Huntington Park's Mayor Noguez Surrounded by Criminals
"Bell Gardens City Councilman Mario Beltran was
convicted Friday of filing a false police report
claiming he was robbed, ending a weeklong trial
that touched on sex, alcohol and racial slurs."

Mario Beltran was a campaign manager for
Huntington Park's Mayor John Noguez for his
March 2007 re-election campaign. Councilman
Beltran is also a legislative aide to State Senator
Ron Calderon, who represents southeast cities
and endorsed John Noguez. John Noguez's first
campaign manager in 2003, Edward Escareno,
was convicted in December of 2005 for "Grand
Theft" of public funds, a felony,  while he was a
councilman, a case that Noguez hid from public.

The Times reports today that Councilman Mario
Beltran "is scheduled to be sentenced June 26.
He faces a maximum of six months in jail and a
fine of up to $1,000."

In an 3-part L.A. Weekly report on corruption in
southeast cities, Huntington Park's mayor John
Noguez was quoted stating that "he does not
surround himself with criminals", yet both his
campaign managers have now been convicted
of crimes, all with Sacramento links.
Se Habla Corruption III: L.A. Weekly
Thursday, March 22, 2007
"Mario Beltran's Wild Night"
"Rising political star, on trial for falsely accusing others, can’t recall
using the “N” word or attacking a woman"

See L.A. Weekly's 3rd report in a series: Bell Gardens Councilman's
night of debauchery turns bizarre and ugly; criminal charges by the
DA's office defended in Downey Superior Court by Beltran's attorney.
Boyish good looks as deceitful cover for darker side of political links?

Downey, CA -Mario Beltran, an up-and-coming
Legislative Aide to State Senator Ron Calderon, campaign manager
to Huntington Park's Mayor John Noguez, visits a prostitute in The
Huntington, a seedy Downtown L.A. Hotel used by prostitutes, spends
two hours with her, as he leaves, he accosts a black prostitute calls
her racial slurs ("nigger", "bitch" and "black dog"), grabs her ass, thus
starts the bizarre story of a stolen wallet, cell phone and councilman's
badge, alleged lies, cover-ups, police impersonations, false police
reports, an LAPD sting to catch Mario Beltran in a lie, inconsistencies
in police reports filed with the LAPD and with the Bell Gardens PD by
Beltran and by the prostitutes, cameo appearances in Downey
Superior court by State Senators Gil Cedillo and Ron Calderon,
Beltran's boss, as character witnesses, and a city of La Puente
councilman as Beltran accomplice and alleged police
impersonator.....and Don Perata's office, California Senate leader,
chimes in.

"His goals as Bell Gardens City Council member include bringing
political stability to the city" states a Montebello Adult Education
website touting its best and brightest graduate, Mario Beltran.

California Senate leader Don Perata commented in an L.A. Times
report: "The incident did not occur on Senate time or involve Senate
resources," said Alicia Trost, spokeswoman for Senate leader Don
Perata, "so there is nothing for us to comment on right now."
(see L.A. Times report "City Councilman Loses Wallet, Dignity In
Prostitute Hotel", 3-19-07)

L.A. Weekly report, 3-22-07: "The boozy circumstances of his wild
night at the seedy Huntington Hotel might be enough to derail the
careers of lesser politicians. But Beltran has friends in high places,
such as state Senator Ron Calderon, for whom he works as a field
deputy, and state Senator Gil Cedillo, who mentored him early in his
career. Several witnesses including Cedillo were listed as character
references for Beltran, so last Wednesday, as his trial began, he was
as cool as a cucumber."

"That was until 6-foot-tall, rail-thin Sherrilynn Ridgeway, an African-
American woman with weathered skin and a criminal record of drug
dealing and prostitution, took the stand and described Beltran, a 29-
year-old, 5-foot-5-inch immigrant from El Salvador, staggering around
the Huntington in the wee hours of June 28 hurling racial slurs and
menacing threats and, in her words, “grabbing a handful of my ass.”

See the rest of the L.A. Weekly's report on Mario Beltran (link to L.A.
Weekly Report, Thursday March 22, 2003).

La Opinion Newspaper
Thursday March 15, 2007
Mario Beltran,
John  Noguez's
Campaign  Manager
in Court Today
Accused of filing false police
report
Downey, CA - Bell Gardens
Councilman Mario Beltran
appeared in Downey Superior
Court this Tuesday in a case
brought against him by the
District Attorney. He is accused
of filing a false police report,
amongst other accusations.
Beltran was arrested in June
2006, booked and then
released on his own
recognizance according to
public court documents
obtained by WatchOurCity.com.

Beltran, one of the youngest
elected officials of any local
cities, is a staffer for State
Senator Ron Calderon
(see WatchOurCity.com
report on Ron Calderon from
5-30-06) who represents the
southeast L.A. County cities
of Bell, Bell Gardens, Cudahy,
Huntington Park, Maywood and
South Gate, all cities under
corruption watch.

