Copyright © 2010 WatchOurCity.com
In The Public Interest .com
| A courageously innovative, muckraking web site that focuses like a laser on the political, financial and legal shenanigans of the local government California First Amendment Coalition |
WatchOurCity
BELL
| Pedro Carrillo, Bell's Interim City Manager, connected directly to Rizzo and George Cole |
Leo Briones:
"BASTA will
make me lots
of money".
The Police
Officers
Association is
my client, not
Bell Residents".
"BASTA will
make me lots
of money".
The Police
Officers
Association is
my client, not
Bell Residents".
| BASTA's owner revealed: "BASTA will make me lots of money" The Editor, WatchOurCity.com August 13, 2010, 6:00 a.m. Part II: BASTA issues Press release criticising Whitman's politicizing of Bell; Gubernatorial candidate Whitman Dismisses BASTA as funded by Police Union |
| Why BASTA is not calling for Carrillos' resignation The Editor, WatchOurCity.com August 12, 2010, 6:00 am Part I: Rizzo & George Cole & John Chiang Donated to Pedro Carrillo's 2001 Assembly Campaign |
| BASTA's owner Leo Briones and co-founder Cristina Garcia using Bell's corruption saga and media attention as staging for 2nd attempt at a Bell Gardens city council campaign The Editor, WatchOurCity.com August 15, 2010 Cristina Garcia, BASTA co-founder, failed to disclose to the Media and to Bell residents that Briones was her campaign manager and Pedro Carrillo's. She also failed to disclose that Bell City Manager Rizzo, former Bell mayor George Cole and Pete Werrlein, a felon and former Bell councilman and owner of Western Auto, funded Pedro Carrillo's campaign, and that Pedro Carrillo was hired first by George Cole in the Southeast Cities Schools Coalition, then recommended Carrillo for a consulting gig in Bell as an understudy for Rizzo. Cristina has failed to disclose that the Police Officers Association is paying for BASTA. While BASTA and Cristina are calling for resignations of Bell council members, she conveniently does not call for Pedro Carrillo's resignation, who is a Rizzo insider. The State's on-line campaign contribution filings for state-wide office candidates holds data from 2001 showing that Rizzo donated over $1,000 to Carrillo's failed bid for the Assembly seat. Carrillo's campaign manager was none other than Leo Briones. Leo Briones boasts on his Face Book page that he managed Pedro Carrillo's campaign, which by the way, has been removed since WatchOurCity.com exposed this admission on August 13, 2010. Why is Briones hiding this resume showing his connection to Carrillo? Another donor to Carrillo's then campaign was Derryl Roth, who is identified in Form 460 as "Western Auto of Bell Manager", giving Pedro Carrillo $1,000 February 5, 2002 (www.cal-access.sos.ca.gov) . Roth worked for Pete Werrlein in Bell. The L.A. Times reported on July 31, 2010, "Bell's business Ties to Officials Probed", noting that investigators are also looking into a city of Bell shady multi-million property purchase of Werrlein's Western Auto property back in 2006. A direct political lineage can be traced from Leo Briones, back to Pedro Carrillo, through Rizzo, George Cole and Pete Werrlein by piecing together disparate public records not in direct control of Bell officials. It is for these reasons that BASTA, Cristina, Briones and Carrillo are highly suspect, with their agendas colliding with the public interest of Bell residents. When the Times broke the story of nauseatingly high salaries for Rizzo, Spaccia and Police Chief Adams, it was Pedro Carrillo who publicly defended Rizzo's $800,000 salary before live news broadcast cameras stating that Rizzo "earned his salary because he saved the city from bankruptcy". That responsibility is a basic requirement of any city manager, keeping public funds in order. Either Carrillo is so inexperienced and completely ignorant of municipal management standards to realize that public funds of a city the size of Bell can't afford, let alone sustain, such criminal-level salaries, or he, like Rizzo and Mayor Oscar Hernandez, are "in" on the deal, displaying before live audiences a completely disgusting disregard for the magnitude of the problem. Whichever the case, Pedro Carrillo displayed a grossly inadequate ethical and professional judgement complicit with