Pubdate: Tue, 08 Jan 2013
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Copyright: 2013 Los Angeles Times
Contact:  http://www.latimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/248
Author: Jeff Gottlieb
Page: AA3

AIDE GETS PROBATION IN BRIBES

Angel Perales Faced Up to 30 Years, but Cooperated With the 
Investigation into Corruption in Cudahy.

A former official in the southeast Los Angeles County city of Cudahy 
was sentenced to five years probation Monday - far less than the 
prison term prosecutors recommended - for his part in taking $17,000 
in bribes from a man who wanted to open a medical marijuana dispensary.

The federal court hearing for Angel Perales and documents filed in 
his case and that of former Mayor David Silva, also charged in the 
bribery case, added new details about the continuing federal 
investigation into widespread corruption in the working-class town.

Documents previously released revealed Cudahy as a place where bribes 
- - sometimes passed along in a shoe box - were routine, city elections 
were fixed on orders from long-time City Manager George Perez, city 
workers served as armed bodyguards for council members and Perez sent 
city workers to bring him illegal pain pills.

Carlos Juarez, Perales' attorney, told Judge Manuel Real that the 
former city manager was "the mastermind behind the bribery scandal in Cudahy."

Perez's attorney, Stanley L. Friedman, has said his client denies any 
wrongdoing. Perez was fired without explanation in 2011, and is suing 
the city for $400,000 in back pay

Juarez revealed that his client had been cooperating with the FBI 
since May 22, about a month before Perales, Silva and former 
Councilman Osvaldo Conde were arrested on bribery and extortion 
charges. His assistance in the federal investigation included wearing 
a recorder to tape conversations with city officials and recording 
phone calls, the attorney said.

Perales said in an interview that he had testified before a federal 
grand jury that is investigating wrongdoing in the city.

"Mr. Perales substantially assisted the government in its 
investigation," Assistant U.S. Atty. Joseph N. Akrotirianakis said in 
an interview. Akrotirianakis had recommended Perales serve 24 months 
in prison, a substantial reduction from the potential 30-year term he 
could have faced under federal sentencing guidelines. Real, however, disagreed.

Juarez also said several Cudahy employees and people who do business 
with the city paid bribes to city officials to get their jobs.

Perales, who served in several positions with the city during his 12 
years in Cudahy, said in an interview that he was directed to give 
workers raises that they would kick back to Conde.

Documents recently filed with the court also pointed fingers at 
Perez. "As Perez's sidekick and driver, [Perales] was asked to pick 
up bribes from local businessmen and was compensated with a small 
percentage cut," Juarez wrote.

In a letter to the court in support of Silva, former city employee 
Gerardo Vallejo says he took drugs with Perez in the city manager's office.

"...we would be in his office so high, a council member would be 
knocking on the door, we would have the lights off, and wait for them 
to leave, often telling the council members we were in a meeting 
outside of City Hall," he wrote.

Besides his probation, Real ordered Perales to pay $5,000 restitution 
and serve 1,500 hours of community service. Silva was also scheduled 
to be sentenced Monday, but his attorney said he had the f lu. He is 
scheduled for sentencing Jan. 28. Conde is set for sentencing Feb. 28.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom