11 p.m. at the facility located on Via De Mercados near Concord Ave.
The blaze began in the tow yard and spread to the nearby building, fire official said.
Tow yard owner Richard Valles said several vehicles were damaged in the blaze and that his staff would be contacting the owners of those vehicles later this morning.
A large response of firefighters was credited with quickly getting the flames under control at 11:19 p.m.
No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

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California Department of Justice Employee: Suspect ex-cop in drug thefts also sought to sell explosives

By PETE BENNETT - Contra Costa Watch EMAIL
Phone: 510-460-5641
Posted: 10/25/2013
Update: 11/01/2013

Reposted to Protect My Sons

I'm gonna smoke some crack today stolen from the evidence lockers by Chris Butler who was in my house in 2004 who probably beat up my attorney in 2005 who likely set my truck on fire in Summer of 2004 is likely connected to the Kinder Morgan Fire where five workers were killed three months after my truck blew up on 680 and since the Walnut Creek Bomb Squad is connected to Weilsch, that connects them to Butler, that connects Butler to a suspect unnamed that I know grew up a few miles from the San Bruno Fire.

It doesn't get better from here as the GAS CAN MAN - these cops, CNET, SWAT and Walnut Creek BOMB Squad  all know this cop - there is a link between them and this Arson Fire that the FBI investigated which ConFire and Walnut Creek Police never occurred.  The reasons why are connected to my case being litigated from that office.  This fire links suspects to my 2004 Arson Fire, Cameo Acres Burnville which leads to my open to San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District as would drive past an obvious arson fire where the 911 calls stated openly that flames were shooting back over 100 feet but worse who would kill my attorney Divorce Attorneys Brother In-Law Nate Greenan or the same building inspector who nearly killed me in 2004 - The faces in here are critical
http://contracostawatch.blogspot.com/2013/10/death-of-public-officials-these-are-not.html

Suspect ex-cop in drug thefts also sought to sell explosives

By Contra Costa Times,Malaika Fraley, Robert Salonga

Tue, 03/01/2011 - 10:49am

MARTINEZ, Calif. -- A Concord, Calif., private investigator tried to find a buyer for two bricks of a military-grade explosive in the days before he and a drug task force leader were charged with selling and conspiring to sell large quantities of drugs, according to a search warrant affidavit.

Norman Wielsch, the head of the state-run Central Contra Costa Narcotics Enforcement Team and private investigator Christopher Butler are expected to enter a plea Wednesday to 28 felony charges that allege the longtime friends sold marijuana, methamphetamine and steroids that had been seized by the narcotics team.

Butler allegedly told a confidential informant in the case that Wielsch, who he called "uncle" in many conversations secretly recorded by state Department of Justice agents, was looking to make extra money before his retirement. The informant said Butler was being audited by the IRS.

The pair was selling drugs, an informant told the Department of Justice, which oversees the now-suspended task force, on Jan. 21, three days after informant saw Wielsch speak to the media about a pipe bomb investigation at a storage locker, the affidavit says.

The state DOJ had begun audio and video surveillance on Feb. 2 when the informant gave Butler money for marijuana and steroids that Butler had obtained from Wielsch. Butler then asked if the informant could find a buyer for two bricks of the explosive C-4. The informant said that was unlikely.

"Butler tells the (informant) that if it can't be sold, he would 'give it to uncle (Wielsch)' so that he could 'say he found it in a search warrant,"' an investigator wrote.

That much C-4 could cause serious structural damage to a home but would not be enough to destroy a big officie building, said Sgt. Jay Hill of the Walnut Creek Police Department bomb squad.

It appears from the affidavit that Wielsch and Butler conspired to sell drugs that either were about to be destroyed or had been newly seized.

The pair allegedly discussed in wire-trapped phone calls when other narcotics task force members would be out of the office for training, the most opportune times to steal drugs.

Wielsch and Butler also were recorded planning to sell a pound of crystal methamphetamine for $10,000 -- the most lucrative sale detailed in the affidavit -- before the drug was scheduled for disposal.

"What if we just went in there and swapped one out with flour, no one is going to test it, and then we can just take the flour to the dump," an agent wrote that Butler told Wielsch.

"Well, the problem is, that it's at the Sheriff's department ... that means I have to go get it, and it looks pretty weird if I got get just that one," Wielsch reportedly responded.

"(Special Agent Supervisor) Wielsch continues by explaining that if he goes on Tuesday with a court order, he can take all of it as if he were going to destroy it, and adds 'no one is going to take a second look,"' an investigator wrote.

Butler's attorney, Bill Gagen, declined to comment on the affidavit. Gagen is expected to argue Wednesday that a judge should lower Butler's bail. Butler, a 49-year-old Concord man, has been held in lieu of $900,000 bail since he and Wielsch were arrested Feb. 16. Wielsch, a 49-year-old Antioch, Calif., resident, posted $400,000 bail on Feb. 18.