Rizzo's agenda. Carrillo is simply unfit as interim city manager on many levels. BASTA defends Carrillo's character and complicity with Rizzo and Briones. The November 2009 election results in Bell Gardens, according to the League of Women Voters, Smart Voter report, show that Cristina Garcia came in last place out of 5 candidates, earning just 1,051 votes, or 14.71% of the vote. In Bell Gardens, Sergio Infanzon and Priscilla Flores won reelection as incumbents, both running as a slate, whose campaign manager was Mario Beltran. Beltran, the angelic faced felon twice over, is under investigation by the FBI for deals he struck with Iranian tow truck owners for contracts worth millions of dollars in Bell Gardens. Beltran was former Bell mayor George Cole's favorite campaign manager as well, both working together on the March 2009 reelection campaign of Teresa Jacobo and Luis Artiga, Bell's $100,000 council members. Beltran was also mayor Juan Noguez's campaign manager during his 2007 reelection campaign in Huntington Park. Veteran hard-core investigative reporter Jeffrey Anderson posted reports on Bell Gardens and Mario Beltran's troubles: (The Town the Law Forgot (Cudahy), L.A. Weekly, February 22, 2007; Friends in High Places (Bell Gardens), L.A. Weekly, April 19, 2007; Mario Beltran's Undertow (Bell Gardens), L.A. Weekly, June, 28, 2007 Bell Gardens Police Chief & notorious towing troubles, L.A. City Beat, 1-21-09). All these interwoven relationships and nuanced political dynamics could be dizzying for an outsider to follow and connect the dots. The media exposure given to Cristina as BASTA's co-founder and talking head in Bell's tragically sickening corruption saga has a double benefit. One, it serves to increase her profile in preparation for Bell Gardens' next election, hoping to leverage her/BASTA's media exposure in Bell into raising her political stock in her home turf, Bell Gardens, where she and Briones have their eye on the upcoming 2011 elections, where 3 seats will be up for grabs. Anyone capturing those seats will own the majority vote, and thus complete control. Briones is home playing political calculus thinking 3 moves ahead of everyone else. Briones and Cristina plan to kick some butt come November 2011 in Bell Gardens.....on the backs of Bell residents. Two, Cristina and BASTA serve to legitimize and shore up Pedro Carrillo's shaky standing as Bell's Interim city manager, who has direct first degree connections to Rizzo, Spaccia, George Cole and Leo Briones. In Huntington Park, mayor John Noguez and councilwoman Elba Guerrero give a lucrative consulting contract to Pedro Carrillo for work negotiating with LAUSD over a proposed new school site. During the official negotiations, LAUSD requested to remove Carrillo due to concerns about Carrillo's qualifications and lack of professional skills. Noguez reinstated Carrillo despite LAUSD's concerns. Either instance only confirms that Cristina and BASTA are political fronts. In one sense, the POA is paying BASTA to front for their demands. Cristina and Leo Briones are using the POA's money to help bolster Pedro Carrillo's profile as a reformer when he's part of the problem, but more importantly, Bell's POA funding is being used as staging money for Briones and Cristina's upcoming round two political campaign in Bell Gardens. It is curious that Briones' prowess as a campaign manager in Bell Gardens was no match to the twice convicted baby-faced felon Mario Beltran. Briones is poised for a second attack, all on the backs of Bell Residents. The Bell residents who stick by Briones are either promised something by Briones, Cristina and Carrillo, have no history of Briones and think he is a knight in shining armor, or are fooling themselves in believing that Briones is in it for the sake of Bell residents, what with his talk of "unity" and quoting of Mandela. Briones is a slick dude. Briones has already stated that "BASTA will make him lots of money". There is, however, one little rock in the way Briones and BASTA, potentially upsetting all their plans: Nestor Valencia, founder of the Bell Residents Club. Leo Briones has already tried to cut a deal with Valencia offering him a job in exchange for selling out and ceasing all activity of the Bell Residents Club. In