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SOURCES: Central Basin Director Leticia Vasquez and Montebello Councilwoman Vanessa Delgado Attempted to Extort Money From Cook Hills Officials

 

 

Central Basin Water District Director Leticia Vasquez, who took office only one year ago, is a party to a whistleblower lawsuit against the very district she was elected to represent.

According to sources, Central Basin Water District Director Leticia Vasquez (above) demanded money from Cook Hills for her vote on an upcoming Central Basin project.

 

By Brian Hews

Hews Media Group-Community News has exclusively learned that Montebello City Councilwoman Vanessa Delgado and Central Basin Water (CB) Director Leticia Vasquez met last Wednesday with Cook Hills Properties (Cook) officials, the developer of Montebello Hills, with Vasquez reportedly demanding money in a pay-to-play scheme for her vote on an upcoming CB project.

Sources told HMG-CN that Vasquez demanded campaign donations in exchange for her yes vote on a $552,000 CB contract with Cook.

Vasquez is running for re-election for CB’s District 4 in November of this year.

The vote on the project is scheduled to take place tomorrow (June 27) at the regular CB Board meeting.

HMG-CN was told Councilwoman Delgado, who is heavily supported by Montebello Councilman Jack Hadjinian, and a good friend of Vasquez’, facilitated the meeting between the two parties.

 

Montebello City Councilwoman Vanessa Delgado.

Montebello City Councilwoman Vanessa Delgado facilitated the shakedown meeting.

 

Sources are also telling HMG-CN that CB General Manager Kevin Hunt and a high-level CB engineer received phone calls immediately after the meeting from Cook officials who were “irate that a CB Director would try such a thing.”

When contacted by HMG-CN, Hunt simply stated, “You will have to wait until Monday’s meeting.”

Calls and emails into Delgado and Vasquez went unreturned.

The contract is called the “Montebello Recycled Water Pipeline Expansion” and is estimated to cost $6.545 million divided into two components: Phase 1 estimated at $1,014,600, Phase 2 estimated at $5,530,400.

Per the agreement, CB will split 50% of the Phase 1 pipeline cost of $552,800.

That agreement will be put to vote at tomorrow’s CB board meeting.

Vasquez’ Past Pay-to Play Schemes

This is not the first go-around for Vasquez’ involvement in pay-to-play schemes.

In April 2013, HMG-CN exclusively reported that Vasquez used her newfound majority voting bloc status to benefit longtime personal associates including Maurice Chenier, the law office partner of her husband Ronald N. Wilson, and another close personal associate Jasmyne Cannick.

 

 

 

Chenier was hired as a special attorney and Jasmyne Cannick as a “media consultant” by CB in April 2013. Cannick’s contract was not voted on by the Board, it was approved by then-interim COO Dave Hill at the behest of Vasquez.

Click here to read entire story.

In March of 2014, HMG-CN exclusively reported that Vasquez sent a “personal friend” to represent her in the capacity as legal counsel to secretly negotiate a “yes” vote for an $870,000 settlement on what at the time was being referred to as a “shakedown” of Pacifica Services CEO Ernie Camacho.

Click here to read entire story.

Thick as Thieves: Delgado Acts Like Vasquez

Delgado, like her friend Vasquez, has a similar checkered past.

A June 2015 HMG-CN investigation found Delgado, who touted herself as a “Montebello home owner and a product of the local community,” had recently moved into the city and changed her address to run for City Council.

HMG-CN also found Delgado, like Vasquez, had personal ties with the Calderon family, and in particular with former California Assemblyman Tom Calderon, who was recently convicted on bribery and money laundering charges along with his brother Ron.

 

Delgado house

Montebello house Delgado bought from Tom Calderon. She first denied she knew Tom Calderon, but later recanted.

 

Delgado purchased Tom Calderon’s home in Montebello in 2014, but denied ever knowing Calderon when HMG-CN first discovered the sale.

Delgado finally admitted she knew it was Calderon’s home and had dealings with him after repeated questions and evidence presented by HMG-CN.

Click here to read entire story.

Vasquez’ connections to the Calderons have been well chronicled by HMG-CN which include Vasquez’ recent vote to hire  a law firm connected to the Calderon family.

Click here to read entire story.

Vasquez’ 2012 campaign also received donations from both Ron and Tom Calderon and received heavy funding from convicted felon Ricardo “Ric” Mayer and convicted felon who plead down to a misdemeanor Angel Gonzales, owner of Pyramid Printing.

Click here to read entire story.

 

  • sweepsailor says:

    I have not vetted any of this, but in all likelihood all of these “servants of the citizens” will have a ‘d’ after their names!! Where lying, cheating, scheming, stealing, along with graft and corruption are just a way of life with them! Laws are ONLY meant for others and NEVER them. I seriously hope there are some brave responsible adults SOMEWHERE in local LA county governments to prosecute these lawless bastards! But seeing as how we are in the twilight zone of liberal land, not much will ever happen to them and “business as usual” will continue unabated!! BIG SIGH…

  • Is that the same Kevin Hunt who bilked South Gate out of money in 2003?

  • Little Marco says:

    Yes, the same Kevin Hunt who ran with Big Al Robles back in the day. Hunt was recruited to run Central Basin by Bob “the sexual predator” Apodaca. Of course Apodaca is also credit with bringing in Leticia “Recalled” Vasquez and Jim “the drunk” Roybal besides the likes of Pacifica’s Ernie Camacho, HDR’s David Cobb and his lover former Central Basin attorney Dougie Wance, Tom “I’m not a Crook” Calderon, and that worthless former GM Art Aguilar.

    All I can say is that the ratepayers in Central Basin get what they deserve after re-electing Apodaca two years ago following the District paying $670,000 to settle another sexual harassment claim just months prior.

    It’s like the guns don’t kill people, people kill people argument. Crooked politicans do not come in crooked, they become crooked because stupid voters are not paying attention.

    Roybal and Vasquez are up in November and who’s paying attention? I don’t care how much ink Los Cerritos uses, stupid voters will always be stupid voters.

    Might as well re-elected Ian Calderon while you’re at it in Novemeber and forget that he rode into the Assembly on his “family’s” good name and will make a small fortune spending the next twenty years in Sacramento and then retire into government “consulting” by the time he’s in his early 40’s. Must be nice😋

  • Baboon Esquire says:

    Was that picture taken before or after the operation? Is she officially the first transgender elected official in California?