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Thursday, March 5, 2009
A Hot Latina:
R osario Marin Resigns
State Cabinet Position
Under Cloud of Investigation

Huntington Park, CA - On Thursday, Rosario Marin resigned from her state cabinet-level job, reports the
L.A. Times.

Amidst allegations and investigations by the Fair Political Practices Commission, Marin resigned her post
as head of the state's Consumer Affairs Division which paid $175,000 per year. The allegations against
Marin are centered on payments she received "to address pharmaceutical companies within months of her
agency's push last year to reduce state oversight of prescription drugs" reports the Times.

The conflict of interest practice is against state policy. Governor Schwarzenegger accepted Marin's
resignation.

Rosario Marin's conflict was not only contra policy, but contra ethics as well. Schwarzenegger entrusted
Marin with the fundamental task of leading the state's Consumer Affairs office precisely to protect
consumers, not weaken enforcement policy or dilute laws meant to protect consumers.

Rosario Marin started her political career as an immigrant Republican elected to Huntington Park city
council in the early 90's. In 2002, Rosario Marin resigned her city council position in Huntington Park
because President Bush, in his first term, appointed her the 41st U.S. Treasurer.

Marin's tenure in her Cabinet post started with a dark cloud as well. In February of 2006, Rosario Marin was
appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger to head the state's Consumer Affairs Services Division. The
Governor flew down to Huntington Park City Hall to do the swearing-in ceremony in this city's council
chambers.

One month before Rosario's appointment by the Governor, on January 16, 2006, WatchOurCity.com broke a
story about an official cover up involving the mayor of Huntington Park, Edward Escareno, who happened to
be Rosario Marin's political protege. Escareno was convicted of "Grand Theft" of public funds. The
indictment and the conviction were kept a secret by the D.A.'s office and by Huntington Park city council led
by current council member John Noguez and the city attorney Francisco Leal, a friend of Marin.

Rosario Marin evidently kept the conviction a secret even from Governor Schwarzenegger, so as not to derail
her appointment to the state cabinet post. Such auspicious beginnings. Marin had no qualifications for the
appointment other than being a state Republican party operative.

On January 18, just two days after WatchOurCity.com broke the felony conviction cover up story, the Spanish
daily newspaper La Opinion picks up the story revealing to a wider audience, that indeed, there was a
political cover up of Marin's protege, who was convicted in December 2005, just two months before
Rosario's appointment by the Governor.

The more astounding part of the story was the cover-up of this conviction by the District Attorney's office. The
Wikipedia citation of Rosario Marin makes note of this incident under "Scandal", which Marin tried
unsuccessfully removing from Wikipedia.

Wikipedia states "WatchOurCity.com, broke a story in mid-January 2006 about the fact that Edward
Escareno was quietly prosecuted by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office and convicted in Los
Angeles County Superior court on December 20, 2005 for "Grand Theft", a felony.[6] According to
subsequent media reports in the Spanish daily newspaper La Opinion[7], the conviction was evidently kept
a secret by both the Huntington Park city council and by the District Attorney's office in order to protect
Rosario Marin's public image, as she is closely associated with Escareno, her protégé."

Since March 2004, WatchOurcity.com has been reporting on Rosario Marin's political activities right here in
Huntington Park, California, where she still lives. Marin's political proteges still control Huntington Park city
hall and the multi-million dollar contracts and gifts of public funds that are given out exclusively to Rosario
Marin's friends. These friends include the city attorney Francisco Leal, city of Bell ex-council member
George Cole, Fiesta Taxi, META 2000's Vicente Ortiz, and sundry other of Marin's friends and campaign
donors.

George Cole was awarded a $4 million transportation contract in Huntington Park back in 2004 within days
of contributing over $3,000 to Rosario's failed U.S. Senate bid. An independent consultant hired by the city
rated Cole's proposal for bus service, the worst of four bidders. George had no buses nor start up funding.
Yet Rosario Marin's city council managed to award the contract to Rosario's friend. Cole is still operating
city's bus service.

Wiley Press published a book in 2006, "Power Mentoring: How Successful Mentors and Proteges Get The
Most Out of Their Relationships". The book describes the 50 most powerful mentor-protege relationships in
the United States. Rosario Marin and John Noguez are profiled.

What wisdom did Rosario Marin share with John Noguez to make the pair such a standout mentor-pupil
team? What lessons did her star pupil take from Marin?

In 2006, Noguez requested $50,000 from a charter school operator in exchange for planning department
approval of a new school site. Pacific Charter ended up giving between $5,000 to $10,000 to Noguez. The
amounts never appeared on a campaign contribution statement.

