Former South Gate Treasurer Albert Robles was generous with his friends and relatives to a fault, federal prosecutors say.
Most of the $1.8 million in bribe payments they claim he exacted from city contractors wound up in the hands of those nearest and dearest to him.
An alleged bagman testified at Robles' trial in Los Angeles federal court that he funneled $165,000 in kickbacks to buy a beachside condo in Baja California for Robles' mother.
The mother of Robles' onetime girlfriend received $80,000, according to the witness. Also, $300,000 allegedly went to a nonprofit organization run by a brother of Robles.
Another brother got $100,000, prosecutors charge, and a sister-in-law allegedly was awarded a share of a senior housing development.
As for Robles himself, the prosecution contends that $65,000 went to pay for his "platinum" membership in an exclusive organization run by self-help guru Tony Robbins. The membership entitled the 39-year-old Robles to attend motivational seminars in the South Pacific and Mexico.
Defense lawyer Ellen Barry countered that the prosecution had failed to prove any of the bribery, fraud or money-laundering charges.
"Albert Robles didn't get cash, didn't get property; he didn't get any benefits," she said. "All he got was a lot of grief."
Robles served as an elected South Gate official for 11 years until he was ousted in a tumultuous recall election two years ago. He subsequently was indicted on 31 counts of fraud, bribery and money-laundering.
Assistant U.S. Atty. David Vaughn traced Robles' career in the rough-and-tumble world of South Gate politics as both sides delivered closing arguments Tuesday in the two-week public corruption trial.
Robles often boasted that South Gate was his "personal kingdom" and that "I can do whatever I want," the prosecutor said.
Vaughn said Robles began his takeover in 2000 when three of his political cronies won control of the five-member City Council. That done, he said, Robles seized control of the city government bureaucracy, firing administrators who refused to do his bidding and replacing them with those who would -- even though his job title granted him no such authority.
It was against this background that Robles allegedly wrangled huge bribes from a waste hauling company, a sewer repair contractor and a senior citizen housing developer that were funneled through middlemen to himself, his campaign, his friends and his relatives.
