Scratch the surface of the record of the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA) as long as three decades ago and you will find the same kind of financial shenanigans, mismanage abuses and violations of federal rules that resulted in subjecting the city’s poor to substandard housing conditions as you do today.
It has been and remains a scandal-plagued agency where friends and family of staff get contracts to supply toilets for disabled tenants at a cost of $2,500 each, where audit after audit finds millions of dollars in misspending, where federal Housing and Urban Development agency laws are ignored, where the agency head is able to scam the system for a half-million dollars in salary and where the commissioners providing oversight like the employees indulge themselves at taxpayer expense.
All of this and more was known, or should have been known, to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa even as he protected the man in charge, Rudy Montiel, and denounced federal efforts at reform as “capricious,” even suing and using his political leverage in Washington to preserve the corrupt system.
Thanks to investigating reporting by KCET’s SoCal Connected and David Zahniser of the LA Times, the HACLA scandal has finally broken wideopen.
With a billion dollars a year at HACLA’s disposal — shockingly, some of it to make sure other housing agencies comply with federal laws — the public is entitled to a full accounting who is responsible, starting with what the mayor knew, when he knew it and what he did about it.
At the least, Villaraigosa is guilty of misfeasance, which ought to be sufficient to remove him from office.
At the worst, he is guilty of malfeasance for actively participating in schemes that ripped off taxpayer money and channeled it special interests without regard to the public interest or the needs of the poorest of the poor who rely on federally-subsidized housing for shelter.
Supposedly, District Attorney Steve Cooley’s Public Integrity Unit has belatedly begin to make inquiries but we know from experience that he is incapable of conducting a robust investigation unless the crimes are already public knowledge thanks to the news media.
Only an FBI investigation and federal grand jury would be capable of getting to the bottom of all the crooked schemes and dirty deals that HACLA staff and other city officials have been involved in.
The focus of the current scandal is the nearly half a million dollars fired CEO Rudy Montiel was paid annually, his and his staff’s extravagant spending expensive meals, gifts, limousines and finally the $1.2 million paid to Montiel to keep his mouth shut about all that he knows of the involvement of city officials in various illegal and unethical activities.
Hush money is a crime, part of a cover up of other crimes and when it involves the misuse of public money it is even more serious.
For that alone, a federal investigation is justified and the action of the mayor and his staff fuel belief there was an attempt to cover up the payoff to Montiel except that the new HACLA Commission head, Mitch Kamin, blew the whistle.
On Dec. 2, Villaragosa insisted he “was not consulted … was unaware of the settlement and severance package,” accordiing to his staff.
Five days later, his spokesman was still saying the mayor and “his staff were not consulted nor
informed about the settlement prior to the board vote,” and disclosure of the spectacularly self-indulgent expend spending by staff was “old news.”
Then, Kamin went public, saying “the mayor’s staff was advised of the proposed terms,” which should have come as no surprise since one of the mayor’s more than 200 deputies and assistants was assigned to HACLA.
Deputy Mayor Matt Szabo then admitted: “The
mayor was absolutely aware and authorized the settlement in this matter .. Although
he may not have been briefed on every detail of the settlement, he certainly
authorized and encouraged the chairman of the board to move forward with the
settlement so that the agency could end an unfortunate chapter and move
forward.”
The HACLA scandal isn’t going away anytime soon — there are too many dirty deals still to be revealed, including contracts to tear down the Jordan Downs housing project and rebuild it as a mixed used development.
Too much money is involved, too many bodies are buried in the HACLA scandal, too many people know the truth and would take to a federal grand jury and produce documentation.
If the mayor knew nothing was amiss, he is incompetent. If he did know, he deserves whatever he has coming to him.
Question: How did the termination contract come about? Was that agreement in place when he took office or more recently?
Of course,the mayor will always say firmly he never was involved in the day to day details. Of course the mayor will need to use Q CARDS to say it.
