BREAKING: HMG Article Results in Resignation of Central Basin Director Dan Arrighi

BY BRIAN HEWS • JUNE 28, 2020

Hews Media Group-Cerritos News has learned that Central Basin appointed Director Dan Arrighi will be resigning his seat effective tomorrow.

The resignation came just one hour after HMG published an article related to John Oskoui, another appointed Central Basin Director.

Both directors were appointed under Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia’s controversial AB 1794, which passed in 2016.

The article reported on a letter that was submitted to the Los Angeles County District Attorney asking to investigate the obvious incompatible office position Oskoui holds.

Oskoui is the assistant city manager for the city Downey, and a director at Central Basin; Downey is a customer of Central Basin.

If the DA finds Oskoui in violation, by law he loses his $322,000 a year job as Assistant City manager in Downey.

That is likely the reason why Arrighi is resigning, he does not want to lose his job, along with another article HMG recently published.

Arrighi works for San Gabriel Valley Water, a water agency that an exclusive HMG article found gave thousands to politicians who are pushing AB 625, a gut and amend bill that would place Central Basin into receivership.

Those elected officials included AB 625 author Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, and Ian Calderon.

Arrighi’s company gave Garcia-

• $4,700 in 2012
• $4,700 in 2014
• $3,000 in 2016
• $2,500 in 2018
• and just recently gave $2,000 in 2020.

SGVW gave Speaker Rendon $5,600 from 2014-2016 and gave Calderon $6,500 from 2014-2018.

But SGVW did not stop at the individual level, donating money to PAC’s that would eventually support Garcia, Rendon, and Calderon.

One was Consumers for Clean Water, who took in $22,100 from SGVW.

This is the second appointed board member to resign under a cloud, the first was Frank Heldman who resigned last year when HMG exclusively revealed that he had tried to secure business for his own company – Liberty Water –  while Central Basin took a backseat.

The same report caught Heldman leaving crucial financial items off his Statement of Economic Interest Form 700.

And, similar to Arrighi’s company, Heldman’s employer, Liberty Water, gave thousands to PAC’s supporting Garcia, Rendon, and Calderon.

The resignation will leave only six members on Central Basin’s Board, which gives a solid majority to a group that is trying to professionally run the Commerce-based agency.

Andrew Hamilton

President Leticia Vasquez, Vice President Art Chacon, and Directors Phil Hawkins and Martha Camacho Rodriguez have been trying to conduct regular business but Directors Bob Apodaca, Oskoui, and Arrighi have been blocking their efforts by not attending board meetings.

There is  also a group of employees inside of Central Basin that are helping Apodaca and company, pulling agenda items without telling the group, cutting off Zoom board meetings, even locking the building so no directors can enter.

Their leader is Andrew Hamilton, who was recalled from the Lake Forest City Council a city located in Orange County, California.