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Bribery pleas unsealed for former officials of Commerce and Baldwin Park By City News Service
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were unsealed. Both Cisneros and Tafoya agreed to cooperate in ongoing public corruption investigations, according to the documents filed in Los Angeles federal court. The plea agreements state that shortly after Baldwin Park began issuing marijuana permits in June 2017, thenBaldwin Park City Councilmember Ricardo Pacheco solicited bribes from companies seeking those permits. Cisneros helped a company obtain a marijuana permit and related approvals through about $45,000 in bribes and that the company promised to pay Cisneros at least $235,000 to help secure the permit, federal prosecu-
tors said. Tafoya facilitated a separate bribery scheme involving former Compton City Councilman Isaac Galvan, in which Galvan sought to obtain a marijuana permit for his consulting client also through bribes to Pacheco. Tafoya further admitted to evading payment of about $650,000 in federal tax liability, the documents show. Pacheco pleaded guilty in June 2020 to a federal bribery charge unrelated to the marijuana-permit scheme. He further admitted to orchestrating bribery schemes involving Tafoya and Gabriel Chavez, a former San Bernardino County planning commissioner who
pleaded guilty to a federal bribery charge two years ago. Pacheco’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for February. Chavez is expected to be sentenced in April. In September 2023, Galvan and his consulting client, Yichang Bai, were arrested on a federal grand jury indictment, alleging they paid $70,000 in bribes to Pacheco in exchange for his vote and support for marijuana permits for Bai’s company, W&F International Corp. Both defendants have pleaded not guilty. Their trial is expected in June. Sentencing dates for Cisneros and Tafoya are under seal, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
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Janice Hahn sworn in for final term as LA County supervisor By Jose Herrera, City News Service
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Left to right: Robert Tafoya and Edgar Cisneros. | Photos courtesy of the city of Baldwin Park and the city of Commerce/X, respectively
ocuments unsealed Thursday show two former city officials in Commerce and Baldwin Park pleaded guilty last year to separately bribing a nowconvicted Baldwin Park politician in exchange for his votes and influence over his city’s cannabis permitting process. Edgar Cisneros, 42, of Montebello, who served as Commerce’s city manager for six years, pleaded guilty to federal bribery. Robert Tafoya, 62, of Redondo Beach, who spent nine years as Baldwin Park’s city attorney, pleaded guilty to federal bribery and tax evasion charges, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Thursday after the criminal charges and plea agreements
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upervisor Janice Hahn was sworn in Monday for her third and final term as a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, which could culminate the 72-year-old Democrat’s nearly threedecade career in office. Hahn was sworn in by her brother, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James Hahn, during Monday’s ceremony at the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration — named after the supervisor’s late father Kenneth Hahn. “I am so honored and grateful to the voters of the Fourth District who put their trust in me and elected me one more time,” Hahn said. “Together, we’ve worked to give a voice to the voiceless, champion the underdog, and tried to do the right thing — even if it wasn’t always the popular thing,” she added. “I look forward to continuing that work over these next four years.” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass delivered welcoming remarks. “I’ve known Supervisor Hahn for years, seeing her fight up close in D.C., on the Metro Board of Directors, and in the county chambers, named after her father, whose legacy she continues to expand with pride,” Bass said. Supervisor Kathryn Barger also congratulated Hahn on taking the oath of office, and in a statement said she was looking forward to working alongside Hahn to build a brighter future for the residents of LA County. In an interview with City News Service last week, Hahn said she felt “good” about her final term. “It’s an opportunity to do both things -- look back See Janice Hahn Page 28
on my long career in public service, not just as a supervisor, and also a chance to look forward for the next four years,” Hahn told CNS. While four years is a long way off, she added, “I don’t think the worst thing in the world is to think about retiring.” Hahn was inspired by the work of her father, who served on the LA City Council from 1947-52, then as a county supervisor from 1952-92. First elected to the Los Angeles City Charter Reform Commission in 1997, Janice Hahn was elected to the City Council in 2000, serving until 2011, when she won a special election to the U.S. House of Representatives. Hahn was elected to the Fourth District seat on the Board of Supervisors in 2016. Her district includes most of the Gateway Cities, Avalon and portions of the South Bay area and San Gabriel Valley. Looking ahead to the next four years, Hahn addressed the board’s recent vote seeking a report on creating a county homelessness department, which could move certain responsibilities away from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, which operates jointly between the county and city of Los Angeles. “I know they do good work, but I think we’re all feeling a little frustrated and that the status quo is not working,” Hahn told CNS. She also thanked voters for passing Measure A, a half-cent sales tax increase that will generate funding in perpetuity for more homeless prevention initiatives. Hahn, whose district includes Signal Hill, touted