email, text and voice messages reviewed by WatchourCity.com, Briones comes of as nervous as he delivers veiled threats to Nestor. In one email, Briones states "I'm disappointed in you". Another email states "I haven't heard from you", and "Nestor, I have to wonder about your basic integrity". It was Leo Briones' integrity which the L.A. Times questioned in its Report "As Lawmaker Rises, Her Spouse [Briones] Prospers", written by Dan Morain, Times staff writer on July 8, 2004. Morain stated: "As state Sen. Martha Escutia has risen from the back bench to the Legislature's leadership, her husband has made millions representing politicians and enterprises whose interests often intersect with her duties." Additionally, "As it is, Escutia regularly endorses Briones' clients. And by design or not, causes and candidates endorsed by Escutia often retain Briones. Escutia's legislative salary is $99,000 a year. Briones' firm, Centaur North Strategic Communications, has billed clients for more than $3.4 million since 1997, the year Escutia began disclosing some of his clients in her required annual statements of economic interest filed with the state." On May 30, 2006, WatchOurCity.com reported on the positive deep and broad impact state senator Escutia's prodigious public policy efforts in the California Legislature had on public education, but also her dubious involvement in local politics such as donating campaign contributions to Bell Gardens recall efforts and donating to Huntington Park council candidates Edward Escareno in 2001, who became mayor and campaign manager to current mayor John Noguez, was later convicted of "Grand Theft", a felony. If Leo Briones cannot buy you out, cannot co-opt you, then he challenges your integrity, as he has demonstrated with Nestor Valencia. Briones admitted that he is sole author of BASTA, created in June 2010, an effort paid for by his client, the POA, on the heels of an L.A. Times report that Bell city council members were paying themselves $100,000. After this first report, the news from Bell just kept compounding with successive dizzying waves of reports causing even more shocking nausea. Amidst all this was Pedro Carrillo, rising from the vomit, buttressed by BASTA's Briones, his buddy and campaign manager. Leo Briones is an ultimate Sacramento Latino Caucus insider and is now in control of Bell through his friend, Pedro Carrillo, Bell's interim city manager, the inept defender of Rizzo's salary. Cristina's pretty face and academic credentials (a PhD from USC) providing cover and legitimacy. As the L.A. Times exposed, Briones would ride the skirts and profited mightily from his well-respected and high achieving first wife, former state senator Marth Escutia. Briones is now riding the skirts of another high achieving Latina for profit. Who could be more credible than a Latina with a PhD, teaching statistical math as an adjunct professor at USC to provide cover for Briones' profit schemes on the back of Bell residents? Cristina Garcia's remarkable academic trajectory took a political turn, not when she ran for public office in Bell Gardens, but when she hooked up with Leo Briones, her campaign manager, with all his political baggage and thuggery learned from his pals. BASTA's agenda is already in direct conflict with Bell residents. Recalling Bell's equally inept and complicit $100 K council members is not real reform. BASTA is now standing in the way of such reform, along with Interim City Manager Pedro Carrillo. Leo Briones is laughing all the way to the bank with Cristina thinking she's got the 2011 Bell Gardens elections clinched. And Bell is no better for it. Damage to Bell's finances, its residents, Cal-PERS, bond credit ratings and the skewed world view upon Bell has already been done, not to mention throwing the politically savvy but professionally incompetent Pedro Carrillo in the mix. Only BASTA sees opportunity to profit from all this, politically and financially, discrediting whomever questions its motives or gets in the way. _______________________________________________________ |
Cristina Garcia,
BASTA founder,
failed to disclose
that Briones was
her campaign
manager and
Pedro Carrillo's.
BASTA founder,
failed to disclose
that Briones was
her campaign
manager and
Pedro Carrillo's.
