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Serving Commerce and surrounding communities • 3,200 Homes Every Saturday • August 30, 2013 • Volume 1, No. 5 • HewsMediaGroup.com
Explicit Details of Commerce City Council Confrontation Documented in Sheriff’s Report
By Kristin Grafft and Randy Economy
Dirty Water: Employee, Central Basin Reach Deal in Harassment Allegation Against Apodaca By Brian Hews and Randy Economy Hews Media Group-Community News has obtained a 2010 Separation Agreement and General Release (SAGR) document via a public records request between a former employee and the Central Basin Municipal Water District that outlines payments to the employee for, according to sources, not filing sexual harassment charges against embattled CBMWD Board Director Robert “Bob” Apodaca. HMG-CN exclusively reported on a separate harassment claim against Apodaca brought by Sigrid H. Lopez and filed on July 3 of this year. The SAGR dictates a payment of $1,700 in vacation and sick leave, standard payout when an employee leaves an organization. It also paid $1,500 for one month of medical premiums and $4,300 for the amount the CBMWD would have paid to CalPERS for one year. But on the last line of the payment agreement, a 37-day salary-the “Severance Pay”- amounting to over $18,000 is listed. Total payout was $25,500. “A SAGR is typically a “gotcha” that specifies the terms of your termination, to your employer’s advantage,” says Jeff Ward a labor lawyer in Norwalk. “The agreement is a contract in which you relinquish your legal rights, while the severance is effectively a bribe to influence you to sign it,” Ward said. The document states, “if you do not
See APODACA page 8
Commerce Council-woman Tina Baca Del Rio points her finger at Council-woman Denise Robles at last week’s council meeting. After the meeting Baca Del Rio, Councilman Ivan Altmirano, and City Attorney Eddie Olivo went to Steven’s Steakhouse where the confrontation occurred at 1:30 in the morning. Photo by Kristen Grafft.
Central Basin Directors Form Committee to ‘Evaluate’ Newly Hired General Manager By Randy Economy and Brian Hews When former Central Basin Municipal Water District Interim Chief Operating Officer Chuck Fuentes notified Pacifica Services, Inc. President and CEO Ernie Camacho that the CBMWD would no longer accept invoices submitted that did not included detailed explanations of work performed, Camacho eagerly agreed to comply. Based on those findings, Fuentes notified Camacho that he intended to bid out the agency’s engineering services and that he had instructed Assistant to the General Manager Ron Beilke to review millions in past billings to determine how the struggling water district had spent upwards of $5 million in fees. Camacho’s second response was not as congenial as the first. Within days of Fuentes’s meeting with Camacho, both he and Beilke were fired by the CBMWD’s new majority, which included James Roybal and Leticia Vasquez, both of whom had accepted in
excess of $50,000 in political campaign donations from Pacifica, Camacho, and his affiliates, which included MLJ Properties. MLJ properties initials represent Camacho’s three grown children Michael, Lauren and Jeffery. After the firings, Water Resources Manager Dave Hill was appointed to replace Fuentes. Hill cancelled the audit of Pacifica’s billings and all efforts to re-bid the CBMWD’s engineering services. Documents show that Hill had been the sole CBMWD employee who approved Pacifica’s previous invoices. According to CBMWD Director Art Chacon, Hill possessed no formal training in construction or engineering and was not qualified to perform such duties. Hill was subsequently replaced by Tony Perez. With the recent revelations reported by HMG-CN that CBMWD had made Pacifica the benefactor of 8 consecutive no-bid contract extensions over the course of 5
See MANAGER page 9
A police report outlining specific details of a heated scuffle between at least four Commerce City officials at a local restaurant reveals conflicting accounts of the events that took place after a raucous council meeting earlier that evening. The incident report, from the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department’s East LA Station, was obtained exclusively by Hews Media Group-Community News on Monday. The parties listed on the report included Councilman Ivan Altamirano, Councilwoman Tina Baca Del Rio, City Attorney Eddie Olivo as well as Richard Robles, the husband of Councilwoman Denise Robles. The incident unfolded at approximately 1:30 a.m. according to report written by Sergeant J. Gonzalez. Gonzalez stated that Commerce Councilwoman Denise Robles said that she was being “accused by City of Commerce in regards to using the city vehicles for personal use (in the past).” After the meeting, Robles and her husband drove by Steven’s Steakhouse located off of Interstate 5 where she noticed city owned cars in the parking lot of the well-known establishment at around 1:30 a.m. The report said