CalPERS board member Louis F. Moret faces suit in South Gate

Louis F. Moret, appointed to the 13-person CalPERS board earlier this year, has served as chief operating officer of Southern California's regional planning agency, a Los Angeles public works commissioner, chief of staff for a former assemblyman and, perhaps most famously, as a boxing referee.

Less well known are his troubles in South Gate.

The city is suing him for allegedly conspiring to fix a $48-million garbage contract. And he was described by federal prosecutors as the "political mentor" of the city's disgraced political boss, Albert Robles.

At Robles' 2005 criminal trial, testimony by Moret and others showed how he helped Robles award political favors. Robles was convicted of running a "pay-to-play scheme" that involved selling city contracts for kickbacks. He is in prison.

Moret never was charged with a crime.

Through his attorney, Moret denied profiting from the garbage contract and declined to be interviewed. Court papers show he is disputing the city's lawsuit.Prosecutors assigned to the Robles case said they never seriously considered charging Moret.

"Could you have said he was part of the conspiracy? Probably," said former Assistant U.S. Atty. Lee Arian, who directed much of the investigation. "But the evidence was fairly light, and we wanted to present the strongest case."

At Robles' trial, Moret testified that while working as a $12,000-per month city consultant, he gave interview questions in advance to a firm that Robles wanted to win the garbage contract, but not to its competitors. And when Robles' favored firm for a sewer contract turned out to be the high bidder, Moret testified that he helped arrange for the contract to be rebid.

Moret was named to the CalPERS board in February by then-Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez and confirmed by the state Senate Rules Committee. The board oversees the fund's investments and decides who is hired to manage them.

Nuñez said that appointing Moret, a volunteer board member for Los Angeles' police and fire pension fund for 17 years, represented "an easy way out" of political conflicts. Three union groups had pushed different candidates.

Nuñez said he did not know who suggested that Moret apply, but, when he saw the name, he said to himself, "I know this guy. He's a boxing referee."