Alfred R Villalobos

A former board member of the California Public Employees' Retirement System denied state allegations that he improperly provided gifts and gratuities to pension fund officials in wooing their business on behalf of investment firms. Alfred R. Villalobos, who made more than $47 million as the go-between in billions of dollars' worth of transactions, also criticized state Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown's tactics in bringing the civil fraud lawsuit. "We have cooperated with the attorney general's office and all other federal and state regulatory agencies since we learned of this investigation," he said in a statement for himself and his Stateline, Nev., firm, Arvco Capital Research.

SACRAMENTO - Three years after a major influence-peddling scandal rocked California and the nation's largest public pension fund, a federal grand jury indicted two former top officials on fraud, conspiracy and obstruction charges. The indictment, unsealed Monday in San Francisco, names as defendants Federico Buenrostro Jr. of Sacramento, a former chief executive of the California Public Employees' Retirement System, and Alfred J.R. Villalobos of Reno, Nev., a former CalPERS board member and one-time deputy Los Angeles mayor.

Alfred R. Villalobos, the former board member of California's giant public pension fund who has been named in a state influence-peddling lawsuit, has filed for bankruptcy protection, citing almost $5 million in debts to Nevada casinos. It was the second personal bankruptcy in 28 years for the Nevada businessman who was deputy mayor of Los Angeles for five months in 1993 and a board member of the California Public Employees' Retirement System from 1993 to 1995. Villalobos listed debts to seven casinos in Stateline, Reno and Las Vegas, as well as $1.1 million in unpaid legal fees, in a June 9 filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Reno.

SACRAMENTO — Federal securities regulators sued a former chief executive and a former director of the California Public Employees' Retirement System, accusing them of scheming to defraud an investment firm of $20 million. The Securities and Exchange Commission alleged that former CEO Federico Buenrostro Jr., 62, and former director Alfred J.R. Villalobos, 68, fabricated documents requested by Apollo Global Management, a New York private equity firm. Apollo had hired Villalobos, a close friend of Buenrostro, as a so-called placement agent to secure billions of dollars of investments from the country's largest public pension fund.

A state judge on Friday cited a long history of high-stakes gambling losses as a principal reason for denying a request from Nevada pension fund marketing intermediary Alfred R. Villalobos to lift a court-ordered freeze on his assets. Villalobos, who attended the hearing but did not speak, is a central figure in state and federal investigations of the role of investment go-betweens at public pension funds. His assets were frozen, through a court-appointed receiver, as part of a fraud lawsuit filed against him by the California attorney general's office.

A state lawsuit targeting two top former officials of the California Public Employees' Retirement System could be the first in a series of state and federal actions focused on the nation's largest public pension fund. "This is not the end of this case or the end of the investigation," said Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown at a Thursday press conference. "Other things could follow," Brown said that information from his investigation or independent investigations could result in more law suits or criminal indictments from a local district attorney, the Fair Political Practices Commission or other law enforcement agencies.

Alfred R. Villalobos, a wealthy Latino investment banker known as an able fund-raiser in GOP circles, was named deputy mayor for economic development Tuesday. The appointment of Villalobos, a divorced, 48-year-old Tarzana businessman and lifelong Republican, immediately drew bipartisan praise from the Latino civic community, including Councilmen Richard Alatorre, who supported Mayor Richard Riordan, and Mike Hernandez, who backed Riordan's foe in the recent runoff, Mike Woo.

State authorities sued former top California pension fund officials Federico Buenrostro Jr. and Alfred R. Villalobos on Wednesday for their role in an alleged scheme to get business for investment firms by giving pension officials luxury trips and other gifts. The civil suit alleges that Buenrostro — chief executive of the powerful California Public Employees' Retirement System from 2002 to 2008 — took tens of thousands of dollars' worth of gifts from Villalobos, a former Los Angeles deputy mayor who now works as a go-between for investment firms.

Investment intermediary Alfred R. Villalobos, seeking to overturn a judge's freeze on his assets, said he did nothing illegal and did not harm California's largest public pension fund when he brokered investment deals that netted him more than $47 million in commissions. "Not a penny" of the commissions paid him from 2002 to 2008 came from the California Public Employees' Retirement System, Villalobos said in his first public response to a securities fraud lawsuit filed by Atty.

