Thrasher on trial
The trial for former West Covina Planning Commissioner Carlos Thrasher is expected to begin today in the Pomona Courthouse.
Thrasher faces charges of perjury and conflict of interest. He is accused of failing to disclose that he owed money to local developer Ziad Alhassen and then spearheading a vote against one of Alhassen's projects despite that conflict.
Here are some excerpts from a February article Star-News reporter Alison Hewitt wrote:
Thrasher was paying off a $17,166 debt to Alhassen, but misled the public by neglecting to reveal the debt as required on a city form, she argued.
"He owed Mr. Alhassen money. He was sitting on a Planning Commission. Mr. Alhassen is one of the largest developers of real estate in West Covina," Callahan said. The two had a bitter relationship, and a conflict was virtually guaranteed, she added.
The case is deeply entangled in West Covina politics. The City Council voted 4-1 in September, with Councilman Roger Hernandez opposed, to pay for Thrasher 's defense.
The city is also involved in ongoing litigation with Alhassen alleging that he failed to provide promised sales tax revenues in exchange for a $4.1 million development agreement from the city.
Hernandez has supported Alhassen's countersuit. He received almost $7,000 from Alhassen's various companies in the 2007 election.
Meanwhile, a complaint was filed with the district attorney's Public Integrity Division against Councilman Steve Herfert regarding his vote against the same project Thrasher is now facing trial for.
I wonder how much money WE are paying for a non-resident to get out of trouble that he got himself into?
Carlos Thrasher is a Marine and has ALWAYS served West Covina and our country with honor- ALL americans should be concerned about the way He has been singled out and his good name had dragged thru the mud
when he has NEVER done anything wrong.
I love West Covina, I feel your pain, but unfortunately when you take any kind of public office everything you do is up for scrutiny. You have to be extra careful, almost paranoid, and Thrasher wasn't.