More than a dozen have been involved in allegations in the past decade.
Public corruption accusations against Los Angeles Councilman José Huizar have led to reflection on the many other cases in which Latinos have been involved in the last decade, and some have even ended up in jail. But despite the fact that more than a dozen Latino politicians have faced justice, experts and elected officials consider that this social evil is generated by the same system in which we live.
One of the most notorious cases was that of former Montebello senator Ron Calderón sentenced to three and a half years in federal prison in 2016 for accepting tens of thousands of dollars in bribes from undercover FBI agents; and by a hospital manager in exchange for official favors. His brother, ex-Assemblyman Tom Calderón, was sentenced to spend a few months in jail, after reaching an agreement after accepting that he laundered some of the bribes his brother received. Ron Calderón was released in early 2019.
Needless to say, the 2010 Bell City corruption scandal, in which although the main leaders, former city manager Robert Rizzo and his assistant Angela Spaccia were not Latinos, there were some Latino councilors involved such as Teresa Jacobo. , Óscar Hernández, Luis Artiga and Víctor Bello.
In 2013 in Cudahy, councilmen Osvaldo Conde, David Silva; and city employee Ángel Perales pleaded guilty to federal extortion and receiving $ 17,000 bribes from an FBI informant who allegedly wanted to open a marijuana clinic.
In 2017 in the city of South El Monte, Former Mayor Luis Aguinaga was sentenced to one year in prison for a corruption and bribery scheme of $ 45,000.
At South Gate, former City Councilman, Treasurer, and Deputy City Manager for South Gate, and later a member of the Central Basin Municipal Water District, spent ten years in federal prison for corruption and money laundering. In 2013, an appeals court overturned corruption and money laundering convictions, but the sentence for bribes remained.
In Lynwood, two former councilors, one Latino, were convicted of embezzlement on charges of receiving stipends on city commissions and doing nothing. They also used City credit cards for concerts, golf, and a strip club. Fernando Pedroza was sentenced to four years in prison. He died a year ago when he was released from prison.
One of the most recent cases is that of John Noguez, Los Angeles County Assessor, former City Mayor and Huntington Park Councilman, arrested in October 2012 for allegedly participating in a bribery scheme by accepting $ 185,000 from a tax consultant to lower the valuations of certain properties in the county. He pleaded not guilty, and is awaiting trial.
However, an appeals court ordered that the case be dismissed for a technical violation.
And just in June, the mayor of Pico Rivera and owner of an education consulting company, Gustavo Vidal Camacho, 54, was charged with improperly reimbursing his family and friends, money donated to a candidate vying for a seat on the Montebello School Board of Directors.
On October 8, he and Luis Díaz Rojas, owners of the DelTerra Group, will be indicted on charges in a downtown Los Angeles court for the felony of conspiring to commit proper identification; and a misdemeanor offense of an electoral contribution under a false name or inappropriate identification of a campaign donor.
To Councilor Huizar, the June 23, FBI agents arrested him at his home for allegedly running a criminal business by using his position at City Hall to solicit and accept bribes of at least $ 1.5 million in exchange for favoring real estate developers.
If found guilty, he could face a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison. Huizar was released on bail, and must appear in court on July 20 for charges.
More Latinos are honored
Dr. Raúl Hinojosa-Ojeda, a professor in the Department of Chicano and Chicana Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), said that be careful when associating corruption with Latinos.
"We have had an explosion of Latino politicians, but not an explosion of corrupt Latinos," he said.
And he observed that corruption is as old as the republic, but in the case of Latinos it is not a systematic problem of this community.
Of course, there have been very worrying cases of Latinos involved in corruption. However, he emphasized that "many more are honored ”.
And he cited the case of the state prosecutor, Xavier Becerra, who is acting so that whoever engages in corruption is convicted, and has not seen any intention to minimize the case of Huizar.
But he considered that saying that a politician, being Latino, is corrupt is a prejudice. “Cases like José Huizar's are exceptions. These are characters that come from experiencing poverty and suddenly find themselves in a toy store. ”
Furthermore, he said that we have a corrupt system that some politicians who are weak cannot resist, as is the case of Huizar.
He added that corruption was worse before, and we have seen it in Italians, Germans, Irish, African Americans and Latinos. “We have the most advanced corruption in the country's presidency; and in the past two decades, two presidents have been prosecuted. Furthermore, the real corrupt remain in power for many years. ”
For a few they lose all
Maywood Mayor Eddie De la Riva said that corruption is a systematic problem that occurs in all ethnic groups, when people who do not have the best intentions enter politics or public service and only seek their personal profit . "For a few, we lose others; And if we see more Latinos involved in Los Angeles, it is because the Latino population is very large, but this happens in all races. ”
He considered that many when they come to power, they forget where they come from and the sacrifice of their parents.
"The temptation is always there, and if you are weak and you let yourself be influenced you will fall."
De la Riva estimated that as long as people are not more active in their communities, do not get involved, inform themselves and pay attention only to gossip, corruption will continue.
Asking Cudahy Councilman Jack Guerrero if he thinks Latinos We are more likely to fall into public corruption when we hold public office, or it is a problem that occurs equally in all races, he said that lLatinos are no more or less predisposed to corruption than other ethnic groups.
However, he explained that "Latino leaders in our region tend to represent disadvantaged communities with very low electoral participation, limited checks and balances, little supervision, and terrible systems that create favorable conditions for unethical politicians to participate in corruption."
What do you think moves a politician to fall into acts of corruption, particularly Latinos?
- Unfortunately, politicians operate in a pay-per-play environment with significant influence from vendors, developers, and contractors who openly contribute to political campaigns with very little transparency.
In many cases, he added, politicians do not have a career outside of politics, and allow the pay-per-play environment to consume them entirely. Over time, the influence becomes intoxicating for unethical politicians. Then voters with little information re-elect the same politicians to perpetuate the cycle.
And what can we do to avoid this type of public corruption as ordinary citizens?
“First of all, citizens must stop choosing the same kind of politician. They should choose reformers who seek fundamental change, such as: term limits, balanced budgets, regular administrator rotation, open competitive process for contracts, forensic audits, and immediate transparency regarding campaign contributions. Citizens must also remain vigilant, attend meetings, and supervise politicians regularly. ”
