Bell Gardens Ca Government Officials

Two remaining strongholds of the ousted regime at City Hall have been removed from office, completing a wholesale change in power that began six months ago with the recall of four City Council members. Police Chief William Donohoe and City Clerk Leanna Keltner are both allies of former City Manager Claude Booker, who was fired by the new council at its first meeting in March. The council decided in closed session Monday that Donohoe and Keltner will leave their positions this week.

A judge on Thursday removed the district attorney's office from the political corruption case against former Bell Gardens City Manager Maria Chacon, declaring a conflict of interest because the office's top investigator worked for the city during Chacon's tenure. The surprise ruling by Superior Court Judge David M. Horwitz means that the case, the first one filed against a public official by the newly formed public integrity unit, will probably be handled by the state attorney general's office.

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. Defense attorney Mark Geragos wants the Los Angeles County district attorney's office removed from the case because its chief of investigations, Steve Simonian, was a "vital cog" in the process leading to Chacon's controversial hiring last year.

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. Defense attorney Mark Geragos wants the Los Angeles County district attorney's office removed from the case because its chief of investigations, Steve Simonian, was a "vital cog" in the process leading to Chacon's controversial hiring last year.

Starting a new offensive against his critics, the former Bell Gardens city manager contends he was fired in part because of his efforts to clean up the scandal-plagued Bicycle Club Casino, which he says exerts heavy influence over city leaders. Charles Gomez was dismissed by the City Council at a special meeting last Friday at which the council also announced the hiring of former state attorney general John K.

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. The recall attempt is the first sign of a brewing power struggle in the blue-collar community since Chacon was charged in June with violating conflict-of-interest laws.

Large teams of district attorney's investigators raided city halls of two southeast Los Angeles County cities Tuesday, searching offices for documents and records as part of a wide-ranging public corruption investigation. Sweeping into Cudahy City Hall shortly after it opened, investigators ordered employees out of their offices and sealed off the building from the public for much of the day. At nearby Bell Gardens City Hall, investigators executed search warrants.

Just when it seemed the mess that is politics in Bell Gardens could get no messier, an ugly new scandal has engulfed this blue-collar community. At the heart of the latest brouhaha is the ongoing feud between the City Council majority led by Mayor David Torres and its archrivals, council members Maria Chacon and Ramiro Morales.

City Councilman George T. Deitch was cited last fall for maintaining substandard housing at one of his Bell Gardens complexes and then failed to correct many of the deficiencies for months, according to county health officials. Health inspectors said they found that a five-unit complex owned by Deitch and his wife, Vivian, was infested with cockroaches and rodents, lacked windows and screens, and had unsafe wiring. Some units also had holes in the walls and leaky drainpipes, inspectors said.

A political corruption probe of Bell Gardens City Manager Maria Chacon seemed on the verge of a serious setback Friday after a judge issued a tentative ruling saying Chacon may be exempt from conflict-of-interest violations. But Superior Court Judge David Yaffe decided to put off his final decision after a prosecutor argued that Chacon, a former City Council member, unlawfully influenced fellow members to appoint her city manager.

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. The allegation detailed in a memorandum written by Police Chief Manuel E. Ortega, could deal another political blow to the once powerful Chacon, who was placed on paid leave after prosecutors last month filed a conflict-of-interest charge against her.

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. The recall attempt is the first sign of a brewing power struggle in the blue-collar community since Chacon was charged in June with violating conflict-of-interest laws.

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. The logjam comes nearly three months after authorities launched their probes into alleged conflict of interest violations. Authorities suspect the city managers in both cities of unlawfully orchestrating their appointments, possibly with the help of others.

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. The search warrant was one of two affidavits unsealed Friday that shed light on investigations in Cudahy and nearby Bell Gardens.

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. The admonishment comes two days after police opened an investigation into the incident between the prosecution's witness, Rogelio Rodriguez, and Mayor Ramiro Morales. Rodriguez claims the mayor tried to run him over in his car.

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. It has gained the authority to listen in on closed-door meetings of one school district.

The latest political battle is over, but the war goes on in Bell Gardens. Election officials on Friday rejected a petition to recall Mayor Maria Chacon and Councilman Ramiro Morales on charges of corruption and cronyism. But petitioners on Tuesday vowed to challenge the rejection, while the targets of the recall said they will ask the district attorney's office to investigate the campaign.

The mayor and police chief of Bell Gardens announced Monday morning that they have asked the district attorney's office for a criminal investigation into allegations of forgery by campaign workers of a recently defeated recall effort. The recall campaign targeted Mayor Maria Chacon and Councilman Ramiro Morales, who themselves led a successful recall in 1991 of four white City Council members accused of racism against Latinos.

The morass of political scandals and investigations engulfing Bell Gardens City Hall these days got even stickier Wednesday. One day after prosecutors filed a conflict-of-interest charge against City Manager Maria Chacon, police opened an investigation into a late-night confrontation between the mayor and a former council member. The former councilman, Rogelio Rodriguez, says Mayor Ramiro Morales tried to run him over in the City Hall parking lot.

Prosecutors have charged Bell Gardens City Manager Maria Chacon with violating conflict-of-interest laws by allegedly orchestrating a power play that pressured City Council members to vote for her appointment. The felony complaint, after a two-month investigation, marks the first charges levied against a public official by the newly formed public integrity division of the district attorney's office.