telling us we are her guests not her
MORAGA
ROTARY
NEWSLETTER
April 21, 2020
_________________________________
Next Meeting: April 28, Noon
We are now conducting regular
meetings on-line video or by phone!
Program: Robert Jeffries, retired
London policeman on the Thames
Police Museum, London
Greeter: Igor Kipnis
_____________________________
The April 28 Zoom meeting should be
quite interesting because of the topic
and because this is the first time we are
using Zoom technology to connect with
a presenter in a far, far location. Noon
our time will be 8 pm in London.
To participate next week:
Zoom connection information for May 5 will be
distributed early next week
Another great Zoom meeting. There
were 27 people taking part.
Co-Presidents, Debbie Koo and Evie
Michon are becoming efficient
Zoomers. Debbie rang the gong to start
the meeting and called on Debbie
Roessler to do the Invocation and
Pledge of Allegiance. In her invocation
Debbie warned us that mother Nature is
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masters. Here is a link if you would like
to see the whole message. It is quite
inspirational.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeIRLIZKYHE
Special attendees at today’s Zoom were
our speaker, Dana Filkowski, of the
Contra Costa County District Attorney’s
office, and Honorary Moraga Rotarians
Lillian Roodveldt and Carol Irwin.
~~Recognitions / Virtual HBs~~
We had a birthday this past week – Igor
Kipnis and Ron & Yelena Mucovich
had an anniversary.
Treasurer, Rich Render is keeping
track of “Zoomer Happy Bucks (ZHB’s).”
Send your check for the amount you
donate to Rich via the Moraga Rotary
Club mailing address- Moraga Rotary
Club, P.O. Box 122, Moraga, CA 94556
Here’s what the newsletter editor thinks
the ZHB’s were:
• Barbara Bruner had $20 ZHB’s
because although her
granddaughter’s partner came
down with Covid-19 she is not in
the hospital and both are doing
well in quarantine.
• Lillian Roodveldt had a
correction for the editor (the Rajah
is so sorry!). It was her son,
Andrew who got married in August
- not her “grandson” as reported.
• Debbie Roessler had $20 ZHB’s
($10 because Uncle Lou perfected
the protective face shield making
 process and $10 because Linda humorous emails to help us
Campbell provided 2 face masks weather “shelter-in-place.”
for Debbie and Lou.)
• Frank May gave $5 ZHB’s ~~Rotary Business~~
because his granddaughter Here is a picture of MarySue Erickson
celebrated her 14th birthday. Frank using a band saw to cut foam forehead
says her house got “flocked.” This pieces for the club’s Protective Face
is a shelter-in-place phenomenon Shield Project. Notice she is keeping a
where the lawn is covered with close eye on that blade!
about 25 pink flamingos for the
day. A couple in Danville do this
for free. They set the flamingos
out early in the day and then
collect them in the evening. This is
their service to help sheltering
families get a bit of joy.
• Co-President, Debbie Koo gave
$5 ZHB’s ($4 for the hard work
Rich Render put in over the past
weekend preparing the club
financials and $1 for her
granddaughter getting two pet rats
from Rheem Valley Pet Center.
She says the white rats (Pizza and Here’s a picture from Mike McClure of
Percy) are quite cute! A thank-you his wife, Carmela preparing Covid-19
shout out to Jennifer Lenfestey tests at the Kaiser Permanente
Rotarian and owner of Rheem Pet laboratory in Walnut Creek. Mike has
for the help getting set up for also been very active helping with the
these little characters. club’s face shield project.
• Gary Irwin had $5 ZHB’s for his
oldest son’s birthday. (The editor
thinks he heard 60 years – but that
can’t be right! Gary looks so
young.)
• Brian South had $5 ZHB’s for
todays speaker. Brian has known
Dana Filkowski for several years
and said she is a great speaker
great to work with.
• Co-President, Evie Michon gave Laboratory workers Carmela McClure (left) and Anthony
$5 ZHB’s for Rich Render’s Mandadero (right) prepare Covid-19 tests for processing

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Frank May told the club that he and
Debbie Roessler would be interviewing
Campolindo High School candidates for
our club scholarship tomorrow (April 22)
via Zoom. There are three candidates
for the award.
Also, the Contra Costa County bus
drivers want face shields and masks.
Debbie Koo is calling for six volunteers
for assembling another 500 face shields.
Evie Michon reminds us of the
importance of completing the census.
Please don’t neglect this task.
~Guest Speaker~
Debbie Roessler introduced Dana
Filkowski of the Contra Costa County
District Attorney’s office in Martinez.
Dana is the Supervisor of the Human
Trafficking Unit/Task Force. Dana has
been with the District Attorney’s office
for over 20 years. She has been
involved in narcotics investigations as
well as human trafficking. She resides in
San Ramon.
Dana came to the DA’s office right out of
law school and has been there for
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almost 24 years. She works with the 26
police agencies here in Contra Costa
and she is pleased to work with Brian
South here in the Moraga Police
Department. The Task Force is the link
between the Federal Department of
Justice and the local police agencies.
As the next picture shows the Task
Force was created in 2018 when a $1.2
million grant was awarded to the DA’s
office.
Human trafficking includes both sex and
labor trafficking. The big police forces
they work with are Richmond and
Concord and the small are Pinol and
Clayton. It seems most people think of
the DA in these areas focusing on
municipalities from Richmond to Walnut
Creek but there is action all the way
down to San Ramon and in the Route
24 corridor. Here is a photo of typical
nighttime activity in Richmond:

