By Brian Hews and Randy Economy
Hews Media Group-Community News has learned that the FBI’s investigation of California State Senator Ron Calderon is now looking into the role Gil Cedillo Jr., the son of Los Angeles City Councilman Gil Cedillo, had in an alleged scheme to funnel illegal contributions from businesses to Calderon in exchange for those businesses landing lucrative state contracts.
Gilbert Cedillo, Jr., via his Facebook page
In an exclusive interview with HMG-CN, a second FBI informant confirmed that the FBI, on multiple occasions, had interviewed the informant concerning Cedillo Jr.’s alleged role in the illegal contributions scheme that has been ongoing for a number of years.
Previously, HMG-CN was the first to report on Gil Cedillo Jr.’s role with the Central Basin Municipal Water District, his six-figure salary, taxpayer-paid $22,000 college tuition, and most recently his involvement with the awarding of questionable contracts to DeAztlan Consulting.
But it now appears that the DeAztlan scheme was the tip of the iceberg.
Cedillo Jr. who was Senator Calderon’s Field Director in the past, was the apparent “middle man” between Senator Calderon and local businesses who needed help obtaining contracts from the state.
In return, these businesses funded trips and gave cash to Senator Calderon through Cedillo Jr.
Part of the investigation centers around a Whittier-based company called PALS Supported Living Services. The FBI’s investigation into PALS is focused on trips to Las Vegas for Senator Calderon that was “supported” by PALS President Rodney Mojarro.
HMG-CN has obtained more than 2,000 pages of court documents outlining the details of a civil case that involves PALS.
In those documents, PALS paid Cedillo Jr. a ‘Consulting Fee’ of $569.40 per month between Sept. 2011 and Mar. 2012, the same time Cedillo Jr. was employed at CBMWD and getting paid over $9,000 per month.
Those same documents show Toni De Aztlan receiving $4,680 from PALS for “legal services.” The date of the check was Oct. 25, 2011, eight days before Toni DeAztlan landed a $25,000 Election Services Contract with CBMWD of which Gil Cedillo Jr. was the Project Manager.
But the money to DeAztlan did not stop there. An examination of CBMWD’s check register revealed Ms. DeAztlan received $8,300 in May and June of 2012 for “Consulting” and another check for $8,400 in October for “Consulting-Election,” for a total of $50,000.
See check register entries here
HMG-CN has made a public records request asking for any documents, contracts, and emails related to the additional money paid to Ms. DeAztlan.
The informant went on to say that the FBI is also interested in a transaction between DeAtzlan, who was the counsel for PALS, and Cedillo Jr., wherein Cedillo Jr. received payment for the purchase of his classic Impala car with several transactions of cash and checks, ranging in the amounts of $7,000 and up.
In addition, they are looking into Cedillo, Jr. receiving gifts of Las Vegas trips, free cell phone, dinners at the swanky Dal Rae Restaurant in Pico Rivera, CA, stipend check payments, and help with the purchase of his family home in Monterey Park, CA.
Geez, do you think this is why Jr. was always behind closed doors here at Central Basin (when he was here of course) and then always out of the office (drumming up “new” business that never materialized)?
He was like the “Swiss Banker” at Central Basin that never talked. You knew he was up to something but you also knew it had nothing to do with water! Gil enjoyed a wonderful life as a result of being Daddy’s boy and never failed to make all of us aware of his splendid existence.
Unfortunately, Daddy will sell him down the river and let him go down before snitching on the Calderon’s and the rest of the crooks here. That’s what Jr. gets for being too lazy to make a living on his own.
I just listened to some silly elected “BIMBO” from Central Basin on the David Cruz Show. What a joke, her attitude of “It’s not my fault (Giggle,Giggle) I’m innocent” was totally embarrassing. Who are these stupid water board people and where did they come from? “BIMBO” even had the nerve to say other elected officials had asked her to run.
I hope ALL there, INCLUDING all the Klan Calderon and ESPECIALLY the always corrupt Gil Cedillo are prosecuted, THROWN out of the legislature & LA city council, and PUT IN Jail where they have belonged for YEARS! Oh and David Cruz is a just a Latino political liberal demo-crap party HACK of the highest order! I would NOT trust ANYTHING this retarded illegal alien lover nut case says!
Cedillo Jr., Calderon, Aguilar, Camacho, Roybal, Vasquez, Wance, Apodaca, Hill, and so on and so on. Drop the bomb and kill these cockroaches once and for all. Why don’t the feds just swoop in and shut the place dow?. No one will miss this agency one bit. The only water they actually touch is in those expensive logo’d water bottles that Leticia stacks in her trunk on a daily basis. How hard is it to run that place? Does anyone even realize that these guys don’t ever touch a valve, pipe or switch? Any water they deliver comes via a phone call. You call this a water agency?
Believe what you want to believe. I know what I heard and it doesnt impact me any either way. Theyre all crooks as far as im concerned! And I dont pretend to know what a guy like Mojarro drives but i was able to confirm (using “the google”)that PALS is a for profit company that serves the disabled and not a non profit 501 c3 as reported. Im not saying Randy and Brian are wrong on this one but I prefer facts over the exclustive testimony of a criminal like Kenia Davalos, who was such a stain on the Whittier community. Plus I think theres a bigger story looming in the shadows. Im into good stories and award winning reporting and facts my friend. Thats why I follow HMG.
Thanks, Kevin for your candid comments. This situation is evolving, and new developments are emerging everyday.
