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11.08.04, 12:22 PM ET

Group Accused of Abusing "the Color of Their Authority and the Cloak of Their Office for Their own Personal Benefit"

Three federal employees have been accused of abusing their government offices and authority to create a complex conspiracy aimed at scuttling a Big Bear Lake development in which they had undisclosed personal interests, according to a lawsuit filed Nov. 3 in U.S. District Court, Central District, Western Division.

Gene Zimmerman, Scott Eliason and Robin Eliason -- all employees of the U.S. Forest Service -- are named as co-conspirators in the lawsuit brought by Marina Point Development Associates, the landowner of a 12.5-acre development site and marina on the north shore of Big Bear Lake. The lawsuit alleges the three -- along with one other principal member of a purported environmental group called "Friends of Fawnskin" and a number of "John Does" to provide for additional people to be named as more evidence is gathered -- defrauded Marina Point Development in violation of the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act by attempting to illegally stop the project that was under construction in order to advance their private interests.

"The defendants in this case, employees of the U.S. Forest Service, knowingly and willfully abused the color of their authority and the cloak of their office for their own personal benefit," said S. Wayne Rosenbaum of the law firm Foley & Lardner, attorney for Marina Point Development Associates. "They issued false information about the project to other government agencies. They misrepresented their personal opposition as official U.S. Forest Service positions, plotted and conspired with other people who had a financial interest in the project's demise, improperly shared government information that was not public, and withheld information that my client was entitled to have under the Freedom of Information Act. On top of these illegal acts, the defendants then attempted to destroy evidence on their government-issued computers. If government employees are somehow exempt from the criminal behavior that the government itself is charged with prosecuting, then we should all be very afraid."

The lawsuit alleges that the three U.S. Forest Service employees, as well as one member of the Friends of Fawnskin advisory committee, were active plotters in the strategy to misrepresent information and confuse other government officials in order to stop the project, and which could allow the U.S. Forest Service to then obtain the land in question below fair market value. Rosenbaum said all those named in the lawsuit own property nearby the development and self-interest, rather than a legitimate concern for the environment, is at the heart of their opposition. Strategies the group allegedly discussed at meetings include an attempt to cut off Marina Point's water supply through a shady land swap, according to Rosenbaum.

"The group was willing to support the U.S. Forest Service in giving 300 acres of public land in exchange for the 68 acres that adjoins Marina Point Development which could, in turn, allow U.S. Forest Service to cut off the water supply to my client and force him out," said Rosenbaum. "Other corrupt strategies were continual misrepresentations and outright falsehoods about the existence of endangered plants, bald eagle habitats and the like. Evidence of these illegal activities can be found in the minutes of the Friends of Fawnskin meetings, which were found on the computer where they were created -- the government computer issued to Robin Eliason by the U.S. Forest Service."

The Marina Point project dates back to 1981, when a group of investors purchased the property. At the time, it was the site of a deteriorated tavern, RV camp/campground, and marina and was an environmental eyesore. After purchase, the landowners improved the property and protected the shoreline and marina jetties. In 1982, they began processing their project through governmental agencies for approval. The project included a 133-unit resort on 12.5 acres with many acres of landscaped open space, a restoration of the pre-existing Fawnskin marina, and environmental improvements to the lake.

Approval of the project was complex due to the involvement of various governmental agencies that had jurisdiction over the area, including the lake itself. After a comprehensive environmental impact report was certified, the original project was finally approved in 1983. In 1989, when the project had to be re-approved due to a water moratorium, an U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 404 permit was acquired for the project's shoreline protection. During the Army Corps of Engineers process, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service expressed concern about nearby bald eagles, causing Marina Point Development Associates to redesign the project to include a lagoon and bald eagle reserve. The same agency reversed itself in 1991 by concluding the project had no adverse affect on the bald eagle and advised Marina Point to revert to the original design, minus the four-star eagle lodging.

In December 1991, San Bernardino County approved the final project design after another Environmental Impact Report was certified, and the necessary permits were secured from the Army Corps of Engineers, the California Regional Water Quality Board, the California Department of Fish and Game and the Big Bear Municipal Water District. The government agencies involved regularly extended the permits throughout the 90s, when the economic recession caused delays in start-up.

In 1999, defendant Gene Zimmerman, supervisor of the local U.S. Forest Service office, approached the Marina Point landowners and expressed U.S. Forest Service interest in purchasing the property in order to keep it operating as a public RV park/campground and marina. After a disputed federal appraisal placed the property's value at far less than fair market value, the landowner ceased negotiations with the U.S. Forest Service and moved forward with approval of the final map in order to begin construction of the resort. Around the same time, said Rosenbaum, the Eliasons joined other owners of nearby properties who formed the Friends of Fawnskin for the express purpose of stopping this and another proposed development on the north shore of the lake. The Friends of Fawnskin began their campaign to derail the project's ongoing construction, with the Eliasons illegally using the resources and titles of their government office. Though Zimmerman may have only had indirect contact with the organization, meeting minutes and other documents uncovered indicate he was aware of his employees' illegal actions and he was "on board."

The conspiracy achieved success when the Army Corps of Engineers dragged its feet on extending the existing 404 permit, something they had done four times previously and had verbally agreed to do again. In this instance the agency cited U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Fish & Wildlife concerns over environmental impact, including the bald eagle -- concerns that, according to Rosenbaum and existing documents, had been resolved nearly a decade before and every time permits were extended. The Army Corps of Engineers, however, went back on their verbal agreement and eight months later enforced the expiration date. The group of conspirators then used the lapsed permit to obtain an injunction that stopped construction.

The lawsuit alleges the sources of the information that re-ignited concern over the bald eagle were Robin and Scott Eliason. Robin Eliason ignored the official U.S. Forest Service data that she is charged with collecting and which shows the project is not in any critical habitat for the bald eagle. Instead, the lawsuit alleges, she created and circulated a document of misleading information, without disclosing her personal interest, her membership in the Friends of Fawnskin or that these opinions contradicted actual U.S. Forest Service data. Scott Eliason also sent misleading e-mail and other communications to Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service employees concerning endangered plants and animals at the project site.

"Scott Eliason had been employed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife office for many years prior to joining the U.S. Forest Service and had worked closely with Army Corps of Engineers employees on environmental issues at Big Bear Lake. He knew his communications would carry great weight with these agencies. However, he also never disclosed to these employees his personal interests, his membership in the Friends of Fawnskin or the fact that his concerns did not represent the official position of the U.S. Forest Service," said Rosenbaum.

"Marina Point Development Associates has followed all of the rules since its acquisition of the property and should be moving forward on a project that will not only provide economic and environmental benefit to the community, but will actually enhance aquatic and bald eagle habitat," said Rosenbaum. "Instead, Marina Point has been the victim of a conspiracy, by the very government employees who make and are supposed to enforce the rules. We knew that there were outside forces working against us, but we were unable to prove it until the Friends of Fawnskin sued us in state and federal court. Once we were finally able to get the documents we had sought under the Freedom of Information Act, we found clear evidence of the conspiracy we thought existed, but had not been able to prove, even though the various players claimed that the information could not be found or, in some instances, tried to destroy it. We've only received a fraction of the documents that we are entitled, and already we have enough evidence for a RICO action against these four individuals. When we get all of the information the law calls for, it is possible that others will also be held criminally liable."

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