Want to meet the Sheriff, a secret dossier will do
Picon Press has tried. We have reached out to elected officials and asked for comments on their own words, memorialized in their own written emails. We get very little response and when we do get a response, it is often clouded in deflection or outright ignorance of the question and a follow-up goes unanswered. Imagine, an elected official sent to an office to conduct the voter’s business, be responsible for our money and make decisions that are in the voters best interests. Now imagine that same elected official flatly refuses to answer questions of malfeasance, mistrust and apparent disparate treatment based on what the constituent can do for the elected.
We won’t make you imagine any of this, and we have reported extensively on such actions by several elected officials in Washoe County and their employees who apparently swore an oath to protect their leaders. Sadly, these stories leave more questions than answers.
On Christmas evening, we are disappointed to again report, that Sheriff Darin Balaam is the latest elected to ignore scrutiny, defy transparency and use police powers as his own protective force.
Want coffee with Sheriff; submit to a background check
Let’s say you want to meet with the Sheriff to discuss a matter of importance to you. Maybe you believe there is a legal issue that needs addressing. Maybe it is a personal matter you want the Chief law enforcement officer’s opinion on. Maybe you are a high wealth individual, and you want to learn about opportunities to engage in the community. Maybe you donated thousands of dollars to a campaign you believed in. So, why does the Sheriff get to use his premier investigative arm to vet a simple coffee meeting with a taxpayer.
In September 2021, local Crypto-Millionaire Robert Beadles sent the Sheriff an email asking for a sit down over coffee or just an office meeting. Yes, the Sheriff is the top law-dog of the County, however, let’s be real, is he afforded secret service protections that we are not aware of. Does the Sheriff have a driver, maybe a taster and cupbearer in the works. This email turned into a chain of emails from the Undersheriff to a Lieutenant and then to an intelligence analyst.
The crux of the email chain showed the government using police investigative tools to dig into the citizen voter. They then provided a secret file to the Sheriff, so he knew who he was meeting with. This was a copasetic and common method back in 1938 Nazi Germany, however in America we are supposed to be free from such intrusive inquires absent reasonable suspicion that a crime is occurring, has occurred or will occur. Of course, had we not requested public records, no one would be the wiser and the power of the Sheriff would blossom.
Using the Intelligence Center to vet a potential donor
The email sent on behalf of the Sheriff to the intelligence analyst, who works in the Northern Nevada Regional Intelligence Center (NNRIC), was requesting a dossier on Mr. Beadles absent any obvious legitimate law enforcement purpose. Unless, the Sheriff has re-written the mission of the NNRIC to be his personal intel source for anyone he wants to know more about, here is the mission of the NNRIC from his website:
The Northern Nevada Regional Intelligence Center (NNRIC), is located within the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office. The Center was established to collaborate in the collection, analysis, and dissemination of “meaningful actionable, strategic, and tactical intelligence” throughout the region. NNRIC provides the tools and expertise for all regional agencies to maximize their ability to anticipate, identify, monitor, prevent and respond to terrorism and criminal acts occurring in the Northern Nevada region and beyond.
Once you have read that, we would love to know what terrorism or criminal acts Mr. Beadles was up to. The Sheriff had already issued him a CCW, a legal permit to carry a firearm. Prior to issuing such a permit the Sheriff signs off the holder is not a criminal, he isn’t a drug user, and he is not mentally impaired since the Sheriff gave him a card to carry a concealed pistol. So, for what purpose would he need such an intrusion into Mr. Beadles personal life. Was the purpose of the intelligence report to potentially accept money from Mr. Beadles for the Sheriff’s re-election or was there some obscure law enforcement reason we cannot extract from the emails, Picon would love to know.
Picon is told the NNRIC uses several sources of information to conduct such a dossier. One such database is based on credit header reporting. These databases, administered by Thomson Reuters, Lexis-Nexus and others, are datamining gold mines. Their use is restricted by the Gramm-Leach-Bailey Act (GLBA) and the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Both acts contain explicit protections for consumers and prior to running such a report, the agency must acknowledge the purpose code for such an inquiry. We are not sure, however preparing to meet a citizen, and ending up with a check for a campaign, hardly seems commensurate with the intent of those acts.
The FBI files
Another source of information for Criminal Justice agencies is the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) which is administered by the FBI and contains files related to criminal history, among other datasets. In a follow-up public records response, we were assured the Sheriff did not run an FBI criminal history on Mr. Beadles. Such a baseless inquiry of an FBI file could result in sanctions and loss of use of the system.
Maybe the Sheriff’s Office checked their internal database, which we believe may also contain criminal history information pursuant to state law, such as jail and police report records of the Sheriff’s Office.
What did it cost to use an analyst for public records, no response from the Sheriff
Lastly, we would hate to believe they used staff, who make $143,000.00 annually, to conduct public records searches. We are very familiar with publicly available data, as it drives our site. Checking some Facebook posts, maybe reviewing video from January 06th to see if Mr. Beadles was tipping over barricades, is that really necessary. We would love to know. Despite our public records request and our prior direct asks to the Sheriff and his public ‘no-information’ officer, Bryan Sumudio, we do not know. Instead, we have emails from a Sheriff Lieutenant saying, “I am leaving an intelligence workup on my desk for you, along with an email string between the undersheriff and me.” The email was addressed to one of his detectives.