Randy Economy
Hows this for a development? DA Mario Trujillo pulls the plug on Davalos’ defense team and she takes an unexpected Felony plea deal to avoid having to take the stand in her criminal defense trial. As explained to me, things were getting a little too close for comfort for DA Mario Trujillo.Perhaps Davalos told the FBI more than they needed to know about her involvement with the his campaign? Maybe some good old fashioned investigative reporting fueled the fire? In any case, Davalos will be singing her next tune from the County Jail and Whittier,its School Board and thier bond $ are much better off with her behind bars for a while.
Where’s the development? Mario Trujillo decided not to run for District Attorney. Los Angeles County has a new DA with Jackie Lacey. I don’t get it, where’s the story here? There’s nothing here that’s current or relevant in my opinion. Personally, wasting one ounce of ink on Mario Trujillo at this time seems useless. And as for Deavalos, again, her story has been told. Who cares what happens to her after she’s locked up. Cedillo and the Calderon’s are news, follow that trail LCCN!
Yes, another BELL-like group of uneducated individuals working in so-called public service to enrich themselves.
As a client of PALS, I am completely shocked, but in no way surprised by this news. PALS is an agency that serves the needs of the mentally and physically disabled like myself (in my case, physically), so I don’t understand how things could have gotten this bad, especially from an agency like that. I already have plans to sever ties with PALS because I don’t want to deal with the feds. If it were up to me, I’d shut PALS down and find other places to serve their clientele, Oh, has anyone mentioned Rod’s leasing of as Ferrari??
— Pissed off
Gil jr. Goes around and collects cash campaign conterbutions and never even reports the cash to the candidate that the money was collected for . This guy is a low class scum and a thug in suit.
This is an interesting article made even more interesting by conversation i had with a disgruntaled former staff member of the Mario Trujillo campaign for La County DA. The source of this article was exposed to be none other than disgraced former school board member Kenia Romero Davalos. see- Whittier Daily news article re: Davalos. Apparently she was taking $ from her former employer and using the funds for her campaign, some personal expenses and cash donations to Trujillo for DA . Now, the last thing Trujillo wants is to have her take the stand in her pending criminal trial since God knows she sings like a canary. So the trujillo/Davalos camp are trying to make more of a pending FBI investigation into the Calderons than actually exhists. Not a bad strategy I must admit. Especially when you have high power lawyer friends of Trujillo at MABA to provide free legal services. The whole thing is a mess but why use a known criminal for an “exclusive interview”? Why should we trust that Davalos is a reliable informant? In any case its always fun when former staff members spill thier guts over a few drinks on a Friday night!
Oh yeah Kevin, let’s believe a guy who runs a non-profit who leases a new Ferrari like Mojarro and a guys milking a government agency for $160,000 a year with benefits along with an all-expenses paid $22,000 college education like Cedillo Jr.. And let’s not even start on the Calderon’s!!!!
No thanks, I’ll stick with Randy and Brian’s sources if you don’t mind.
Shut it down. It’s a good start. The biggest problem is that they are not embarrassed by any of this. They are lawyered up with defense funds, and the funds will roll in to get them off. Our country has not done it’s job to make crooks accountable for treasonous acts against the taxpayer. Take away their assets,send them up the river. 1099 years is about right.
Update:
Since I posted my comment on 2 August, my life has turned on its head. Understanding that I have a constitutional right to say anything I please about this article without fear of reprisal or becoming a scapegoat, it would appear that’s exactly what happened.
Mr. Mojarro/PALS has terminated me as a client and will stop serving me at the end of next month, after getting an extension till that date. All this just because I spoke my mind and hurt Mr. Mojarro’s feelings. And again, let’s not be fooled here — my comment is the only basis for the termination. I did not squeal, tattle or fink on PALS to any supervising authority because the story was already out in the public realm and open for comment and/or debate. Me being a client is irrelevant, but I guess in certain people’s minds it is.
Does not the First Amendment apply to everyone or just to those who hold some sort of power over others — in this case, disabled people?
Please call me regarding your situation at 562 407 3873.
Randy Economy
I know this article is more about Central Water Basin than the Calderon clan, but I really hope that some decent, honest Democrats can be found to run against the Calderon’s in all elections, so that Democrats are not left with the choice between ne’er-do-goods and Republicans in upcoming elections.
Does everyone know what Jr really is? Well whoever reads this and knows him ask him who Shady is! Because it’s him Shady from White Fence!!! yes he is a grown lil boy who is from White Fence!! he still hangs out with his lil homies all the time! spanky, dreamer, yogi and so many more of them!!! Just like Mike said….hes only where hes at because of daddy& hes people!! hes a lil punk that made hundreds of thousands of dollars & all he did was steal & cheat tax payers for it all!!!! only a gangsta wants a classic Impala right? stupid lil fake cholo is just a lil punk who was always made fun of by his own friends!!! so I hope lil Shady gets a lot of time for what he has done to so many innocent people!!!! if he gets away with it & is allowed to keep his money! WOW!!!! this is why he has put all his money away///// you get what you reep!!!
of course Cedillo Jr. has gang ties…that’s why politics just another extension of organized crime. These Mexican thugs like Richard Allatorre and Cedillo Jr. and phony Tony Villarogisa all have their gang ties. Just like Pico Rivera’s David Armenta.
Armenta uses Rivera 13 to shake down businesses and property landlords or else the city goes after them for various BS issues like an old shed in the back yard. Armenta is rolling with cash and keeps heavy firepower at his home at all times (nothing registered of course but the police look the other way). Armenta keeps cash flowing to the local bangers and in turn they back his play. People get their tires slashed, walls graffitti’d with threats, or worse he gets the Sheriffs to harass his enemies…seen it happen people! The Sheriffs even drive him home when he gets drunk at El Rodeo and the Sports Arena.
The gangster life is how everything works. You keep them happy and you stay in office. You don’t think Daddy Cedillo has greased a lot of White Fence palms? Hell, his boy is protected for life as long as he pays.