California | Local | Richard Marosi | August 22, 2001
Bell Gardens' defense attorneys say the political corruption case against City Manager Maria Chacon is marred by conflicts of interest because the district attorney's top investigator was once an employee of Bell Gardens.
California | Local | Richard Marosi | July 27, 2001
In yet another controversy to hit beleaguered Bell Gardens, the police chief has accused City Manager Maria Chacon of wanting to use municipal funds to pay the traffic fines of one of her supporters.
California | Local | Richard Marosi | July 25, 2001
A Bell Gardens citizens group has launched a voter recall campaign against council supporters of City Manager Maria Chacon in an effort to permanently wrest power from the embattled official, who faces political corruption charges.
California | Local | Richard Marosi | July 20, 2001
The political corruption investigations in Bell Gardens and Cudahy have nearly ground to a halt as prosecutors struggle for access to key documents and witnesses who they say have refused to cooperate.
California | Local | Richard Marosi | July 7, 2001
Authorities investigating alleged political corruption in Cudahy acted in response to complaints from managers in nearby cities concerned that such practices would spread throughout the region if gone unchecked, according to city managers and a search warrant affidavit.
California | Local | June 29, 2001
A judge hearing the conflict-of-interest case against Bell Gardens City Manager Maria Chacon warned Chacon on Thursday to control her supporters after prosecutors said their key witness was injured in a confrontation with one of her allies, the city's mayor.
California | Local | Richard Marosi | June 28, 2001
It didn't take long for the district attorney's new public integrity division to pounce on its first targets. Only 6 months old, the unit charged with rooting out political corruption in Los Angeles County has raided city halls and searched officials' homes at gunpoint.