Add Huntington Park to the list of cities in the County of Southeast Los Angeles shaken by accusations of political corruption.
At a special meeting of the Municipal Council on Friday night, three of the four members of the City Council and the city administrator received a civil lawsuit, two days after the Los Angeles County District Office executed almost a dozen search orders Adjusted to an investigation of corruption in the alleged misuse of millions of dollars destined to the construction of a water center of $ 24 million, which has not been built.
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1:05 PM March 2, 2025An earlier version of this story said that three council members were served with retirement documents. They were attended with a civil demand.
At the same meeting, the city lawyer presented his resignation and the mayor tried to finish the meeting threatening to leave, all to a choir of sarcastic comments and teasing of residents. A woman was escorted by a couple of police for screaming and talking outside.
In a passionate speech, Councilor Arturo Flores, one of the two leaders of the city who was not under investigation, alleged that the district prosecutor was being recently wanted by a retirement effort against him with the consultant whose home and offices were recently sought by the District Prosecutor together with those of a contractor, the mayor, the city administrator and three current and previous members.
“I'll go to war for my community,” Flores said. “Let's focus on investigating the failed pool project, focus on tracking the millions of unhappy money and restoring the faith and confidence of the local government for people.”
The event of the night was Emmanuel Razas Ruedas, a 26 -year -old tall and thin man, a tall and thin man with long and wavy black hair, who sat at the back of the chambers of the council.
Wheels was not a resident of the city; He lives in Cudahy, but like many young people in the southeast region, he said he was fed up with the political corruption that has long hindered the economic growth of some cities of the working class.
He Southeast region It is composed of around 26 cities and neighborhoods located between Los Angeles and Orange's counties. Because they serve as entrance to both counties, they are also known as the cities of the gateway.
In the heart of the region there are a dozen communities, including Compton, Cudahy, Vernon, Commerce, Bell and Huntington Park. They sit between the highways 110 and 710, two main commercial arteries that connect with the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Its proximity to highways and industrial sectors has cutmyLy affected The health of its great immigrant and Latin populations.
They are these same cities that have been for decades shaken by political scandalsSo much that legislators often refer to the small area and the “corruption corridor.”
Cities include Southern doorWhere someone tried Killer a councilor in the early 2000s. In 2010, the city of Bell was under national attention When it was revealed that the city administrator and several council members received exorbitant wages and used the coffers of the city as their own personal bank.
Two years later, CUDAHYA city of 1.2 square miles was news when the mayor, a member of the Council and an administrator for a long time were arrested and accused in a federal bribery case. A photo of the Council rendering to federal agents After a five -hour confrontation, it circulated throughout the country.
Scandals in a city, Vernon, They were so epic that they became inspiration for a season of HBO's “true detective.”
And now, Huntington Park is on the list.
Research on the alleged misuse of the city's public funds occurred when city leaders faced legal and legal questions about the elimination of the first Emerald Castillo Councilwho, according to them, did not live in the city. The Cerritos Community News first reported on their removal.
A copy of an order reviewed by The Times shows that researchers are looking for accusations of bribery, improper appropriation of public funds, conflict of interest, money laundering and conspiracy. The order also appoints Efren Martínez under the “name of the case.”
Martínez, owner of Unified Consultoría, is the same consultant whose home and offices were among those registered by the investigators last week, according to a statement from the District Prosecutor's Office.
Martínez, who has postulated for the state assembly office several times but lost, could not be contacted to make comments by telephone or by his company's website.
It is not the first time that Martínez causes controversy in the city.
An investigation of the Times found that, as a political consultant, Mayor Karina Macias helped raise money for Martínez when she planned to run for the state assembly in 2016. But she never ran.
The residents attend a special meeting of the Council of the City of Huntington Park on Friday, two days after the Office of the District Prosecutor of the Los Angeles County executed raid orders in the Mayor's houses and three current and previous members of the Council.
(Ruben Vives / Los Angeles Times)
Some of the taxpayers were linked to companies granted contracts by Macias and the majority of the Council, including the city's bus service and the Dial-A-Ride operator, their maintenance provider of street sweeps and maintenance of bus stops and trailer company.
The district prosecutor asked about Macias's political consulting work, but did not follow charges against her. Macias has maintained that he has never done anything wrong.
In a statement to the residents on Friday, Macias said that the city staff was working diligently with the authorities to ensure that they were receiving all the information related to the aquatic center project in Salt Lake Park, which includes an Olympic size pool and a synthetic football field.
Macias said that environmental problems have contributed to long delays and blamed a “small group of people who do not want to see it completed.” He accused the media of spreading erroneous information and said that the city had completed the construction of its football field in 2021.
“For more than three years, there have been innumerable meetings, tests, surveys of sites, remediation and environmental planning between the agencies of our city, state and county, including the Janice Hahn office,” said the statement of Macias. “Throughout this ridiculously long process, our administrator and the city staff have been working diligently doing all the tests, remediation and planning required together with these environmental agencies.”
But sitting next to him, Councilor Jonathan Sanabria, who is not under investigation, said the football field was a small part of the general project.
It was Sanabria who had a heated discussion with the city's city lawyer, Arnold M. Alvarez-Glasman, before presenting his resignation, which led the residents to applaud.
One by one, people addressed the members of the Council, asking them to renounce the position.
“It is shameful what you brought to our city,” said Vicente Carrera, a lifetime resident. “You do not belong here, you belong to the jail.”
Some younger residents appeared to speak on behalf of their parents who, according to them, were afraid to speak. Some expressed their frustration that the chosen officials were once in front of the residents, especially at one time, the Trump administration was carrying out mass deportations.
Germain Rodríguez, 30, a resident, said that seeing the current state of the park bothered him by how city officials have managed the project.
“It is very sad to see that there was all this potential there and, instead of using it in all your potential, you prefer to leave a lot of land there,” Rodriguez said. “We could have done a lot with that space.”
After listening to the speakers, wheels, the resident of Cudahy, he went to the Council. He talked about how he witnessed the scandals that were developed in his city and in the nearby Bell. He said they wanted to go to university to return and give back to the community.
But the scandals were a reminder of the challenges facing him and other residents.
“We are represented by people who do not seem to worry about anything but themselves,” he said. “It is a story as old as time and, frankly, I am tired of this broken record.”
While talking, he noticed that Sanabria smiled and called him.
“I am happy,” said Sanabria, clarifying later at the meeting that was happy to see the authorities try to bring things to light and hold people responsible for bad actions.
But before that clarification, wheels felt offended.
“If you are happy, this is happening, that is also really sad,” he told the councilman. “I am not happy that this is happening. These are my communities, this is people's money. People are afraid to leave due to ice raids. Consider what is happening here, consider giving up, consider leaving space for others. ”
