Man blames ex-wife for 11 felonies, ex-wife calls him "wacko" James Armando Rivera blames his ex-wife for the nearly dozen felony counts he was handed Tuesday in Kern County Court.
She drained his accounts of thousands of dollars, which is the reason he never finished jobs he took money for in Nevada, he said in a jail interview.
But Gina Rivera, the 39-year-old’s ex-wife, says James' blame-game is typical, but scary.
“James has always blamed somebody for his crimes,” Gina Rivera said. “I am no criminal mastermind. This guy is wacko.”
She added: “I don’t know what’s wrong with him. I have seen every scam and scheme from him. It’s mind boggling to me.”
James Rivera appeared in Kern County Superior Court Tuesday for allegedly writing bad checks but was handed 11 felony counts by Nevada officials.
He will most likely be extradited to Clark County Justice Court in Las Vegas to answer to the charges that include being a fugitive, obtaining money under false pretenses, engaging in business without a license and more.
Until Tuesday, Rivera was listed on the Nevada State Contractors Board 10 most wanted list.
Rivera said he moved from Bakersfield to Nevada after he divorced Gina. She then cleaned him out of all his cash from his accounts. He owned dozens of "paint dealerships" here, he said. Their relationship was rocky from the beginning, he said.
Self described as an “extraordinary salesperson,” he was successful in Nevada, but Gina kept cleaning out his accounts. So much so that he couldn't finish some landscaping jobs he started, he said.
Nevada officials say Rivera operated in Nevada under the names of Pacific Sun Landscaping and E-Z Landscaping without the owner's permission.
According to one company owner, Rivera would ask for project deposits from clients, had clients write checks made to him and then bail on jobs.
Rivera in jail said he has sold paint, has sold supplements and even owns a Christian music record label.
He has two large tattoos on his forearms, both of opened scrolls with writing on them. One says, “Give me Christ, but keep the Christians.” The other says, “If it were not for Christians, I would be a Christian.”
He has also been a business teacher and an author, he said.
Gina Rivera, of Lamont, said his record speaks for itself, and he’s a fraud. He has criminal records in San Jose, Santa Cruz, Washington and Arizona, she said.
To see how good of a businessman he is, she said, look up Total Home Solutions in the Better Business Bureau. He is listed as president.
Rivera said she has had a restraining order out on him for years. She is worried of what he will do when if gets out of prison. The two have a child together.
“He has stolen a lot of money from a lot of people,” she said. “A lot of people in Bakersfield are happy where he’s at right now.”
“All can do is try to protect myself and my child.”
— Jorge Barrientos, Breaking News Reporter
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Subscribe to comments Posted in the News interest group. Topics: James Armando Rivera, nevada, Gina Rivera posted by BreakingNewsTeam on Friday, August 29, 2008 at 02:18 PM Report a Violation Viewed 436 times 6 comments from 6 users
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posted by johnburnssucks on Aug 29, 2008 at 02:28 PM
The guy isn't even smart enough to be a competent liar.
Report Violation posted by SammyHAGAR on Aug 29, 2008 at 08:53 PM I know both these idiots and she is everything she described him as. And she is a criminal and an instigator. I know from experience from years ago. Poor guy!
Report Violation posted by murphyslaw on Aug 29, 2008 at 11:28 PM
Nut cases
Report Violation posted by MrAnonymous on Aug 30, 2008 at 01:26 PM Let me get this straight... he owns a Christian music label, but also has a tatoo that says "If it were not for Christians, I would be a Christian". This right here should be a simple self imposed contradiction that tells us all we need to know about what type of man he is.
I knew James and Regina for years, and it is easy to pass judgement on both as being criminals from the outside looking in. However, Gina is absolutely correct when she says his record speaks for itself. Her record speaks for itself too. She doesn't have one!
I heard a while back that James was operating in Clark County, and had no doubts in my mind that he was running the same cons. His cons are very simple, work under false business liscences, get checks deposited into his accounts over the course of several months, then put off the jobs as long as he can while filling the bank account, then disappear.
The fact of the matter is that this man is not just a con man, but also a nutcase. Back in 2003 it seemed that he lost all touch of reality, and his narcassistic tendencies completely took hold of him.
The real truth is that he basically went crazy in 2003 and started intimidating his wife and child, and then he eventually disappeared because his crimes were about to catch up to him. Meanwhile, he left his wife and 8 year old child completely desolate. Gina tried her best to forge a new life for herself and her child from complete scratch, but it was tough. As is the case with many battered wife or girlfriend, it should come as no surprise that she went back to James in Las Vegas in 2005 only to have the same thing happen to her. At least that time, she was brave enough to leave him. And no she did not clean out bank accounts, she chose to leave all posessions and money behind just to get away from him.
The last I heard is that she and their child moved back home to Lamont to live with family with not a dime to her name. I am amazed that she has actually made it this far. It really says a lot about the strength of her character. A lot of other women never truely get out of situations like that.
It is troubling to see people posting responses to this article that she is as much of a criminal as he is. I would venture a guess that these people never really knew her, and are only using a "guilt by association" assumption. There is a reason why James is being routinely arrested, and has been running from multiple felony charges in multiple counties for years. There is also a reason why Gina does not have a single warrant or investigation in any county or city in this country... she has done nothing wrong. She has never been hard to find. If there were any grounds to arrest her, it would have happened already.
Her's is truely a sad story of a life shattered by a man she thought she knew when she married him. Sometimes spouses just snap and go off the deep end. If you do not believe this to be true, turn on the TV or open a news paper. Go talk to the parents of Laci Peterson or the ex-husband of Susan Smith, and they will tell you all you need to know about spouses that appeared to be great people upon first impressions but truely are anything but great.
I am very happy to see that James might actually have to face the consequences of his crimes after about a decade of runining lives. Many people have suffered from his cons. Most of those people should be thankful that their suffereing has only been financial in nature. Gina unfortunately has suffered financially, physically, and emotionally. I have no doubt that her child has suffered as well.
For those that believe that Gina is every bit the con artist that James is, I challenge you to try to get her arrested. The article tells you quite clearly that she is in Lamont. Good luck... she has nothing to hide, and she is hiding from no one.
Report Violation posted by notatroll on Aug 30, 2008 at 04:33 PM Glancing over the blog titles I saw this one and my first thought was Oh, did they finally file charges against David Crisp? spam code SUXAL
Report Violation
A lie blended with the truth is harder to determine than either an outright lie or the complete truth.
