Blogger’s Note – I waited until after Chad Bianco was sworn in to post this piece. This piece has been at least 6 months coming…
Those of you that have been reading this blog regularly for at least the last 16 months will note that I have been writing about former Sheriff Bob Doyle off and on in parts of posts. A lot of times it had been for background. It is time to set the record straight.
Imagine having been smeared by a powerful local officeholder and the local media for 12 years with little or no recourse. This is what has happened to Bob Doyle.
We’ve re-told the story about Sniff’s termination by Doyle when he was an Assistant Sheriff. Sniff was fired for insubordination for refusing to carry out two lawful orders, one related to tazers and another related to patrols.
Sniff himself acknowledged when he got fired that he was surprised it took Doyle as long as it did to fire him.
No one knew, including Doyle himself that he’d get a chance to serve at the State level a mere 10 months later. (in 2007) No one knew that Sniff would be appointed Sheriff. Only in the last year+ has the truth about Sniff’s manipulation and diabolical behavior come out.
Let’s be real – I know that Doyle is not a choir boy. You don’t get elected to major public office without an ego or a mean streak. What I do know is that Stan Sniff smeared Bob Doyle mercilessly and retaliated against anyone he knew was friends with or a supporter of Doyle.
Bob Doyle was also one of my sources for corroborating info in my blog. His perspective helped me fill in some key gaps as I was piecing together a psychological profile and an accurate history of Sniff pre-Sheriff. I was initially skeptical as I knew Doyle had an axe to grind, however, when he told me that he approached me because he was outraged over what Sniff and Crew did to my wife… this was a clear indicator that regardless of his motive I could trust his information.
As I got to know Bob Doyle, I also became convinced that many within the department had formed their opinion of him based on incomplete information. As such, Doyle’s endorsement was never actively sought by Bianco’s team.
Stan Sniff terminated almost all of Doyle’s top people, though a few managed to escape to other areas. This provides absurd context to the blatant bias of the Desert-Sun attacking Bianco for planning a similar action. Sniff made it clear that a pre-requisite for employment in his senior management team was a visceral disdain for Bob Doyle. A lot of old-timers I have spoken to agree that this is a fact.
Sniff changed the narrative on his termination and a lie had been believed for years that made him look like a victim. As best I can tell, retaliatory PERS and Terminations were not common under Doyle’s Tenure (though there appear to have been some). As documented, they occurred en masse under Sniff. The local media was deign to remind people of how Sniff was victimized by Doyle before getting appointed Sheriff.
Only Bob Doyle would know the story about Sniff deliberately withholding information from John Taviglione regarding the failure of his son to complete training for a special team he wanted. Taviglione ended up being the third vote to appoint Sniff. To this day Taviglione is either willfully ignorant of how he was played by Sniff or he was complicit (implying some sort of backroom deal). It is the opinion of this blogger that the exposure of the dirty dealings leading up to the appointment vote some 11 years later was a factor in Taviglione ultimately endorsing the corrupt Sheriff after castigating him publicly for years. As you recall, Sniff’s manipulation of the information caused a meltdown by Taviglione toward Doyle as Sniff’s insubordination involved his refusing to do his job of communicating with the Board of Supes for the areas affected by his duties as Assistant Sheriff.
Doyle was accused of getting away with a DUI. This is false. Doyle was accused of affairs while serving as Sheriff, something he vehemently denies. Doyle was accused of covering up misdemeanors committed by his cronies, again something he denies, and I’ve seen no evidence to substantiate any of the above accusations (suggesting Doyle has been smeared for years). As a contrast, I’ve been able to prove many similar allegations against the corrupt sheriff.
Bob Doyle has been vindicated by the 16.58% humiliation of Stan Sniff. #1 the first time Sniff faced real and organized opposition, he folded like a cheap lawnchair, suggesting his regime was a paper tiger. #2 Sniff had been allowed to pin a lot of his failures on Doyle. The voters, when informed of the facts held Sniff accountable for failing. #3 for the first time in a decade or more, Doyle was able to gain a measure of defense and response to a lot of the institutional lies perpetrated about him by Sniff
I am going to close the book on Bob Doyle now. He is retired and living in Texas with his family. The last time I communicated with him, I told him to stay close to God and his Family. I also admonished him to go do some fun stuff in his retirement (like gardening), and to close the book on the Riverside Sheriff’s Drama.
Again, Bob Doyle is not perfect or blameless. He is however someone I believe to be a good man who was forced to live with smears for years that he could not defend himself from. Enjoy the rest of your life Sheriff Doyle and thank you for helping me with the information you gave me, it is appreciated.
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It’s ok in my book to call Doyle, Former Sheriff Doyle, but can we refer to Sniff as Ex-Sheriff.
It’s a respect thing, and most don’t have any respect for sniff (he was pretty much fired for a second time)
Also, can someone please take that POS’s picture off of OUR department webpage!
In my career, it was my honor to serve under two good men: Sheriff Sherman Block and Sheriff Bob Doyle. The others in between didn’t leave an impression, they were just the guy in charge. The one who crept in the office after Sheriff Doyle, however, will go down in Riverside County history as a real embarrassment to the rank, given how wishy washy his campaign turned out as he fought to hold onto the office.