that Robles commented: “What could they be possibly doing at Steven’s Steakhouse at this time that could be work related.” The reports detail how the Robles’ stopped their car and went inside the restaurant “to confront ‘party’ Altamirano, ‘witness’ Del Rio, and ‘witness’ Olivo in regards to the use of city vehicles for personal use.” Once inside Steven’s, Richard Robles “immediately started to photograph” the two elected officials and Olivo as they sat at a table. Altamirano said that Robles said: “This is how I wanted to catch you.” After the political rivals took photos of each other with their cell phones, Richard Robles told Altamirano, “From now on you need to watch your back and you’re family needs to watch his back.” Altamirano told Sheriff officials that he “felt his life along with his families lives were being threatened by (Richard) Robles’s statements.” The group immediately
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APODACA
Continued from page 1 enter into this agreement you will not be entitled to Severance Pay described above.” The second page defines the “Terms of the Agreement” and states, “this agreement shall not be in anyway construed as an admission by the district that it has acted wrongfully with respect to you.” It goes on to say that, “in exchange for the promises contained in this agreement the district will pay you the Severance Payment. You acknowledge that you would not be entitled to the Severance Payment but for the execution of this agreement.” “It is exactly what I said,” Ward commented after reviewing the document, “the person would not have received the severance unless they signed the document which released the District from all claims.” One clause in the SAGR states that the employee will “irrevocably release, acquit, and forever discharge the District and its employees against any claims. The clause specifically mentions “claims including but not limited to discrimination and harassment, based on race, religion…sex.” The agreement goes on to say, “you shall not bring any administrative or legal action and the employee waives and releases any rights they might have to recover in any lawsuit or proceeding brou3ght by them.” It also states that the employee will not disclose the agreement to anyone. “The employee agreed that the consideration set forth in the SAGR, which is in addition to anything of value to which they might otherwise be entitled, constituted a complete and final settlement of any and all causes of actions or claims they had,” said Ward. “The employee has no recourse.” Several calls into Apodaca for comment went unanswered.
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Continued from page 1 left the front door of the restaurant and a heated argument erupted outside. “Quick, call the Sheriff’s,” Robles was overheard as stating while outside. Olivo and Baca Del Rio went back inside Steven’s and they too called the East Los Angeles Sheriff’s Station to report the incident. When Sheriff’s Deputies arrived, a waitress who witnessed what took place between the city officials was questioned about what her account of the situation. Waitress July Wittingham, 30, also told Sheriff’s that she heard Richard Robles tell Altamirano that he “was a girl.” The waitress said she didn’t think the behavior between the two was a problem, and that “the two were friends conversing.” Wittingham also confirmed in the report that she heard Richard Robles tell Councilman Altamirano to “watch his back.” City Attorney Olivo said he “could not hear” what Altamirano and Robles were arguing about due to the “noise from surrounding persons”, despite, according to Robles, being only a few feet away. Sheriff officials went to the Robles residence after the incident, the report said. “Party Robles said that party Altamirano stood up from his seat and noticed he was drunk,” the report states. Robles said that Altamirano “approached him and said “you’re an ass****, I should kick your ass.” “Party Robles said he put his hands in his pockets to demonstrate he did not want to fight and would not strike him,” Continued on Next Page
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the report states. The report also describes Altamirano as telling Richard Robles that, “you’re a bit**, like you wife (Councilwoman Denise Robles).” “I’m not the one who called myself a little girl tonight in the council chambers,” Richard Robles stated in this police report. Robles said that both Councilwoman Baca Del Rio and City Attorney Olivo told Altamirano to “stop, stop, stop” during their argument. Sheriff officials stated that in the report that they opted not to make an arrest of the above-mentioned Parties for Possible Criminal Threats as describe in 422 (a) Penal Code. Sheriff’s Sergeant J. Gonzalez was also “notified of the incident and also agreed to not make an arrest at this time taking into account circumstances at hand, and the lack of the incident meeting the elements of statute 422(a) Penal Code.