"I am not willing at this point to make any statements about discovery, which may take weeks," Gagen said. "There's a lot being looked at way beyond Chris Butler."

Wielsch's attorney, Michael Cardoza, said Monday that he hopes that he can reach an agreement with prosecutors to avoid a trial for Wielsch.

"It doesn't make sense to try this with a jury. The evidence we would have to face is daunting, and on the other side, the entire (narcotics) task force will be splayed on the news," Cardoza said. "If we can resolve this, it would serve us all much better."

Cardoza said his client was strained by the physical tolls of a 20-year career in law enforcement and the rising cost of caring for his ailing daughter.

"That's not by way of an excuse, but an explanation," Cardoza said. "It's not like he was a bad guy all these years. This thing just started a couple of months ago and the amount of money involved was peanuts. At the logical and rational level, this makes no sense."

------

(c) 2011, Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, Calif.).

Visit the Contra Costa Times on the Web at http://www.contracostatimes.com.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

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By PETE BENNETT - Contra Costa Watch EMAIL
Phone: 510-460-5641
Posted: 10/24/2013

Reposted to Protect My Sons

Two BART workers struck, killed by train near Walnut Creek

By Matthias Gafni, Gary Peterson and Katie Nelson Contra Costa Times

POSTED:   10/19/2013 02:18:50 PM PDT | UPDATED:   4 DAYS AGO

WALNUT CREEK -- Two BART employees were struck and killed by one of the transit agency's trains between the Walnut Creek and Pleasant Hill stations Saturday afternoon -- while most of the system sat idle on the second day of a strike that has forced hundreds of thousands of commuters to seek alternate means of travel.

The accident happened about 1:53 p.m. on the Pittsburg/Bay Point line, between the Walnut Creek and Pleasant Hill stations, near the intersection of Jones Road and Chandon Court.

A statement from BART management said that the employees -- one BART employee and one contractor -- were performing track inspections at the time of the accident. Both had "extensive" experience working around moving trains, according the statement, which said that procedures called for one worker to inspect the track and the other to act as a lookout, watching for any oncoming traffic.

"Our hearts and prayers go out to the families of the two workers killed on the BART track," said BART general manager Grace Crunican, who showed up to the scene Saturday afternoon.

Officials from Amalgamated Transit Local 1555, one of the two unions on strike, ended a rally at the Pittsburg/Bay Point station once they received word of the accident and offered their own statement: "Our hearts go out to any BART comrades involved in today's incident. In the midst of this (strike), no one deserves to die." The union announced that it was canceling all labor rallies planned for Sunday.

A similar sentiment was echoed by Service Employees International Local 1021 in its own statement: "We express our deepest sympathies for the families of the individuals who died in this tragic accident."

BART officials said the train was being run by an "experienced" operator, and was in automatic mode and under computer control at the time of the accident. The manager was operating the train to shuttle a "couple cars in the Concord yard that were (tagged with graffiti)" to Richmond for a cleanup, said assistant general manager Paul Oversier. The manager was on his way back to Concord at the time of the accident.

A review of BART radio communications indicate a male train operator, who sources say was an operator supervisor who regularly drove trains some two decades ago, reported a "BART emergency" to central operations, noting that the train had just struck "some individuals" and advising that they "may be BART employees."

A technician on the train is asked to check for bodies and he reports the first one on the trackway. A "second victim" is then reported 50 yards away on Track C-1.

The male train operator reports that "both are deceased and definitely BART employees."

On another recording, a woman can be heard announcing that "There are no personnel wayside (adjacent to the tracks)."

Within five seconds, a second voice can be heard contradicting that report: "Attention all personnel: We do have personnel wayside between C-40 and C-50 on the C1 and C2 tracks."

Central BART communication officers are among the workers currently on strike. It was unclear who was operating the dispatch center while trains were moving.

One BART worker, who asked not to be named, said the accident should not have happened.

"These people are not trained to do these jobs," said the anonymous BART worker, referring to managers, some former train operators, who have been moving trains during the work stoppage.

BART trains have been idle for commuters since Friday due to a labor strike, but some managers have moved trains for other purposes. BART union representatives have repeatedly warned that allowing managers to operate the trains would be dangerous.

A BART police officer looks out of a BART car that struck and killed two people along Jones Road in Walnut Creek, Calif., on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2013. (Dan Rosenstrauch/Bay Area News Group)

When asked about those warnings, BART Assistant General Manager Paul Oversier said "we're not going there."

"We're dealing with a tragedy. The labor issues are not in the forefront of our mind," Oversier said. "This is a tragedy of the greatest proportion for the BART family.