Over objections from its own advisors, the board of the state's largest public pension system decided to invest $100 million in a Texas-based partnership after being lobbied by a former board member and a powerful state senator. The investment, approved in a closed-door session, was extraordinary in several respects. The involvement of both an ex-board member and a lawmaker may be unprecedented. The board rarely overrides its staff and consultants.

A federal judge has approved a plan to liquidate the estate of Alfred J.R. Villalobos, former board member of the California Public Employees' Retirement System, the state's biggest public pension fund. The action by a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge in Reno, Nev., ended an 18-month bankruptcy proceeding and cleared the way for the state to pursue a fraud lawsuit against Villalobos, who the state alleges plied pension fund officials with luxury trips and gifts to influence investment decisions.

California's public pension fund severed ties Monday with a major investment manager that had close ties to Alfred J.R. Villalobos, the former pension fund board member who is now accused of fraud. Pacific Corporate Group of La Jolla oversaw $2.5 billion worth of investments by the California Public Employees' Retirement System. The decision to end the relationship "is part of our systematic restructuring of our private equity program to reposition our assets and focus on improved performance, accountability and transparency with our partners," Joseph Dear, CalPERS' chief investment officer, said in a statement.

A state fraud lawsuit against Alfred J.R. Villalobos, a key player in an investigation into alleged influence-peddling in California's largest public pension fund, has been put on hold indefinitely by a federal Bankruptcy Court judge in Reno. Judge John Peterson denied a petition from California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown to allow the lawsuit filed in May to proceed. The suit seeks $95 million in restitution to the California Public Employees' Retirement System and civil penalties.

Alfred R. Villalobos, the former board member of California's giant public pension fund who has been named in a state influence-peddling lawsuit, has filed for bankruptcy protection, citing almost $5 million in debts to Nevada casinos. It was the second personal bankruptcy in 28 years for the Nevada businessman who was deputy mayor of Los Angeles for five months in 1993 and a board member of the California Public Employees' Retirement System from 1993 to 1995. Villalobos listed debts to seven casinos in Stateline, Reno and Las Vegas, as well as $1.1 million in unpaid legal fees, in a June 9 filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Reno.

A state judge on Friday cited a long history of high-stakes gambling losses as a principal reason for denying a request from Nevada pension fund marketing intermediary Alfred R. Villalobos to lift a court-ordered freeze on his assets. Villalobos, who attended the hearing but did not speak, is a central figure in state and federal investigations of the role of investment go-betweens at public pension funds. His assets were frozen, through a court-appointed receiver, as part of a fraud lawsuit filed against him by the California attorney general's office.

Investment intermediary Alfred R. Villalobos, seeking to overturn a judge's freeze on his assets, said he did nothing illegal and did not harm California's largest public pension fund when he brokered investment deals that netted him more than $47 million in commissions. "Not a penny" of the commissions paid him from 2002 to 2008 came from the California Public Employees' Retirement System, Villalobos said in his first public response to a securities fraud lawsuit filed by Atty.

SACRAMENTO - Three years after a major influence-peddling scandal rocked California and the nation's largest public pension fund, a federal grand jury indicted two former top officials on fraud, conspiracy and obstruction charges. The indictment, unsealed Monday in San Francisco, names as defendants Federico Buenrostro Jr. of Sacramento, a former chief executive of the California Public Employees' Retirement System, and Alfred J.R. Villalobos of Reno, Nev., a former CalPERS board member and one-time deputy Los Angeles mayor.

A former board member of the California Public Employees' Retirement System denied state allegations that he improperly provided gifts and gratuities to pension fund officials in wooing their business on behalf of investment firms. Alfred R. Villalobos, who made more than $47 million as the go-between in billions of dollars' worth of transactions, also criticized state Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown's tactics in bringing the civil fraud lawsuit. "We have cooperated with the attorney general's office and all other federal and state regulatory agencies since we learned of this investigation," he said in a statement for himself and his Stateline, Nev., firm, Arvco Capital Research.

A state lawsuit targeting two top former officials of the California Public Employees' Retirement System could be the first in a series of state and federal actions focused on the nation's largest public pension fund. "This is not the end of this case or the end of the investigation," Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown said at a news conference Thursday. "Other things could follow." Brown said that information from his office's investigation or independent investigations could result in more lawsuits or criminal indictments from a local district attorney, the Fair Political Practices Commission or other law enforcement agencies.