Bob, you were a good sheriff, a good man, and a true leader. I remember you taking time out of your day to visit your troops, speak and listen to them, and manage a department with little or no finances (you got us through the recession!!) or support (at times) from the BOS.
Enjoy your well earned retirement!
Since I am over the hills and far away, I’ll never get to experience Sheriff Bianco’s leadership. I’ve known him to be a good person. Bianco does not strike me as one who will succumb to “the dark side” and hopefully, neither will his executive staff or those who are promoted to sergeant or above under his umbrella.
Aaron, thanks again for exposing the clowns and forcing some to crawl under their retirement rocks, scramble for new positions, and especially the ones shown the door due to their incompetence and malfeasance (the world needs more bartenders!).
To the troops: Keep on keepin’ on, use your authority for good, kiss your loved ones as you leave the sanctity of your homes and when you return from a shift filled with all the stuff we see (and the triumphs putting the bad ones where they belong). Much respect for those who have served or are currently serving in our armed forces. You’ve seen and experienced much and are still putting boots on!
Finally, the few who have put in 30+ years, but to one (and you know who you are) in particular, your hard work, tenacity, and “master” investigative skills have helped countless victims. They are all lucky you were their case agent. When you’re ready, you know where you’re always welcome.
I had the pleasure of working for Sheriff Doyle. It is my opinion that he was a fair man. He respected his troops and and was always happy to talk to us on the streets.
Bobby Doyle had his favorites, and his faults (which we all have), but he was treated very unfairly by Sniff and Co, and they did him wrong in their attempt to shift the blame away from them. Unlike Sniff, Bobby Doyle did meet with the troops, and when I spoke with him at these functions he was down to earth, and actually took interest in what we had to say. I have respect for Bobby Doyle, and the DUI rumor was just another attempt to smear his good name and reputation. I wish Bobby Doyle well in his retirement, he has earned it, and if we ever meet again, I will be the first to offer my hand in friendship and respect to a man I had the honor to serve under.
Bob Doyle was type of person that would meet you, remember your name, ask about your family, the job and how you were being treated. He would show up in briefing, talk about the department and what was ahead. Sniff, did not give a shit who you were, only showed up at the range to get his dick sucked by promotion hungry homoms like Kusy and Faggot Favero. He ignored everyone else. Never came to a briefing and was hated by all the troops.
Hey Phil Pico, say that investigator’s name TOM SALISBURY. He is way past masterful in his investigations and should be labeled the “Best Investigator” the department has ever had. I always believed this to be true. Name something after him, one of the Perris Station interview rooms ? When Salisbury retires he should be a permanent instructor at BCTC.
I started my employment with RSD in 1983 assigned to the Indio Jail. My Sgt, Bob Doyle. I agree with all the good said about him and wish him and his family the best life has to offer.
@done wrong, I have a great deal of respect for you my friend, and always thought YOU were the better Detective in the bureau. You put Marcus Stevenson away for life, you got a conviction on the “friends” case, you worked the I-15 bandit case, and you were honored for solving the sex crime of the century where the suspect got something like 1,200 years, in addition to all the other cases you closed out arrest. If anyone deserves a building named after someone, it’s you @done wrong. And in talking to those that have been around, they believe you and not that punk sergeant. So if I ever need a sprinkler fixed, I will give you a call (but will be expecting a discounted rate). You were a Master Detective long before they came up with that rank.
2PC49, thank you, it was Salisbury who put that 1 in front of the 200 years. But what amazes me he does it on a diet of coffee, cigarettes and Del Taco, so I submit. As for the Sgt, he was just an unethical pawn with orders straight down the chain of command from Sniff. It wasn’t the first time they used his stupidity to violate people’s rights in the bureau. So to Sheriff Bianco, if an ethical investigator reinvestigates my PERS I will be exonerated. Otherwise it’s forever Opn/PE2, Conspiracy, perjury, false police reports, and an assortment of civil rights violations. You have unethical liars in sensitive management positions. Look up the Sgt’s domestic violence case I’m sure he lied thru his teeth on that one also. Bottom line, it’s a new day it’s a new dawn just know the head of the snake has been severed but part of its body is still sliming around your department.
My wife and I would sure like to be able to contact Bob. He was a conservative and fair Commissioner for the state presiding over Life Parole Hearings when I was a defense counsel, and my wife was my paralegal, for inmates serving life w/o parole whose time had come for their parole hearing. I often wiped my brow in relief when he denied a client I knew wasn’t ready, telling him, “Thanks, I live out there, too.”
But when I firmly believed in a client’s rehabilitation, I would argue, and argue, and argue (you get the idea), Bob would patiently hear me out before stopping me, saying, “I get the point, Judd, you’re starting to repeat yourself.” What a patient man. Such a gentleman. My wife and I always were happy when it was him to preside over our cases, not because he was easy, on the contrary, but he was fair and had a great personality we both enjoyed.
I’m now retired and hope Bob is enjoying himself.