Anti-police PUEBLO Whitewashes Alliance Metals

The Oakland anti-police group PUEBLO (People United for a Better Oakland) is helping to whitewash Alliance Metals, a metal-buying business that is notorious for purchasing from thieves.

PUEBLO is staging a "Spirit of West Oakland" public party on August 22 to celebrate itself. Paying for most if not all of the free food, the expense of staging live bands, the raffle prizes and other goodies is Alliance Metals, located at 3426 Peralta Street.

Neighbors of Alliance Metals have complained for years about owner Jay Anast's look-the-other-way attitude when thieves bring in metal for cash.

PUEBLO flyer promotes itself and Alliance Metals

One resident reported, "My house was broken in for the fourth time in two months today, and I have had it. Today a $600 barbecue was stolen out of my back yard. ... I am at a loss as how to deal with the 'clients' at Alliance Metals and Jay Anast. A good number of the clients at Alliance are decent folks, but there are just as many if not more who are serious trouble. The amount of drug dealing and using, public defecation, urinating, etc. by the shopping cart folk is bad enough. ... However, in the last six months or so the situation has gotten worse, and the number of these shopping cart customers from Alliance Metals that simply loiter on our street all day long looking at our houses, when people come and go from their homes, and what cars people drive, has increased dramatically." (Post to email group, Aug. 21, 2008)

In a separate incident, Randall Reed of Reed Brothers Security reported that thieves stole $800 of welding leads (large gauge expensive copper wire) from a company truck. The leads "had been bolted to the welder and locked with a chain and padlock to the ladder rack." Doing his own detective work, Reed found the thief, who even admitted his crime. It was "Sonny," a morning regular at Alliance Metals. (Post to email group, Sept. 19, 2007)

Neighbors have talked about pushing to get Alliance Metals' conditional use permit revoked. Alliance owner Jay Anast does not want to give up the lucrative business of buying metal from anyone, even when all the circumstances of the offering scream Stolen Goods.

Anast found a cheaper solution: polish his image and win goodwill with City Hall by sponsoring PUEBLO's feel-good public party. PUEBLO accepted, willing to whitewash this nuisance business for some cash, at the least not doing due diligence.

Although PUEBLO acts like a public service group, in fact it has a record of its own crimes.

PUEBLO took City grant money and spent it campaigning in 2002 against a ballot measure that would have brought Oakland more police. PUEBLO lied about the cost of police, exaggerating by more than four times the actual expense per officer.

PUEBLO top staff also embezzled at least $185,000 of City money for jewelry, travel, and other personal pleasures.

One dirty hand washes another. A nuisance business degrades its neighborhood and fosters burglaries. A nonprofit agency campaigns against police. It all happens in Oakland, the fifth most dangerous city in the country. The city with half a police force.