Former VP Pedro Aceituno’s Resignation Will Cost Central Basin Rate Payers Over $240,000

By Brian Hews

Bell Gardens Councilman Pedro Aceituno, who is a candidate for the 58th Assembly District seat, is running against embattled Assembly woman Cristina Garcia, who Aceituno says is “embarrassing our district.”

Aceituno, who is rumored to be from El Salvador, is also running on “trust and fiscal responsibility.”

Yet Aceituno, who recently resigned from his Central Basin (CB) Director position under threat of an incompatible office lawsuit by the L.A. County D.A., cannot call himself trustworthy nor fiscally responsible.

Aceituno, in his thirst for public office, is costing CB rate-payers and Bell Gardens taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Voters will also question his statement about trust, as sources are telling Hews Media Group-Community News that Salvador Franco is a major player in his campaign to win the 58th Assembly seat.

It was first reported by HMG-CN in 2012 that Franco, while running for Downey City Council, violated California voter laws, voting in Bell Gardens between 2007 and 2010, while property records indicated he was a resident of Downey during that same period.

Voter Fraud Cited Against Downey Council Candidate Salvador Franco

Franco was associated with former Assessor John Noguez, who at the time was in county jail-because of HMG-CN’s exclusive exposé-facing dozens of felony counts of money laundering, fraud and other charges in the largest political corruption case in LA County history.

Franco also enraged Downey residents, promising during his campaign to sack the Downey Fire Department and bring the Los Angeles County Fire Department in as a replacement.

Money, Money, Money, Money….Money!

As a Bell Gardens Councilman, Aceituno ran for and was elected to the CB Municipal Water District in 2016.

At the time, Aceituno was receiving over $27,000 annually in committee stipends, monthly pay, and benefits from Bell Gardens.

Once sworn in to his CB position, Aceituno immediately began receiving pay including two car allowance payments of almost $400 in Dec 2016.

Document from Central Basin showing Aceituno’s car allowance including two payments in Dec 2016.

While critics were crying foul, including some Directors on the CB Board, Aceituno attempted to distance himself from incompatible offices charges saying, “although the Bell Gardens’ water company purchases water from Central Basin, I do not think there is a conflict.”

One of the first and most damaging moves the newly elected Aceituno engineered was to support the Bob Apodaca “group” and remove the well-respected Phil Hawkins from the President’s chair.

Worse, Aceituno voted to replace Hawkins with Apodaca who’s trail of corruption and malfeasance is well- documented in several exclusive HMG-CN articles.

Among the most egregious Apodaca violations was a $670,000 payment to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit. Apodaca also voted to give his common law wife Caroline Medrano $10,247 for “floral arrangements.”

Central Basin President Bob Apodaca’s Alleged Sexual Harassment Chronicled in Explicit Investigation Report

Exclusive: Business Owned by Central Basin Director Apodaca’s Wife Paid Over $10,000 by Agency

In typical mob-boss fashion, Apodaca rewarded Aceituno for his vote by giving him several inside and outside well-paid committee assignments.

Critics became even more vocal when, during several CB Board meetings, Aceituno had to recuse himself from voting due to the conflict of interest between his CB position and his Bell Gardens Council seat.

Aceituno remained steadfast saying “there was no conflict of interest,” until HMG-CN exclusively reported five months later in May 2017 that the D.A. began an investigation of incompatible offices.

But a defiant Aceituno waited for ten months before resigning, costing CB thousands more in pay.

Public records obtained by HMG-CN show that Aceituno took home over $70,000 during his short tenure at CB, consisting of weekly pay, stipends from committee positions, car allowance, and health benefits.

The pay period was from Jan 2017 to March 2018, a total of 15 months, averaging over $4,700 per month. This was in addition to the $2,300 per month he was taking from Bell Gardens city coffers.

But the larger cost of Aceituno’s conflicted tenure at CB was yet to come.

HMG-CN has exclusively learned that Aceituno’s resignation triggered a “special election” in November.

That special election will cost Central Basin taxpayers an estimated $245,000.

HMG-CN confirmed this amount with CB’s Joseph Legaspi and Brenda Duran, Head of the Media & Communications Department at the Los Angeles Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s office.

The final numbers of Aceituno’s reign at CB: 15 months, $320,000, $21,300 per month.

When contacted, Aceituno told HMG-CN, “ I’m proud of the work I did as a reformer on the board.”

CB Director Art Chacon told HMG-CN, “I think having Pedro elected was a waste of time and taxpayer money. He never did anything, he had to recuse himself several times during our board meetings. Now that he resigned it will cost CB over $240,000. If he gets elected to the Assembly will it be the same thing as Central Basin? Before you run for a higher position you should clean up your own house.”

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