For the lawyers out there like Kevin James, Walter Moore and others can the Gangster Mayor be indicted for this scandal and what of crime would this be? It seems like a no brainer but I’m interested to have the lawyers thoughts
Obama hired several powerful HOUSING AUTHORITY parasites AND they went to work for Obama at HUD and the DOJ, including fat ugly pig Thomas Saenz, Villa-Rat-gosa’s former Mayor’s Counsel. A report authorized and blessed by Gruel and #1 City Sellout Carmen “Gaga” Dumb-tanich last week just white-washed the “Bonnie-Brae Project” that Garcetti has nightmares over. Thus, can anything really be done about this thing? The solution is to MOVE OUT OF L.A. or…Stay AND Drink lots of booze, smoke pot, or get a good pharmacist to get you “linked.” Whoever reads this post is very very LUCKY because you HAVE A REAL CHOICE here. It’s YOUR LIFE, It’s your family, and it’s your SANITY at stake. The Scumbags own the Politicians and you the homeowner/businessman/tentant ARE JUST OCCUPANTS to be ripped off endlessly to feed the CORRUPTION. So…If you can AFFORD the City Hall imposed theft from you AND earn a good living, FUCK IT and Stay. Otherwise: 1-800-UHAUL. L.A. City is a place to either get great riches or DIE A SLOW AND PAINFUL DEATH one minute STUCK IN TRAFFIC AT A TIME!!! You see the people out there, like the shooter at Vine and Sunset! Like the OccupyLA guys. Like Kevin James—the guy had a great Radio gig AND a great Law gig and he pissed away the radio gig by trying to be mayor?
See, that’s what L.A. does to even the most rational of us (EVENTUALLY.) So decide as we close this 2011 year: SAVE YOUR SANITY AND MOVE, or stay AND WITHER AWAY. But that Vine St. Shooter SHOULD BE A WAKE UP CALL—L.A. is a NUTHOUSE!
Speaking of Federal programs, what about the HUD Section 108 loan guarantee that was supposed to be used for “Slum Clearance” but instead was used at the Hollywood and Highland Kodak Theater (Garcetti) and for a new Lowes store at the Mid Town Crossing (Wesson) both benefiting developer CIM Group.
The Public Integrity Unit at the DA’s office is not interested in a crime unless someone has all of the evidence and theory served up on a platter.
Mayor wants LAHD’s Guthrie to run HACLA in order to cover his tracks.
I was told that Rudy threatened a whistle blower retaliation law suit if not paid off. The CA bent over and advised to give in to him. Never mind that the so called whistle blowing nobility he tried to claim was merely a “better tell on them before they tell on me” gesture. All it takes is for an employee or manager to threaten a suit and the City Attorney gives them what they want. Oh, and since their budget is dependent on the Mayor and Council, don’t think I’m giving the other office holders a pass. Coupled with what Ron wrote, I’m sure they had their say in all of this in one way or another.
Here’s another huge scandal involving Councilman Huizar and others who received money for their districts out of the Vernon mess. This organization is in CD14. Why are they getting money from Vernon City of all places????
“”"Maria Calanche, executive director of Legacy LA, said she was at first uncertain about partnering with Vernon, but ultimately supported De Leon’s plan because of the assistance it would provide her organization.$5-million grant will help renovate the Hazard Park Federal Armory, a facility owned by the city of LA and leased to Legacy LA.
And read the story in the today’s la times re: Vernon and their shakedown to pay $60 mil to the neighboring cities. Sure the cities will get all the money, and no money will go to corrupt politicians. One of the crooks mentioned in the story de Leon had changed his vote to dis incorporate Vernon. Wander why
You people should be really proud of yourself for electing all these thieves and whores.
Greuel, who is an announced candidate for mayor, said that former housing authority CEO Rudolf Montiel, who was fired in March, was directly to blame for the abuses. However, she said Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa also shares responsibility since he appointed the commissioners who oversee the agency.
with no proseuctor to investigate and prosecute, the felons-to-be run wild. The extras at Housing are small potatoes compared to the billions that the real thieves steal.
Of course, the petty crooks need jail time for them to flip on higher ups — but why should they. If they are tried and convicted, the bought-and-paid-for judge will reverse the conviction and set them free. That’s what Judge Connor did with few officers prosecuted for the Ramparts Scandal.
Maybe they’ll buy off one fall guy, but the reason to investigate the small guys to be deceie the public into thinking that something is being done to stop the corruption. It is not. As long as Cooley is DA, the city hall felons are safe.
Cooley or wannabe DA Trutanich are birds of a feather.
Amen on Cooley protecting the crooks and criminals at Los Angeles City Hall. Cooley jumps with both feet on the crooked little schemes in the City Bell because those crooks had no one to protect them. Villar and he band of crooks have a web of cronies in the LA Superior Court, the US Attorney’s Office and the DA’s office that they will not be prosecuted for far far worse crimes and misdemeanors.
Mayor wants LAHD’s Guthrie to run HACLA in order to cover his tracks.