| Below is an email exchange between BASTA owner Leo Briones and Nestor Valencia of the Bell Residents Club. Email content is unedited; except for Nestor Valencia's and Leo Briones' contact info, all other cc's have been edited out for privacy reasons: Sat, August 14, 2010 11:41:12 PMRE: Leo on your message Leo, Say what you want. The fact is that you are in direct conflict with the goals of the community in exposing the corruption. Why did you take down your facebook page? I am not the "Editor". In fact , before your involvement with our movement you emailed the "editor" in 2004. You know very well that I am not the 'Editor". The media, reporters and independent investigators are seeing the direct conflict that exsist if residents work for the POA. Bell Residents do support our own Bell Police Department and we plan not to let the rank and file down. The Bell Residents have long worked for changes and have long called for resignations. It's difficult for an unemployed person to turn down a paying job. But, I am turning your offer down. Let's just get the residents to the meeting. Nestor -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 13 Aug 2010 21:02:02 -0700 From: Subject: Re: Leo on your message of this morning Well said Leo, Thank you for addressing the elephant in the room. Nestor we know who is behind the attacks. Having said that I am all for unity, so yes together "BRC" "BASTA" "RESIDENTS OF BELL" call it what you may, We are in this together and WE should work together, but when we are attacked don't expect us to respect you. and the more you attack us the deeper the wounds you will create. Yes, UNITY is the key. These crooks have damaged us and It affects us all, yes, even Cristina, and Leo, we all have to pay for these idiots retirements, don't you see, we are all pissed off and we all are stakeholders, if these guys don't resign (which we have asked for) or be recalled we are in trouble. they need not to be in office and if they stay it still affects us all (in California). Okay, and the other thing I would like to address is that people who say that Cristina should not be here because she does not live in bell, so she should not work with us, those people are hipocrites or misinformed and are mistaken, because as we all know no one critizises Nestor for holding meetings in Maywood and or all the other neighboring cities in town, no one sees BASTA denouncing him publicly for his attempts to help his neighboring community. so enough, I am quoting Leo Again everyone let’s stayed unified! Resign, recall and respond BASTA! and focus!!!!! --- On Fri, 8/13/10, Leo Briones <lbriones@centaurnorth.com> wrote: From: Leo Briones Subject: Re: Leo on your message of this morning Date: Friday, August 13, 2010, 8:19 PM Everyone: I think we are all getting off message here. Let’s focus on resign, recall and respond (to our calls for documents and transparency). Unity is key. Nestor, I have to wonder about your basic integrity when you claim to respect the accomplishments of BASTA on one side of your mouth and then on the other side try to undermine the organization by publishing lies about myself and Cristina on watchourcity.org and sending emails to reporters that were in their words “strange rants about BASTA and you.” Do you think BASTA leadership, Bell residents or reporters are stupid and will believe that your accusations are factual without first checking with the accused parties? My suggestions to everyone is that we need to get beyond personal agendas or the emotional need for validation and keep our eye on the prize Resign, recall and respond! Nestor, I will construct a joint BRC/BASTA press release when you take that divisive nonsense off the watchourcity.org website. Again everyone let’s stayed unified! Resign, recall and respond BASTA! Leo On 8/13/10 7:49 PM, Nestor to what Marylou has said, I have nothing more to add, I will leave it up to you, compounded by your actions to show who you really are . On Fri, Aug 13, 2010 at 6:53 PM, nestor, I know who you are, I am sure you are a smart man and know what aliases and ghostwriter name I am talking about., anyhow, what I mean is when you say Basta (which is composed of bell residents like myself) which is an umbrella of people who want to get things done. I speak for myself when I say that the agenda I have is my family, friends, neighbors, I have met throughout close to 30 years within my neighborhood, you, your family all. Don't you get it, My affiliation with BASTA is to improve the lively hood of my/your community, you are short visioned, when you say we do things for the POA you are wrong and misinformed When you say BASTA works for the POA, you are wrong, and last time I checked my employer signs my check and it is not any of the aforementioned it is a shame you always show up to our meetings late and/ or leave early, missing much of our message, so I truly get it why you are so misinformed about our message and fight. so I will say that when you say BASTA, you are incorporating all the residents who sit in our meetings and stakeholders who have joined us. You keep missing the fact that BASTA are the residents, and when you sly handily accuse or insinuate and use the BASTA umbrella in your accusations you my dear are making it personal and including many other people including myself, and some of your friends and neighbors I am sure. So I will ask, to not make such a blanket statement. I would love nothing more to see your efforts and attacks directed where they should be. Remember "Credibility is acquired by the constant solid behavior reinforcing a positive reputation." There is no reason why your attacks should be directed at us if we are working hard to tackle this thing just as you say you are doing. BASTA nor it's members attack you or your club. So as a gentleman, you