Tax Consultant

The corruption investigation into the Los Angeles County assessor's office broadened Tuesday with prosecutors filing dozens of new charges against embattled Assessor John Noguez, one of his former top aides and a tax consultant. The three were originally arrested in October in an alleged scheme to trade bribes for lower property tax bills, costing the county $1.16 million in revenue. The new charges filed Tuesday bring the alleged loss to $9.8 million, prosecutors said. Noguez is Los Angeles County's elected assessor, responsible for determining the taxable value of more than 2.3 million pieces of real estate.

The corruption investigation into the Los Angeles County assessor's office broadened Tuesday with prosecutors filing dozens of new charges against embattled Assessor John Noguez, one of his former top aides and a tax consultant. The three were originally arrested in October in an alleged scheme to trade bribes for lower property tax bills, costing the county $1.16 million in revenue. The new charges filed Tuesday bring the alleged loss to $9.8 million, prosecutors said. Noguez is Los Angeles County's elected assessor, responsible for determining the taxable value of more than 2.3 million pieces of real estate.

The city of Newport Beach has hired a tax consulting firm to make sure the city is receiving all the sales tax it is entitled to, officials have announced. The Westlake Village-based firm, Municipal Resource Consultants, plans to generate additional income for the city by identifying point-of-sale taxpayer errors that often go unnoticed. Sales tax produces $12 million annually for Newport Beach, roughly a quarter of the city's general fund.

Los Angeles County Assessor John Noguez, who has been in jail since his October arrest on two dozen corruption charges, finally made bail on Friday. Noguez is accused of taking $185,000 in bribes from Ramin Salari, a prominent property tax consultant and generous Noguez campaign fundraiser. In return for the cash, Noguez is alleged to have lowered property tax bills for some of Salari's wealthy clients. Both Noguez and Salari pleaded not guilty following their Oct. 17 arrest, and have vigorously denied any wrongdoing.

Los Angeles County Assessor John Noguez, who has been in jail since his October arrest on two dozen corruption charges, finally made bail on Friday. Noguez is accused of taking $185,000 in bribes from Ramin Salari, a prominent property tax consultant and generous Noguez campaign fundraiser. In return for the cash, Noguez is alleged to have lowered property tax bills for some of Salari's wealthy clients. Both Noguez and Salari pleaded not guilty following their Oct. 17 arrest, and have vigorously denied any wrongdoing.

Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley said Tuesday that the corruption investigation of Assessor John Noguez has grown to include multiple targets and that he intends to seek grand jury indictments in the near future. In his first public comments about the expanding criminal probe, Cooley also accused the union that represents assessor's office employees of interfering with the investigation by ordering members to refuse to cooperate without permission from Noguez's office.

Large tax breaks approved by Assessor John Noguez for downtown business owners who contributed to a little-known campaign fund will be investigated immediately, according to acting assessor Santos Kreimann. When Noguez ran for office in 2010, more than $100,000 poured into a City Council fund he controlled in Huntington Park, where he was a councilman. Most of that money came from downtown business owners with seemingly little interest in the small, working-class city. Only one check, for $250, came from a Huntington Park resident during the election year, records show.

When John Noguez ran for Los Angeles County assessor in 2010, large donations started pouring into his City Council account in Huntington Park, where Noguez served as a councilman. More than $100,000 flowed through the account that year, mostly from downtown Los Angeles business owners. Only one $250 donation came from a Huntington Park address, records show. Within months of Noguez's election, he and his top aides knocked at least $36 million off the assessed values of properties owned by donors to that Huntington Park fund, a Times investigation has found.

An audit of the embattled Los Angeles County assessor's office released late Thursday recommends key changes, including the appointment of a chief deputy with "managerial competence" and the requirement that private tax consultants register with the county. Conducted by Strategica Inc., the audit comes as elected Assessor John Noguez fights accusations that he pocketed $185,000 in bribes from a prominent tax consultant and campaign contributor who requested lower tax appraisals on client properties.