Beltran took a leave of absence
from his job with Senator
Calderon's office to run John
Noguez's campaign for his
successful reelection campaign
in Huntington Park. Ron
Calderon Endorsed John
Noguez for re-election.

According to a report this
morning in La Opinion
Newspaper, Mario is accused
of making a false police report
and among other things,
making  racist comments while
publicly intoxicated. He called
a black woman a "perra negra"
(black dog), grabbed her butt
and expected her to service
him" and said that "You do not
know who I am....I know very
important people" (click to see
La Opinion Newspaper report of
3-15-07).

The charge is a misdemeanor
and is punishable by one month
in jail or a $1,000 fine if
convicted. Beltran is not being
charged for sexual assault,
prostitution or abuse of power.

Beltran made bizarre and
similarly threatening comments
in a cameo appearance in an
L.A. Weekly report "The town
the Law Forgot' on blatant
corruption in the nearby city of
Cudahy. The L.A. Weekly reports
that  Beltran made a threatening
comment to a novice council
challenger to a an incumbent
running for Cudahy reelection: "In late December, at a holiday gathering at the City Club in downtown Los Angeles
hosted by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Cota ran into Bell Gardens City Councilman Mario Beltran, who was perplexed
to see Cota, a 29-year-old teacher, hobnobbing and being photographed with Villaraigosa and others.

“Who brought him here?” Councilman Beltran asked onlookers, some of whom are friends of Cudahy’s Vice Mayor,
Osvaldo Conde, who is running for re-election. “You better watch out,” Beltran warned Cota, the bright-eyed
challenger. “Conde will take care of you with his cuerno de chivo [slang for AK-47 automatic assault rifle]; see
L.A. Weekly report, now in Spanish).

In another L.A. Weekly report, "John Noguez Plays Name Games", it was revealed that a challenger to Mayor John
Noguez was threatened and physically accosted on the street by some well dressed thugs who demanded that he
drop any challenges to John Noguez. John Noguez was quoted that he "does not surround himself with criminals".
In December 2005, John Noguez's other campaign manager and roommate, Edward Escareno, was convicted of
Grand Theft by the DA's office, a felony (see WatchOurCity.com report from 1-16-06).

La Opinion Newspaper reports that Maureen O’Brien, a spokesperson for the District Attorney's office, stated that
"according to the investigation, on that day the elected official [Mario Beltran] was drunk and not in very respectful
demeanor, was out of control and used language that was racist, prepotent and offensive, while he tried to pay for
room at a downtown hotel, the Huntington [editor's note: no relation to Huntington Park].

The La Opinion report goes to state that "Philip Kent Cohen, Beltran's defense attorney, indicated that the court case
is merely focusing on an alleged lie his client made in a police report" and "accepted that his client was in a total state
of drunkenness, to the point of not knowing what he was doing, but nevertheless, insisted that the elected official was
robbed and noted so in his report to the LAPD".

Testimony in the case against councilman Mario Beltran will continue this week and next.

State Senator Ron Calderon, Beltran's boss, did not comment for this report.
L.A. Times on Beltran Case
Saturday March 17, 2007
"Guard Tells of
Councilman's Night in
Hotel"
"Do you know who I am? I am a
Congressman",
Mario Beltran tells a prostitute,
according to testimony in Downey
Superior Court on Friday in the
ongoing case against him by the
District Attorney's office.

Downey, CA -Mario Beltran is a Bell
Gardens councilmember, is a
legislative aide to newly elected
State Senator Ron Calderon and
was Huntington Park Mayor Juan
Noguez' campaign manager. Mario
Beltran is considered in some minor
circles to be a promising young
rising star in the state's Democratic
farm system of aspiring state
legislators.

According to the L.A. Times, "A
security guard testified Friday that he
found a Bell Gardens councilman
passed out drunk on the second
floor of a downtown Los Angeles
hotel used by prostitutes."

The Times reported that the hotel
guard testified on Friday that he
"found Beltran on the floor,
unconscious and heavily intoxicated,
with his pants torn and pockets
turned inside out.  When Beltran fled,
Hines followed and saw him run to a
car in a parking lot occupied by two
men, he said." The guard also
testified that Beltran returned with
the two men to the hotel offering
$500 to find the councilman's wallet
and councilman's badge and "that
the men told at least one resident:
"I can have 150 cops come up here
and raid this whole hotel. We can …
take all you guys down."

"Hotel resident Charlene Stratten
testified that she heard Beltran call
Ridgeway, who is African American,
by a racial slur, ["black dog", or in
Spanish, Perra Negra according to
La Opinion newspaper] saying, "Do
you know who I am? I'm a
congressman."  Stratten said about
10 to 15 minutes later Ridgeway
knocked on her door. She was
hysterical, and her clothing was torn."