Mayor John Noguez received approximately $3,750 in campaign contributions from several property owners
in Downtown Los Angeles historic core area, according to campaign filing statements. Noguez's job with
the L.A. County Assessor's office reportedly involves assessing properties in the Downtown L.A. Historic
Core, the same folks he's taking campaign contributions from.

Tom Gilmore and Ken Aslan, prominent Developer/Board Member and Executive Director, respectively, of
the Los Angeles Business Improvement District Consortium, are among contributors, as are other board
members of the consortium. Board members reportedly have real estate ownership interests in the
designated improvement district, the same area John is responsible for assessing property values.

Marin should be proud of her protege: John Noguez is openly seeking to become the next L.A. County
Assessor.

Marin is voting delegate of the state's Republican party. Before her appointment to the U.S. Treasurer's
office, Marin was on the state Republican committee that made endorsements of state-wide Republican
candidates. One of those candidates, the son of a retired FBI agent and young gun at the L.A. County District
Attorney's office, a relatively unknown Steve Cooley, needed very badly the Republican Party's endorsement.
Marin was instrumental in delivering that endorsement. Cooley wins the election to become the County D.A.

Linda Guevara, a Huntington Park councilwoman serving alongside Marin, was the D.A.'s very first
prosecution under Cooley's newly created Public Integrity Unit.

Court documents reveal that a principal accuser against councilwoman Linda Guevara turned out to be
Rosario Marin. Guevara was convicted for not living in the city while an elected official, a felony. She served
out her term under house arrest (full disclosure: Guevara provides public records to the Editor).

In contrast, ample evidence in public records indicate that councilman John Noguez, Marin's star protege,
was not living in Huntington Park when he ran for city council in 2003. A city inspector alleged that he visited
Noguez's empty unit and was not lived in, this a few weeks before the March 2003 elections. But Marin and
then Mayor Escareno, the campaign manager, covered up (see watchOurCity.com report from September
12, 2004).

WatchOurCity.com reviewed a "certified copy" of a Fictitious Business Name Statement filed by John
Noguez on June 2000 with the Records Recorder's Office of the County of Los Angeles. The Registrant of
Record is John Noguez as well as Liliana Guerrero. Additionally, the form indicates that "This Business is
conducted by Husband and Wife".

What is most striking is the Registrant's address: Under "Residence Street Address" for John Noguez, the
address listed is "1012 W. Beverly Blvd, #310, Montebello, CA 90640". The same address is listed for
Liliana Guerrero. As a "Principal Place of Business", again, the same Montebello address is noted.

In June 11, 2002 Noguez files form 460 with the City of Los Angeles Ethics Commission. The address he
officially lists is in Montebello, California. At this same time, Noguez held the elected position of City Clerk,
in the City of Huntington Park.

Former State Senator Martha Escutia reports on the State Secretary's website the she received a $100
campaign contribution from John Noguez on "12-15-00". The State's website listing Noguez's contribution to
Escutia also lists "Montebello, CA/90640" as Noguez's address (click here for link; name listed
alphabetically by first name). This date is in conflict with to the date of "June 2000" that John Noguez
indicated on Form 460 filed with the City Clerk's office in Huntington Park as the date he made a monetary
contribution to Escutia.

The Montebello address listed on the State's website places a direct conflict with John Noguez's candidate
residency requirement and listed address in Huntington Park while he was officially a candidate for public
office. Rosario Marin was his main endorser.

L.A. County District Attorney Steve Cooley has got Rosario's back in L.A. County. But at the State level, Marin
is evidently on her own.

Marin's departure from Schwarzenegger's cabinet was triggered, in part, by a Times report revealing
questionable travel expenses and reporting practices by Rosario Marin.

Part of Marin's legacy in Huntington Park when she was a councilwoman here, was her travel budget worth
between $10,000 to $20,000 yearly, with travel junkets for the entire family to luxury resorts, all paid by public
funds.

To this day, Huntington Park has one of the highest travel budgets of any small city allocated per council
member. A city ordinance passed by city council allocates $10,000 per year travel. Such lavish travel costs
are also extended to the city manager who, like council members, attend luxury resort hotels for
conferences, where more than 50% of the time is spend pool-side or golfing. There are junkets to Las
Vegas, Palm Springs, Monterey, and other fine places. All paid by public funds.

Marin is also under investigation by internal auditors at Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae in a story first reported
by the AP and posted here on WatchOurCity.com on October 8, 2008. Rosario was paid several thousand of
dollars by DCI, a Republican consulting firm, to lobby senators against legislation controlling both lending
agencies.

H OME

The California First
Amendment Coalition
salutes
WATCHOURCITY.COM
with its
2004
B EACON AWARD

See the L.A. Times
Report on
WatchOurCity.com

T erms of Use

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