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Staff Report
Last week HMG-CN broke the story that Cerritos City Council candidate and Torrance police detective Chuong Vo solicited donations from corrupt lawyers embroiled in two civil lawsuit, one for fraud, malpractice and overbilling, and another, a high profile case that involved bullying two Costa Mesa city councilman.
HMG-CN also found that Vo received $6,000 from other dubious supporters who did not reside in Cerritos, one of whom donated $5,000 to Cerritos Mayor pro tem Carol Chen’s campaign in 2013.
The story broke 9 hours before a 7:00 PM public candidate forum that took place at Cerritos City Council chambers, televised by Cerritos TV3, and one that was the most well attended forum in the history of Cerritos.
After an hour of answering questions, the time came for the candidate’s two-minute closing statement and finally for Vo to speak.
What came next might define Vo’s career as a politician and as a police officer.
In a closing statement filled with anger and hate, a statement that did not at any point address why he was running for City Council, Vo accused HMG-CN and Publisher Brian Hews of fabricating the entire donation story even though there was ample documentation online to refute his claims.
Vo said that “he never took money from lawyers, and the entire story is a lie.”
Click on images to view fullscreen.
Campaign documents showing donations from attorneys Deitmmeir and Ethir
Campaign documents showing $3,000 donation from Charles Zhuang. Zhuang donated $5,000 to Cerritos Mayor pro tem Carol Chen.
But it is what Vo did not mention in his tirade, the second part of the article that called into question endorsements on his campaign website, that could land the current Planning Commissioner in hot water.
HMG-CN sent an email out at 6:22 AM this past Tuesday Feb.3 to several endorsers who were on the website asking for comment about the impending Chuong Vo donation story.
The email included current City Councilman Bruce Barrows, Cerritos Mayor pro tem Carol Chen, Cerritos Councilman George Ray, Cerritos College Trustee Bob Hughlett, ABC School Board Member Soo Yoo, and Artesia Councilmen Ali Taj and Tony Lima.
AT 9:16 AM Artesia Councilman Ali Taj replied to the e-mail by saying he was in no way was endorsing Chuong Vo.
Email from Artesia Councilman Ali Taj indicating he did not endorse Chuong Vo.
No other recipients of the email responded, but documents suggest that either Barrows, Chen, Ray, Hughlett, Lima, or Soo Yoo told Chuong Vo the contents of the email and set a plan in place to discredit the donation story at the public candidate forum that set a record in attendance.
New facts and evidence have been uncovered by HMG-CN that show that Vo knew Councilman Taj was a bogus endorsement, that Vo attempted to cover it up, and, as further evidence, did not bring the subject up during his public closing statement blasting HMG-CN where he said the “entire story was a lie.”
The evidence came from Google and website history.
Google “crawls” the web and takes snapshots of each web page on the internet as a backup. These pages then become part of Google’s “cache,” or history.
If a user goes to www.Cachedpages.com and enters a website address, they will not see the current page of the website but a previous version of the site that Google has stored.
The cached page is usually 2-3 days old, and then is replaced by another version.
Apparently the Vo camp does not know about Google cache or Cachedpages.com.
The link below is Vo’s endorsement page on his website from Cachedpages.com, dated of Feb. 3, 8:05 AM PST.
Scrolling down to Endorsements, thirteen names down the list reveals Artesia Councilman Ali Taj’s endorsement between Artesia Councilman Tony Lima and Torrance Mayor Patrick Fuerry.
Note: This kind of page will eventually be deleted and replaced with another cached history page. An HMG-CN screenshot of that page is below.
Click on images to view fullscreen.
This evidence indicates that Taj’s endorsement was on the site since the site was created, that Chuong Vo knew that it was false, but left it on the site anyway.
Three days later, on Feb. 5, a visit to Chuong Vo’s live website at 7:00 AM shows Councilman Ali Taj’s name, which was between Lima and Fuerry, removed.
During his tirade on Feb. 4, Vo blasted HMG-CN for “fabricating the entire story.”
Vo said the story was fabricated knowing that the Taj endorsement was false, and aware that his campaign had, or was in the process of removing Councilman Taj’s name due to HMG-CN’s story.
HMG-CN emailed Mr. Vo at [email protected] several times for comment Wednesday and Thursday, there was no response at time of publication.
Contact the editor: [email protected]
Next Candidate Forum: Mon 2-9-2015.