"What they were doing today was something they had done hundreds, if not thousands of times in their careers."

The last BART worker killed while on duty was James Strickland, 44, who was killed on Oct. 14, 2008 as he was inspecting track on the same line near Oak Grove Road in Concord. In 2001, a worker was struck and killed in an underground section of track between 16th Street-Mission and 24th Street-Mission stations in San Francisco.

Four other BART workers have died on the job in the agency's 41 years of operation.

Check back for updates.

Contact Matthias Gafni at 925-952-5026. Follow him at Twitter.com/mgafni.

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By PETE BENNETT - Contra Costa Watch EMAIL
Phone: 510-460-5641
Posted: 10/24/2013

Reposted to Protect My Sons

Related Links: 

Energy firm convicted in Walnut Creek pipeline blast that killed 5

Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writer

Published 4:00 am, Friday, September 21, 2007

• 
  Police officers on Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2004, cordon off the site of a Tuesday explosion in Walnut Creek, Calif. Two people remained missing Wednesday, after an underground fuel pipeline exploded when it was struck accidentally by a construction crew extending a water line. The two missing were part of a construction team that accidentally hit a fuel pipeline. (AP Photo/San Francisco Chronicle, Eric Luse) MAGS OUT MANDATORY CREDIT Metro#Metro#Chronicle#11/13/2004#ALL#5star##0422460631 Photo: ERIC LUSE

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An energy company was convicted Friday of six felony counts and will pay $15 million in connection with a 2004 gasoline pipeline explosion in Walnut Creek that killed five construction workers and injured four others.

Attorneys for KMGP Services Co. Inc., a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, entered no-contest pleas before Superior Court Judge Terence Bruiniers in Martinez.

The company will pay a $10 million fine in the criminal case, involving violations of the state labor code, and $5 million to end a related civil prosecution, Deputy District AttorneyLon Wixson said.

"We're happy with it," said Wixson, who filed charges against the company Thursday after a lengthy investigation. "We think it's fair. We think it's appropriate."

Tom Bannigan, president of Kinder Morgan's products pipeline business, said in a statement, "We extend our deepest sympathies to the families and individuals affected by this tragic accident. While it can never make up for the losses associated with this incident, we hope that accepting our share of responsibility and reaching these settlements will help bring closure to this matter."

The families of the five men who were killed and others who were injured by the blast have reached separate civil settlements totaling at least $69 million with Kinder Morgan and other companies that were involved in the incident, including Mountain Cascade Inc. of Livermore, a contractor for the East Bay Municipal Utility District.

Only the subsidiary of Kinder Morgan, the nation's largest underground fuel shipper, was criminally charged.

The explosion occurred Nov. 9, 2004, when a Mountain Cascade backhoe operator was installing a water-district main near Newell Avenue and South Broadway and punctured a high-pressure Kinder Morgan pipeline.

The plea agreement signed by Kinder Morgan says the company was the "proximate cause of the puncture of the line and of the deaths and injuries that resulted from the incident." As part of the agreement, the company's employees must fully inspect its pipelines during excavation and conduct an audit of its training procedures.

Kinder Morgan had failed to mark a bend in the Walnut Creek line, according to state workplace safety regulator Cal/OSHA, which found the Houston company primarily at fault and fined it $140,000. The state fire marshal fined Kinder Morgan $500,000. The company has appealed both fines.

Killed in the blast were project foreman Tae Chin "Gene" Im, 47; Javier Ramos, 35; Israel Hernandez, 36; Victor Rodriguez, 26; and Miguel Reyes, 43. The fireball also seriously injured welders Jeremy Knox and Roger Paasch, pipe fitter Miguel Fuentes and crane operator Patrick Farley.

David "Max" Beach, the attorney for Reyes' family, said Friday that Reyes had been killed because the company "did not take safety seriously."

He said Reyes' relatives were grateful that the Kinder Morgan subsidiary had been prosecuted, but added, "It's impossible to say whether the resolution brings any measure of satisfaction to the Reyes family."

John Anton, an Oakland attorney who represented the families of Rodriguez and Hernandez, said, "Considering the misconduct, which was always egregious and is now criminal, and the loss of life that resulted, I can't say that I'm satisfied. I will say that Kinder Morgan, however reluctantly, stepped up to the plate and acknowledged, in both the civil and now the criminal litigation, the horrible blunders that its people made."

Last year, the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration's Office of Pipeline Safety and Kinder Morgan agreed that the company would provide system-wide safety upgrades in six Western states. The upgrades were expected to result in as much as $90 million worth of safety improvements.

The $5 million in the civil case will be divided among the county, a state and county prosecutors' fund for worker-safety investigations, the sheriff's office for its use in improving radio communications, the city of Walnut Creek and the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District.

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