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Reporters Jennifer McLain and Tania Chatila take pleasure in reporting on local politics. McLain covers Rosemead, South El Monte and Irwindale, and Chatila covers Baldwin Park, La Puente and La Verne.

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Cruz Bustamante to be considered for Irwindale gig

The Irwindale City Council is going to interview former Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante on Wednesday and consider hiring him as a consultant. City Manager Robert Griego said that the council needs help in securing funding for its police services and the library, and Bustamante could be the guy to do it. I don't know what type of price tag this will come with, but it will be added on to the $5,000 a month the city already pays to an outside consultant. We'll see how the interview goes Wednesday.

Bustamante was busted in 2004 by the Fair Political Practices Commission for violating campaign finance laws, and fined $263,000.

Commission, Bustamante agree to $263,000 civil settlement
Penalty largest ever paid by candidate in FPPC action

The Fair Political Practices Commission has reached a $263,000 civil settlement with Lt. Governor Cruz Bustamante and three of his campaign committees – “Lieutenant Governor Bustamante 2002 Committee, "Yes on Bustamante," and "The Bustamante Committee Against Prop. 54"  for manipulating funds and mischaracterizing transactions in order to evade contribution limits in the Oct. 7, 2003, gubernatorial election.

The FPPC suit alleged that Bustamante and his committees raised funds for Bustamante's campaign for governor, deposited the funds into the bank account of the lieutenant governor’s 2002 re-election committee, and mischaracterized the contributions as contributions to the 2002 committee  "a committee which was not subject to contribution limits" all in order to collect $3.8 million dollars in excess of the limits.

The final judgment, based on a stipulation signed by the FPPC and Bustamante, was approved yesterday (April 12) by Sacramento Superior Court Judge Loren McMaster, who said in his order that the court “finds the proposed settlement to be fair, just, and reasonable to all parties.

FPPC Enforcement Division Chief Steven Russo said the fine in the case "is the largest ever paid by a candidate for violating the Political Reform Act, and reflects the seriousness of the violations. We arrived at the fine amount by imposing the maximum fine that may be imposed for the contribution-limit violations ($80,000), with additional amounts for the bank account and reporting violations."

Posted by Jennifer McLain on March 12, 2008 12:01 AM |

Comments

As usual, one has to question the wisdom of local officials???? Let's hire a guy who was found guilty of "manipulating funds and mischaracterizing transactions in order to evade contribution limits"???

Then again, he may be the perfect guy....that is to manipulate and mischaracterize the system in an effort to help the city gain funding for police services and the library.

Posted by: gilman | March 12, 2008 8:10 PM

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