MANAGER
Continued from page 1 years earning the Pasadena firm nearly $5 million in fees, Perez suspended the services of Pacifica. Now, similar to when Fuente and Bielke started digging into Pacifica, that same majority is trying to fire Perez. Perez determined that the 8th amendment effective June 25, 2012 provided no additional board approved funding and that since November 2012, Pacifica was being paid for work that the elected board had not voted to fund. Subsequently, Perez, a licensed civil engineer, discovered that work allegedly performed by Camacho’s firm from November 2012 to June 2013 could cost the financially struggling water agency an ad-
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ditional $1 million. According to sources familiar with Pacifica and the CBMWD, that is when the process to attempt to fire Perez started. Perez came to the CBMWD on a 5-0 vote two months ago with impressive credentials. Now, according to sources, he is facing an orchestrated attempt by Pacifica backed CBMWD Directors to terminate him.
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CBMWD Director Phil Hawkins told HMG-CN that President James Roybal and Vice President Bob Apodaca recently formed an ad-hoc committee to “determine” a process to evaluate the performance of the General Manager. Sources at CBMWD say Roybal and Apodaca are both seeking to terminate Perez. But they are weary of the fact that if they do not establish a “process”, they
AUGUST 30, 2013
will draw too much scrutiny and face more potential lawsuits.
Director Chacon was furious. “This
is ridiculous, he’s been on the job for less than 90 days and they already feel the need
to conduct performance reviews on the guy? In my opinion, this is what was to be expected when he gave Pacifica the boot.”
CENTRAL BASIN DIRECTOR VASQUEZ SLAMS SOUTH ByGATE COUNCILMAN GONZALEZ Randy Economy and Brian Hews
mbattled Central Basin Water District Board Member Leticia Vasquez wrote and mailed a blistering letter to South Gate Councilman Henry Gonzalez on official agency letter head denouncing remarks he had made about her in articles published by Los Cerritos Community Newspaper. In the rambling three-page letter datunder the subject line “Re: Cerritos Community News Article,” Vasquez lambasts Gonzalez over comments he made in a series of investigative articles the publication has been conducting for the past several months. Vasquez, a former Lynwood City Councilwoman, was elected to the CBMWD Board of Directors last November, and assumed office in early January. “I am sure all of the individuals whose lives I have touched through my work would be greatly disappointed in hearing of the lies you have told (to LCCN),” Vasquez said. “While you affirmed during our phone conversation, that in fact there is no such proof and not one incident you could identify proving your false allegations,” Vasquez writes.
“A typical guilt by association tactic known to be used by devious and deceitful people when they have no facts to support their false claims. I challenge you Mr. Gonzalez to PROVIDE THE FACTS to the public that support this lie,” Vasquez continues. Vasquez also responded to a comment in LCCN in which Gonzalez says “she knows how to play dirty.” “Once again as with other lies, Mr. Gonzalez you provide no details, no facts, no dates, no names, no places nor any other bit of information to support these fabrications. This is simply untrue and I have no idea to what you are referring. Once again I call on you to provide factual information to support these defamatory statements against me,” Vasquez continues. Gonzalez also told LCCN in a previous interview that Vasquez “doesn’t care about rules.” Vasquez wrote back to Gonzalez that “this is another absolutely baseless charge. As with the other charges: no details, no facts, no dates, no names, no places nor any other bit of information to support these fabrications. Mr. Gonzalez you owe an explanation to me and
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the public why you make sure false statements against another public official that are made up out of the whole cloth?” Vasquez goes on to scold Gonzalez by writing “there is no shame in being wrong or mistakenly relying on false information or rumors you have heard. The only shame and lack of integrity a man may suffer comes from perpetuating a lie and a falsehood once you are aware of the truth. I await your apology and prompt response.” Vasquez also send copies of the letter to six other South Gate city officials including Mayor Bill Dewitt, Vice Mayor Gil Hurtado, Councilwoman Maria Davila, City Clerk Carmen Avalos and City Treasurer Maria Belen Bernal. Los Cerritos Community Newspaper spoke to Vasquez on Tuesday morning about the letter she wrote and said that she would “call us back later.” Gonzalez told LCCN that he didn’t “take too kindly” to the letter he received from Vasquez.
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