Reportedly, Beltran's police report
indicated that Ridgeway had stolen
his wallet. Ridgeway and stratten
admitted to being convicted of
prostitution before.
(see L.A. Times report 3-17-07)
Notes From the Field
Monday, March 5, 2007
The John Noguez Election Day Dirty Tactics
Log
Se Habla Corruption II:
L.A. Weekly Report by Investigative
Reporter Jeffrey Anderson
February 21, 2007
"The Town The Law Forgot"
En Espanol:
"Un Pueblo Olvidado Por La
Ley"

Corruption in Cudahy, Maywood, and
Huntington Park?
Don't take WatchOurCity.com's word for it.
Read an in depth report by the L.A. Weekly.

See why the corruption in Maywood's police
department is tied to the corruption in
Cudahy and in Huntington Park. The City
attorney in Huntington Park is the same one
in Maywood. Cudahy's city attorney was a
partner of Huntington Park's attorney. They
all have intimate links to the highest levels
of Democratic leadership in Sacramento.
Why did Mayor Villaraigosa & state
legislators grant special powers to these
corrupt cities with AB 1381?

Why did Mayor Noguez and city attorney
Francisco Leal hire Maywood's police chief to
become Huntington Park's Chief in secret
and without any public announcement or
public input? And then all hell breaks loose
in Maywood and Cudahy. What the heck is
going on? Why so much corruption?

Read the L.A. Weekly report.
Read WatchOurCity.com.
Read La Opinion.com
WatchourCity.com Site
Search. Find any reports
posted on this site since
March 2003.
Se Habla Corruption I:
L.A. Weekly Report by Investigative
Reporter Jeffrey Anderson
February 7, 2007
"John Noguez Plays Name
Games"
See what the L.A. Weekly discovered
about Huntington Park's Mayor John
Noguez and possible deceit and fraud he
committed with his different names. His
real name is Juan Rodriguez. Noguez
admitted he never legally changed his
name to Noguez in any court of law.

Also, read about how John Noguez
brazenly allegedly asked for $50,000 in
cash to approve the construction of Aspire
Charter Schools in Huntington Park.
"Herod's Law"
"The story chronicles the
corruption of Juan Vargas,
a tiny little peon in
Mexico's PRI Machine".
The Mexican Government
tried to ban this film.
Huntington Park Election Watch
Romo, Sick of Noguez Corruption, Endorses
Guevara, Martinez & Amezquita
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
The Editor, WatchOurCity.com
Election Watch - Notes from the Field
March 5, 2007
Gloria Molina's Appointed Commissioner is
Caught Taking Down Guevara, Martinez,
Amezquita Campaign Literature
Calls Guevara a Homophobic Convicted Felon
Campaign Watch 2007 - Huntington Park -
Thursday, March 8, 2007 -
Evidence of Election Irregularities & Possible
Electoral Fraud in Huntington Park
Campaign Watch 2007 - Huntington Park, CA
Election Results, March 7, 2007
Noguez, Gomez, Hernandez Win
Semiofficial vote results:
Noguez - 1,192.
Hernandez - 1,127.
Gomez - 1,029.
Bell Gardens councilmember Mario Beltran,
center with hand up, in Downey Superior
Court on Wednesday.
BPhoto courtesy of La Opinion Newspaper
Bell Gardens
councilman
Mario Beltran was
mayor John Noguez's
2007 Campaign
Manager.
"Councilman Beltran Convicted"
L.A. Times, Saturday, March 24, 2007
The truth, the
whole truth
and nothing
but the truth?
CONVICTED
CONVICTED
Edward Escareno,
ex-councilman in
HP, 2003 campaign
manager for mayor
Noguez, convicted
of a felony in 2005.
Amezquita - 728.
Martinez - 703.
Guevara - 673.
Mayor John
Noguez
The face of a corrupt
politician?
Huntington Park's
mayor Juan "John"
Renaldo Rodriguez
Noguez, or whatever
his name is,
admitted in a court of
law that he never
changed his name
legally to "Noguez".
"Councilman Beltran Convicted"
L.A. Times, Saturday, March 24, 2007
La Opinion Newspaper Wednesday, March 28,  2007
Residents Demand Beltran's Resignation

Bell Gardens, CA - The Spanish daily La Opinion newspaper reports
today that there is growing demand among community voices for the
resignation of recently convicted councilman Mario Beltran. "Integrity,
confidence and honesty have been lost in this public official."

Mario Beltran "has demonstrated that he is not trustworthy and the
very last thing city residents look for is a dishonest public servant and
he has lied", stated Jaime Regalado, a public policy expert. Beltrán
has severely damaged his reputation not just with an aberrant
conduct for being drunk, but also for liaisons with prostitutes and for
having lied." (link to La Opinion Spanish report from 3-28-07).
WatchOurCity.com
In The Public Interest