should do the same and let's collectively work towards the same cause to get through this. focus your negative energy on the city council and all the crooks in city hall. I hope you rise to the occasion as an honorable man and lead your followers with honor and dignity as it should be, instead of mudslinging against us. I hope to see no more spins from you. I have hope... Please don't dissappoint me. -- On Fri, 8/13/10, Bell Resident <bellresidentclub6330@hotmail.com> wrote: Date: Friday, August 13, 2010, 5:12 PM Dear Marylou, (Due to email restrictions, this will arrive one day late.) No one is insulting you. My name appears at the end of my email. "..for them.." I meant the Bell Residents, us. I am not shy about giving credit to anyone's accomplishments. There is a good reason why all these years while we fight for the community, we remained underground. It is called "retaliation". You can understand that, right. I am out in the open and have been in front of the council and Rizzo and George Cole and others before the Times decided to finally carry it. My request is simple and message too. I am Nestor Valencia, a Bell Resident with other Bell Residents, including you. I do not speak for you or BASTA, unless we are in agreement in that respect. My concerns remain. Asking the questions brought us to this point. No need to take offense. Nestor -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 13 Aug 2010 16:56:32 -0700 From: Subject: Re: Leo on your message of this morning Mr. Bell Resident, I find your coments and attempt to play with words insulting. Your statement "BASTA has done a great job for them and has sought demands upon the council" is taken out of context in our mission. Allow me to explain, As I speak as a resident and stakeholder of bell. BASTA has done a tremendous job for the people of Bell, my interest and those of us working hard is that we demand on behalf of the people not the POA. I am stating to you in no uncertain terms, that when you spin your words to hurt BASTA. I am BASTA. Therefore, I take personal offense when you spin your words. You are insulting my integrity. And no one, not even you has the right to do so, under no circumstances or ghostwriter alias. CAPISHE????!!!!!!!!!!!!! --- On Fri, 8/13/10, Bell Resident <bellresidentclub6330@hotmail.com> wrote: From: Bell Resident <bellresidentclub6330@hotmail.com> Subject: Leo on your message of this morning To: "leon briones poli" <lbriones@centaurnorth.com>, Date: Friday, August 13, 2010, 4:17 PM Dear Mr. Briones, If a press release is what you are planning, as I mentioned before, let's look at it. I propose it includes: BRC supports ejecting these officials from office. While BRC supports this recall effort, BRC will not cease to demand their immediate resignation. Its time for them to go and spare the community more costs and pain. As we discussed last week, my concerns, and others, on the conflict of interest persist. The movement is a Bell Resident focus movement, which I realize can be used in other parts of CA or USA. BASTA current focus is on the recall. Again, Bell Residents and I support our own police department. If your client, the POA, is concern about that have them speak to me. BASTA has done a great job for them and has sought demands upon the council. Can I have a copy of the recall intent with the supporting signature? Nestor Valencia -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 13 Aug 2010 12:35:39 -0700 Subject: Re: recall posting cost From: lbriones@centaurnorth.com To: bellresidentclub6330@hotmail.com Halleluiah! On 8/13/10 12:32 PM: We need to focus on following the process closely and legally with a minimum amount of error. My intentions are to have justice and not go in circles like history has shown. In order to end corruption we MUST pull together with a minimum amount of conflict between one another. We need to avoid drama & pull together to get the city council members out!!! We need to take control of our City!! Call me if you have an issue with my e-mail reply. On Thu, Aug 12, 2010 at 9:06 PM, Bell Resident <bellresidentclub6330@hotmail. com <http://hotmail.com/> > wrote: It was mentioned last night, the fact that it costs $5,000.00 to run the recall notice in the local paper. I am not sure they we have to do that. The State recall process (handbook), pg 15, SECTION 3. Publication states: A copy of the notice must be published at the proponents' expense at least once in a newspaper of general circulation. The publication need not include the information listed in Section 5(d) below. If such publication is not possible, the notice shall be posted in at least three public places within the jurisdiction of the officer sought to be recalled. Posting is allowed only if there is no newspaper of general circulation able to provide timely publication in the jurisdiction of the officer whose recall is being sought. (Government Code §6000, et seq., §11022) |
| The Editor, WatchOurCity.com Sunday, August 15, 2010, 6:00 a.m. Center For Investigative Reporting California Watch Exposes BASTA as a front for the Police Officers Association; Leo Briones Confirmed BASTA is his Invention, will make lots of money Lance Williams of the Center for Investigative Reporting posted this report on its website, www.CaliforniaWatch.com, on August 2, 2010, connecting BASTA with the city of Bell's Police Officers Association. What Lance did not know is who Bell's POA hired to create the fake grassroots group now known as BASTA. On August 12, 2010, WatchOurCity.com posted a report connecting the dots between BASTA, Interim City Manager Leo Carrillo, Rizzo, George Cole, and Leo Briones. Then on August 13, 2010, WatchOurCity.com reported that Leo Briones admitted that he alone created BASTA, stating that "BASTA will make me lots of money", (see full report & link) |