Karl Baker Affair
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About [former] Councilman Karl Baker
a series of investigative reports for your indictable amusement
click headline or image to open article
ROCKSTAR – Sugar Free | ||
Traveling on Taxpayer’s Dime, Councilman Baker Living Large |  | |
| Even in the midst of a recession, D.H.S. City Councilman Karl Baker was living the high life by staying at prestigious hotels and not caring at all that he was using taxpayer’s money to foot the bill. With this kind of reckless spending Baker, one could only wonder when his reckless behavior would be discovered. | ||
Councilman Karl Baker Blows Top |  | |
| Karl Baker’s explosive statements on the radio came as a shock, especially to Reverend Bruce Montgomery. Rev. Montgomery has no comparison when it comes to documenting the city of Desert Hot Springs through pictures. Come to find out that in the next few days, this would only be the tip of the iceberg we had just crashed into. | ||
Reverend Objects to Use of Pics on Sex Sites |  | |
| Through investigative reporting and slips of the tongue, the ugly truth reared its head. The naked pictures Baker put up were about to rise to a whole new level of publicity. | ||
City Councilman Posts Naked Pics of Himself on Sex Sites (caution: adult content) |  | |
| Like an ingrown toenail, you’d want to pull the nail out so there’s no infection. What would happen if it already was infected? A painful explosion of pus and blood would ensue. To say what happened in D.H.S that week over Baker’s pictures was a comparison will suffice. | ||
City Councilman Karl Baker Exposed |  | |
| “Don’t beat a dead horse.” Sure, we’ll take this advice. What if the horse is still kicking? Baker’s housemate and campaign manager Pete Chryss was about to get an ugly wake-up call after Baker’s shield protecting him was gone. | ||
City Money Paid to Councilman’s Address |  Peter Chryss (left) with Karl Baker | |
| Then we find out that Pete Chryss is not his name, that Chryss is not licensed to install alarms and is a convicted felon with a shady past. | ||
False Alarm |  Chryss at Neighborhood Renewal Program Kick Off Event March 9, 2011 | |
| The city cancels the contracts with the unlicensed contractor and we discover more about the mystery man. | ||
Unlicensed Contractor Loses City Contracts |  Pete Chryss from his website | |
| Someone wants to punish us as a result of our investigation. We end up getting a restraining order signed by the judge keeping the guy 1,000 yards away. | ||
Death Threats Recieved |  Charlie Henkel (photo Facebook) | |
| One thing was missing in the 320 pages the city supplied us… the canceled checks paid by the city to the unlicensed contractor who installed and monitored city security systems. This causes us to wonder. | ||
Who’s Checking City Checks? |  Hi Karl Baker | |
| A conspiracy developed to keep details from leaking out. Councilman Karl Baker was up for re-election and no one wanted to upset the electorate. Besides, there was an “economic summit” in the city and Daniels, the city manager, did not want the bad news of Baker’s bad behavior to overwhelm the good news. So, Daniels managed to cover things up and further delay reporting the potential crime by imposing a “news embargo” and granting a sweet heart deal to The Desert Sun, the daily newspaper run by Daniels’ friends, the Gannett Corporation, the largest media company in America. | ||
Councilman’s Check Scheme Covered Up |  City Manager Rick Daniels listening to City Attorney Rubin Duran | |
| It turns out that Baker’s name is linked to the checking account for Chryss Home Automation. | ||
Karl Bake’s Endorsements Pulled – Or Not |  Attributed to an unknown artists who submitted it as "art" from left Ginger Hitzke, Jan Pye, Yvonne Parks, Scott Matas, John Furbee, Jeff Bowman, Marian Ashley, Karl Baker and Endorsement Withdrawn | |
| With the election near, Baker’s endorsements dry up as some bail out as fast as they can. Congressman Lewis says he never endorsed Baker even though Baker sent a campaign flyer to voters saying he had the endorsement. Several people choose to continue endorsing Baker even though his ship begins to sink deeper and deeper. | ||
Baker Busted Driving on Expired Tags |  Officer detaining Baker with his unregistered car | |
| Days before the election Baker attends the Rotary Club in hopes to do his magic and win a couple more votes. The police show up because he is driving an unregistered car. | ||
City Council Sex and Crime Club |  The former councilman likes to take credit for his accomplishments so we honored the portly gent with an encore presentation of "Hi Karl Baker." | |
| Reviewing the sex and crime stuff to date. | ||
Still Bugged By Baker |  Baker the Bug | |
| Baker loses the election but continues to serve as a trustee on the Bug Board. This bugs some people. | ||
Teaching Under a Cloud |  Baker's Apple | |
| Baker is still a certified teacher able to work the school districts. He has plenty of teaching experience – with the California Department of Corrections. This doesn’t seem to bug anyone. | ||
Unlicensed Security Contractor and Felon Wants Your Business |  Daniels shares a laugh with Chryss and unknown contractor | |
| It seems the city manager forgot telling someone in January of 2011 that he knew Baker and Chryss were tied together. Daniels said in October 2011 at a city council meeting he just found out. A private citizen has come forward with documents proving Chryss used a list supplied by the city to solicit business and says that Daniels told him in January of 2011 he was well aware of the Baker-Chryss connection. | ||
Web Grows in Security Scandal |  City council members Scott Matas and Jan Pye | |
| Reluctantly, six weeks after the scandal broke of their fellow council member Karl Baker’s association with Pete Chryss, the unlicensed contractor and convicted felon, Scott and Jan finally fess up to also doing business with the dude. | ||
In the Name of KARL BAKER |  Councilman Karl Baker's name endorsed checks! | |
| Five months ago our investigation into possible criminal conduct by a sitting city councilman launched a city recommendation to the District Attorney’s office for an investigation. To date the District Attorney has taken no action. But, new information has come to light… | ||
| All photos above by Bruce Montgomery with the exception of the Charlie Henkel and singular picture of Pete Chryss and Baker Team (Karl Baker’s Endorsements) provide by an unknown artist. Baker Bug illustration by Guthrie. Apple clip art. |
Dean Gray 
Ren Yogamaya 
Michelle Eaton 
UA-24721599-1 - http://www.desertstarweekly.com
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