This is the third/fourth negative run the city has experienced with candidates which serviced as attorney-judge-police type of work.
CCPA must be analyzed by outside independent consulting company for recommendations to sell or sub contract for services.
Proposition H
In November, 1970’s a local proposition “H” was passed that would limit council members to two consecutive terms. A member could run again after having been out of office for two years. The proposition move had been started by a number of community people who had run for council seats and been defeated.
http://menu.ci.cerritos.ca.us/collections/local_history/cl_lhStory8.htm
Time has come for long do amendment(s) to Prop. H:
1. Councilperson can serve one ( Four) Term in their lifetime.
2. Councilperson serve Pro Bono, no medical insurance, no car allowance, no travel allowance, no meals prior to meetings, no forwarding incomes to charity groups, no rental clothes. No re-imbursements.
3. Commissioner /Committee appointees are by resume and stop friendship hand shakes. Stop free annual educational Trips.
4. Must have Cerritos residency for min of 20 yrs.
5. Political Campaign signs are not allowed to be posted on private property, except for attaching to garage doors. No signs on commercial property.
6. No candidates can be: Judge, DA, Realtors, Police-sheriff, former of past City of Cerritos Employee, or any relationship to ABC or CJC teachers assoc.
7. Elected councilpersons can not have signed contracts for career limitations for their commissioners/ committee members representing them.
8. No immediate family blood members can simultaneously be seated on any boards.
9. All forum questions become part of public records, since forum is rented from city.
10. Must have social security number and pay taxes in California and not outside the state. Can not run on work permit or green visa card.
Birds of a feather flock together.
Any reply from PPOA or Torrance Chief. Vo has tarnished the badge and his department. His actions are”unbecoming,” to his department and the profession.
Police Detective Vo was chosen, in order to secure the Chinese vote, as they feel protected with more free police, espec. if Councilperson is policeman.
June 2015 election, Cerritos wants to initiate a sheriff tax,if Vo wins seat; his background as policemen would secure more votes from Chinese, to raise city tax. Many Chinese live in Torrance, so his position on the Torrance Police Department, as chief of Unions, would pour money in SHERIFF SPECIALTY TAX, to win.
Former Grace Hu won for advertising sheriff, to her Chinese buyers of homes in Cerritos.
Cerritos has one Legally adjudicated Newspaper, Los Cerritos Community Newspaper. Mr. Vo, candidate, wishes to not advertise in said paper, even though, if elected, he will be representing the city legals in said newspaper, so will become part of the newspaper.
Mr. Vo has publically taken stand, he believes in Tier Groups, as he wishes only to participate in non adjudicated newspaper, which relies on the Cerritos Republican Party, hence is not distributed city wide.
Summary: Mr. Vo wishes only to reach out to the Cerritos Republicans, not the Democrats, nor the independent or non voting residents. Mr. Vo is sworn commissioner and Torrance policeman, which pledges to both offices protocol, make Mr. Vo represent everyone.
Mr. Vo is newbie, fresh off the boat, from China, his ignorance is demonstrated in his tier class and embarrassing his employer, City of Torrance, and all of the police-sheriffs in the USA.
Mr. Vo is another spin-off from Mark Furman.
Cop should be tossed of the Torrance Police Unit and why do we keep liars on the Planning Commission, makes one wonder what other cover ups are going on in the Cerritos Planning Department & how many innocent people this cop has given tickets to, or locked up in prison. Cerritos has thousands of other residents which are not pre- meditated lairs.
What has me scratching my head with confusion, is how on earth does a police detective have time to run a campaign?? Also, if he should win.. work as a detective AND hold a poltical seat? I personally know several detectives who are pillars in the police force and these close friends of mine NEVER have any spare time! There is no exaggeration here: police detectives dont even have the time to urinate at a leisurely pace! Their entire life (police detectives) is dedicated to their career and it makes no sense.. does Mr. Vo plan on leaving the Police force?? Is he indirectly saying he treats his crime cases as if they are of no importantce or that they can simply ‘wait’ so that he may attend to long, dragged out city meetings?
Torrance Police department, I would be VERY ALARMED because if that is the case, he is making you all out to look like nothing short of the low-brow slackers such as Officer Mahoney, Cmndt Lassarda and Cap. Harris from the movie “Police Academy.” Dont let this ‘Super Trooper'(Mr. Chuong Vo) run your department name through the mud because that is what will happen once all his dirty laundry air’s for everyone to see!!