When we asked the Sheriff for what was contained in a “work up”, we were instead shut down with, “To the extent this record exists, it is confidential and cannot be disclosed.” Digest that. Your information, whether you are suspected of a crime at all, is secret and the government does not need to tell us what files they maintain on citizens. Does that remind anyone of public commenters at school board meetings being targeted by the FBI as “domestic terrorists.” Picon is not affiliated with Mr. Beadles, and we report what we want, based on public records. Frankly, this response from the Sheriff gave us pause. What files do they have on Picon Press. What about our readers, do they dossier them too.
“Nothing threatening”, describes Mr. Beadles
What did they find on Mr. Beadles, was he a threat to the community? Was he purporting to be wealthy and, in reality, he was poor? No, this is what they learned, “Short version is; he is a millionaire having made his money in construction and cryptocurrency and is a Washoe Patriots member (hosting an event at his home for the group tonight). He seems to say the same things and repost the same things as we normally see from the right leaning folks on social media, but nothing threatening. Please let me know if we need anything more.” We wonder, did the Sheriff’s staff make similar comments about Black Live Matters leaders, or Immigration activist leaders. What about the Pussyhat Project and their pinks hats, were they subject to a dossier too.
Despite the lack of finding anything substantive on Mr. Beadles, the fact remains that the Sheriff claims the “work up” is not for public consumption. Instead, it is a secret document protected because their legal team, who represents them, not the citizens, says it is. If we want to challenge their own self-judgment, it requires a filing in District Court. We have neither the time, disposable income nor energy to go through that process. We know of someone else who may when he reads this.
The timeline of email regarding the vetting of Mr. Beadles
Let us further examine the timeline, provided by public records:
September 21, 2021, Mr. Beadles asks for meeting
September 22, 2021, Undersheriff asked for “Work up” from NNRIC
September 22, 2021, Undersheriff advises the Sheriff of the “work up”
September 22, 2021, Undersheriff notifies Chief Deputy about his ask
September 22, 2021, Lieutenant assigns the “work up” to two intelligence analysts
September 22, 2021, 59 minutes later, the analyst provides a response
September 22, 2021, 14 minutes later, the Lieutenant advises the Undersheriff of their findings
September 22, 2021, 2 minutes later, the Sheriff is made aware of the findings.
September 27, 2021, a secretary is directed to set a meeting with Mr. Beadles
October 17, 2021, Sheriff Balaam accepts $5800.00 from Mr. Beadles.
After taking the money, the Sheriff seeks distance from Mr. Beadles
Let us then reflect on the Sheriff’s own words published on November 07, 2022, after he made statements reported on KUNR radio. The Sheriff explained regarding the Beadles meeting:
Balaam said he and his undersheriff met with Beadles a month later. During that meeting, according to Balaam, Beadles insinuated that he “may not be the kind of sheriff who has the courage to protect the rights of citizens or investigate corruption within the government.”
Yet following this meeting, which according to Balaam had troubling undertones, he still took a total of $10,800.00 from Mr. Beadles. And the day before election day, Balaam’s decision, deciding to distance from what sounds like infected money, played on the radio. Prior to this, and despite his own concerns with Mr. Beadles opinions and beliefs, Sheriff Balaam met with constituents at Mr. Beadles home, and took money from him and presumably them.
We know the Sheriff already knew Mr. Beadles was a right winger, based on his intelligence centers own dossier “work up.” Despite this knowledge, and all the media reporting on the activities of Mr. Beadles, the Sheriff sure didn’t mind his money or his political support earlier on.
An exclusive association, run by the Sheriff, with no county oversight
The Sheriff’s claim of donations of Mr. Beadles money to charities, included The Washoe County Honorary Deputy Sheriff’s Association, Inc. (WCHDSA), which is a pay-to-play 501 (c) (3) that supports the mission of the Sheriffs Office. Membership is limited and exclusive, mostly wealthy benefactors and politically important citizens. The Sheriff is the leader of this organization and has a say in how and where the funds are spent. Essentially, this fund is used by the Sheriff to pay for things outside his budget with zero oversight. Picon recognizes the philanthropic work the Association does at Christmas, however we cannot overlook the remainder of the monies at the Sheriff’s discretion.
So, let us summarize this whole story in a few sentences. The activist citizen wanted to meet with the Sheriff. The Sheriff used is powers to complete a dossier on the citizen before any meeting. The dossier revealed the citizen was a right leaning activist. The Sheriff met with him twice, despite knowing this, and took two checks from him, to include a personal appearance at the man’s home. When it was politically expedient to do, the Sheriff gave the infected money, in part, to an organization he controls with no oversight. Does this sound above-board to anyone?
Meanwhile, according to the WCHDSA application, members are entitled to “insider briefings” and visitation of the Intelligence Center. How we wonder, did Mr. Beadles name come up at one of these “insider briefings”, causing the Sheriff to pivot, politically. Did a wealthier benefactor threaten to pull their funding if the Sheriff did not distance himself from Mr. Beadles.
We’re especially struck by the final paragraph of the application for appointment to this association, “I hereby grant permission to Sheriff Darin Balaam and the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office to conduct an inquiry into my background to determine my suitability for appointment.” Did Mr. Beadles sign such a waiver when he was subject to a “work up”, to determine his suitability for coffee, or was he treated more like a suspect in a crime, we let you decide.
Here is a recent example of an unanswered email to the Sheriff and his former media personality, turned public information officer.