Usually when the sex workers are out
you will find a man in a car nearby who
is the “john.” This is the person
controlling the girls and collecting the
money for their work. The “john” doesn’t
have to be a man in all cases, it can be
a woman too. This would be the
“madam.” The madam’s most often work
out of brothel locations. In Concord a
brothel was set-up right across the
street from the Concord Police
headquarters. (They even advertised
that location. I guess they wanted the
customers to feel safe.)
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The Concord brothel was advertised on
the internet with a business title of “A1
Pleasures.” They recruited young girls
from many states. Client vehicles were
registered to addresses in Danville, San
Ramon and Lafayette.
How do they find these girls? Most often
an older man lures the girls by taking a
boyfriend role, then sharing them and
then finally blackmailing them by
threatening to expose them to their
families or threatening to produce
compromising photos. Some are lured
by the promise of an expensive lifestyle.
Dana mentioned that one girl was about
14 years old and simply got involved
with a trafficker for a hug and human
attention. She had a single mother who
was working two jobs to make ends
meet and simply did not have time to
love her own daughter.
Getting women out of these situations
usually involves helping them escape
the “life.” Getting them jobs. Urging
alternative vocational training and acting
as a liaison to get them back with their
families.
Before the Task Force was established
labor trafficking was never prosecuted.
The focus was on fraud, usually through
the workers compensation fraud unit.
Immigrants are often exploited in racial
groups. The situation may be a nanny
brought in to care for a child or an elder.
Here is a photo of an elder care home
situation in Walnut Creek. The abused
workers were being paid as little as
$4/hour to provide 24/7 care to elderly
patients in the home.

A recent case at the Brentwood Golden
Dragon Buffet involved $5 million in
unpaid wages and $1.5 million in unpaid
taxes. Workers were required to do 12
hour days six days a week.
Another case involved a Mexican
construction company owner who was
recruiting illegal immigrants from South
of the border and then charging the
workers for travel costs, housing, food
and tools. This owner was sentenced to
9 years in Federal prison.
The District Attorney’s Office is charged
with forging public and private
cooperation and they need our help. If
you see something suspicious report it
to your local police. Do not try to
investigate or take action yourself.
Check out the DA’s website and here
are a few internet links you may find
helpful:
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In case you can’t read the text in this
photo here are the active links:
• Contra Costa Family Justice
Centers: Family Justice Institute
o http://www.cocofamilyjustice.
org/wp-
content/uploads/2015/03/20
19-V5.pdf
• Contra Costa Human Trafficking
Coalition: Join & Learn
o https://www.contracostacoali
tion.org/get-involved-1
• Contra Costa Alliance to End
Abuse: Calendar of Events for
January Human Trafficking
Awareness Month
o http://contracostaalliance.org
/get involved/
Dana is very happy to speak to Rotary
Clubs. She says we are the kind of
citizens who care about the health of the
community. We should feel free to share
her contact information or the material
from her presentation to other clubs.
~Greeter/Invocator Schedule
List~
• April 28 – Igor Kipnis
 ~Moraga Rotary Directors 2019/2022~
Co-Presidents Evie Michon & Debbie Koo
President Elect Brian South
Past President Ron Mucovich
Secretary Jennifer Brophy
Treasurer Rich Render
Club Administrator Debbie Roessler
Foundation Chairman John Erickson
Youth and Community Service Chairman Tony Schoemehl
Public Relations Chairman Gary Irwin
Fundraising Chairman Frank May
International Service Chairperson Dianne Wilson
Membership Chairman Brian South
Director at Large Mary Sue Erickson
Director at Large Linda May
Advisor to the Board John Erickson
Advisor to the Board Jim Campbell
Advisor to the Board Cliff Dochterman

District Governor 5160 Tina Akins

President, Rotary International Mark Maloney
April newsletter editor “The Rajah”

Moraga Rescue One Foundation Essay Contest – Our good friends at the
Foundation asked if we would include a notification of their Essay Contest. The winner
will receive $500 and you can find the announcement and details at (Deadline to apply
August 1st 2020
https://www.mofd.org/our-district/volunteer/rescue-one

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