On his first day as a special assistant to Los Angeles County Assessor John Noguez, David Zoraster was surprised to see the methodical, data-driven process of property appraisal replaced with a system known within the office as "Let's Make a Deal. " One of Noguez's deputies ignored appraisals valuing the site of Hollywood's Old Spaghetti Factory site at $16 million to $18 million, and sided with the property owner's tax consultant - Ramin Salari, a prominent Noguez campaign fundraiser - who said the parcels were worth only $10.5 million.

Los Angeles County Assessor John Noguez will keep receiving his $197,000 salary in jail. The Board of Supervisors discussed his fate behind closed doors Tuesday and did not remove him from office. Noguez has been in jail since mid-October. He is charged with taking $185,000 in bribes from a tax consultant - and campaign fundraiser - to lower property taxes for his clients. Noguez, who was elected assessor in 2010, has not worked since June, when he placed himself on paid leave of absence to concentrate on preparing a legal defense to the corruption allegations swirling around him. While on leave, he got a cost-of-living raise in July, boosting his annual salary from $192,000 to $197,000.

Large tax breaks approved by Assessor John Noguez for downtown business owners who contributed to a little-known campaign fund will be investigated immediately, according to acting assessor Santos Kreimann. When Noguez ran for office in 2010, more than $100,000 poured into a City Council fund he controlled in Huntington Park, where he was a councilman. Most of that money came from downtown business owners with seemingly little interest in the small, working-class city. Only one check, for $250, came from a Huntington Park resident during the election year, records show.

When John Noguez ran for Los Angeles County assessor in 2010, large donations started pouring into his City Council account in Huntington Park, where Noguez served as a councilman. More than $100,000 flowed through the account that year, mostly from downtown Los Angeles business owners. Only one $250 donation came from a Huntington Park address, records show. Within months of Noguez's election, he and his top aides knocked at least $36 million off the assessed values of properties owned by donors to that Huntington Park fund, a Times investigation has found.

Supporters of Los Angeles County Assessor John Noguez, who was arrested last month in a sweeping corruption case on suspicion of taking bribes to reduce property assessments, are now being asked to donate money so he can make bail. An email sent Friday afternoon from Noguez's personal account — signed by "Friends of John Noguez" — asked for contributions to the assessor's legal fund. "As you may know, our friend John Noguez is in trouble and needs our support more than ever," the email said.

About six months before John Noguez was elected Los Angeles County assessor, he received an $80,000 check from his old friend and prominent property tax consultant, Ramin Salari. Over the next few months, Salari cut Noguez two more checks, for a total of $180,000. In return, authorities say, assessor officials began giving tax breaks to many of Salari's clients. Prosecutors on Wednesday alleged that the payments to Noguez - and an additional $100,000 given to a lower-level assessor's official - were bribes to illegally reduce the values of properties so that Salari's clients would pay less in taxes.

Los Angeles County prosecutors are examining large property tax breaks extended to the owners of the Old Spaghetti Factory, the now-closed Hollywood landmark, as part of their influence-peddling investigation of Assessor John Noguez. Prosecutors are also looking at more than a hundred Westside properties whose owners got secret, improper tax reductions from a former assessor's office employee who said he broke the rules hoping to generate contributions to Noguez's campaign account.

Los Angeles County Assessor John Noguez, who has spent the last six days in jail after his arrest on suspicion of taking bribes to lower property tax bills, will stay behind bars a while longer. On Monday, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Shelly Torrealba refused to reduce Noguez's bail below $1.16 million --the amount the county allegedly lost in tax revenue because of the scheme, prosecutors claim. Noguez's attorney, Michael Proctor, said Noguez would not be able to make that bail.

Los Angeles County Assessor John Noguez and the tax consultant accused of bribing him, Ramin Salari, pleaded not guilty to a long list of corruption charges Thursday. The men, who were arrested Wednesday, are being held on more than $1-million bail each. They are scheduled to be in court again Monday to argue for lower bail and to prove that any money they use to pay it was not acquired through criminal means. Prosecutors allege that Noguez took $185,000 in bribes to illegally reduce the values of properties represented by Salari so their owners would pay lower taxes.