LOS ANGELES – Hawthorne Mayor Daniel Juarez was indicted on two counts of perjury for failing to report $2,000 in campaign contributions from Gold’s Gym, the District Attorney’s Office announced today.
The indictment, returned Wednesday by the Grand Jury, was unsealed this morning by Superior Court George Lomeli after the 59-year-old mayor pleaded not guilty. Bail was set at $50,000.
Deputy District Attorney Max Huntsman of the Public Integrity Division said Juarez allegedly went to the owner of Gold’s Gym in Hawthorne and asked for money to retire his campaign debt following his election to the city council.
Huntsman said Juarez allegedly accepted $2,000 in cash that he deposited into his private account. The indictment alleges that Juarez failed to report the money on two campaign statements he filed, one in January 2010 and the other in March 2011.
Juarez returns to Department 130 on Dec. 10 for a pretrial hearing. If convicted, he faces up to five years in state prison.
