By Brian Hews and Brian Hews
(Bell Gardens): A former Bell Gardens city councilman who was convicted on four misdemeanor counts of embezzling campaign funds in 2009 has sent emails to several of his political allies urging them to make a financial contribute to a legal defense fund to help jailed Los Angeles County Assessor John Noguez, Los Cerritos Community Newspaper has confirmed.
Mario Beltran, who currently works for California State Assemblyman Gilbert Cedillo was placed on formal probation and prohibited and barred from seeking or holding elected or appointed office until 2012 in a negotiated plea agreement.
Over the weekend, Beltran sent out a email with several other supporters of Noguez urging them to donate funds to the John Noguez Attorney Fees Funds.
“Please consider helping a great human being in his time of need,” Beltran told supporters in an email obtained by LCCN.
Noguez is currently being held in a Los Angeles jail cell in solitary confinement on a $1.16 million bail and is facing more than 25 felony counts of money laundering, forgery, and fraud. LCCN was the first newspaper to report the details of the on line effort to raise funds on Noguez behalf last Friday.
Beltran and Noguez have been staunch political alleys for years dating back to when they both served councilmen.
Beltran had seven counts of grand theft, one count of perjury and one count of failing to deposit cash dismissed at his sentencing as part of a negotiated plea agreement in 2009.
In a previous prosecution in 2007, Beltran was convicted by a Downey jury of a misdemeanor charge of filing a false police report.
Here is a copy of the John Noguez email
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