Tax Consultant

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, 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.

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.

A former Los Angeles County property appraiser accused of improperly slashing the value on more than 100 Westside homes and businesses was taken into custody in Oregon on Monday, marking the first arrest in the wide-ranging corruption probe into the assessor's office. Prosecutors say Scott Schenter, 49, falsified department documents and unlawfully lowered property values by $172 million for multimillion-dollar homes and businesses. Schenter allegedly secured campaign contributions from the owners for Assessor John Noguez, authorities said.

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.

Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley on Wednesday called for the resignation of Assessor John Noguez, whose office has been the target of a corruption probe. Cooley made the comments to reporters for several news organizations, a day after he announced that he planned to bring the case to a grand jury. "I don't think he should be there," Cooley told KNBC-TV Channel 4. "In my view, he should resign in the light of everything that's come out publicly. " Officials at the district attorney's office confirmed that Cooley would like Noguez to step down.

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.

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.

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Days after Tuesday's primary election, four congressional and 11 Assembly races -- as well as Proposition 29, a proposed cigarette tax -- still are undecided. In most of the candidate contests, it's not yet clear who finished second -- a crucial position in the state's new "top-two" elections system. The 15 unsettled races, one of which hung by two votes Friday, represent a significant jump from the typical three or four in past elections, according to Allan Hoffenblum, who publishes the nonpartisan California Target Book of state contests.