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RELATED:
$23 million Bond interest payments
Bait and Switch by Mayor Noguez
Mayor Noguez's short term political gains are causing short and long term financial losses for
Huntington Park. Mayor Noguez and George Cole urged Huntington Park voters to pass
Measure "E".

Tuesday, October 27, 2010
Editor, WatchOurCity.com

Huntington Park, Ca - Mayor Noguez's short term political gambits have triggered irreversible
short term and long-term financial losses for the city of Huntington Park. Bankruptcy is
inescapable. Noguez, who does not possess a college degree (and lied to residents about
having one), fancies that his certificates in property assessments prepare him for complex
financial deals. In fact, his skills, or lack of, are only leading to financial ruin for the city.

In 2007, mayor Noguez flat-out lied about his academic credentials, stating in campaign
mailers that he received a "Finance" degree from Cal-State L.A. This fabrication alone is
egregious enough, but does not compare to the financial harm and risk his public policy
proclivities have done, are doing and will do.

Noguez, a man with no college degree, and who fancies himself a financial wizard, has
placed the city in risky if not ruinous financial straights.

Noguez also manages, like a good con artist, to convince four of the five L.A. County
Supervisors into endorsing him for the L.A. County Assessor seat.

Imagine the Assessor's office being run by a man with only a high school diploma, no college
degree, who lied about having one, lied about being a financial expert, who has never
managed a business unit, nor has supervised even one employee, and whose fool-hardy
political games have ruined the finances of one city, leading it on a path to insolvency, who
all of a sudden is running a one trillion dollar tax roll, the largest on American soil, and will
manage a staff of 1,600. A man whose political portfolio includes intimate "political
entanglements" with Bell's corrupt and indicted officials, whose given rigged million dollar
contracts to Bell's former mayor George Cole, and whose past two campaign managers have
been both convicted of crimes. That man is John Noguez.

Evidently Noguez believed his own lies, but they seem to be catching up to him.

Mayor Noguez and George Cole urged Huntington Park voters to pass Measures "E" in
November 2009. Noguez told voters Measures A, B, L & E for $2 million each were to patch
hole in city's budget, were instead used for interest-only payments on $23 million bond
slated exclusively for PD retirement benefits, taking up 75% of budget; bankruptcy is next.
The propaganda urging voters to pass these stop-gap measures was really a
bait-and-switch tactic. In reality, the measures are only going to pay for the unsustainable
interest-only payments on a $23 million bond passed solely to pay skyrocketing police
retirement benefits.

Huntington Park's Police Department is currently taking up 75% of the city's budget, with a
benefits and retirement package that is trending to bankrupt the city within a handful of
years.

The city pays 100% of the police department benefits and retirement package for members
of the police department. In other words, police officers pay zero contributions into their
retirement benefits packages.

In 2005 Noguez led an effort to pass a $23 million dollar bond for "Safety" measures. In fact
the bond was put on the ballot to buttress an unsustainable Police Department retirement
burden. Interest alone on the $23 million bond is approximately $200,000 per year,
compounded. That is, interest payment alone accrues at $200,000 per year.

The police retirement policy as championed by mayor Noguez is mathematically
unsustainable and is on target to bankrupt city coffers. The mayor's gambling away the city
treasury is driven by short term political gains in exchange for controlling the police
department and using resources of the police force for political advantage. In 2007's
re-election campaign, the police department actively campaigned for John Noguez. Police
cruisers were spotted by the editor of WatchOurCity.com with the back seats full of "vote for
Noguez" lawn signs.

The head of the Police Officers Association even admitted in emails to WatchOurCity.com that
Noguez is "corrupt". Yet, went ahead to endorse John Noguez and actively worked to further
his campaign when Noguez promised that he would maintain the Police Department's
generous benefits and retirement package. It worked.

According to Huntington Park finance manager Elba Padilla, CalPERS interest on the unmet
retirement burden was at 7%. To get a better deal on interest payments, the city instead
opted to issue the $23 million bond in February 2005, justified by realizing a savings of just
3%, since the bond's cost was only 4%. The bond's sole purpose is to prop up an
unsustainable CalPERS retirement formula which has created a gaping sink-hole in financing
the retirement benefits package for police officers.

According to city sources, Huntington Park's two-tier benefit's pension formula is lopsided,
contributing to an unsustainable financial burden. Regular city staff have a 2% at 55
retirement formula. Police officers, on the other hand have a most generous 3% at 50
formula.

According to data released by State Controller John Chiang, Huntington Park's 193
employees are paid a total of $8.5 million in wages whose  pension burden is $1.3 million on
a yearly basis.

In contrast, there just 68 police officers alone making slightly over $7.2 million with earned
pensions of over $1.9 million on a yearly basis.

That difference in formula is not academic. The total number of employees is 261, including
PD staff.

In other words, one quarter of city staff (police officers) are costing nearly 50% of Huntington
Park's total base salaries, and are eating up 60% of city's total pension burden. But that's
not all. On average, a regular city employee's pension burden is $6,735. The average for
police personnel is $27,941. The ratio is 1:4.

The overly generous 3%@50 retirement benefit formula has in fact damaged beyond repair
the city's ability to maintain a healthy budget.  Sources tell WatchOurCity.com that Noguez's
short sighted political maneuvering has "created a severe financial liability that's made it
difficult to fund other departments. This is continually causing short falls that have
necessitated measures to increase taxes."

Further, the policy "is fiscally unsustainable and will eventually lead to bankruptcy. To date
city counsel has been irresponsibly ignoring the calls for pension reform. Instead they have
placed the obligations onto the tax payers backs."      

The expenditures and overall function of police operations outside of salary and benefits are
also being charged to other departments to hide their real overall costs.

Data shows that the "Police Department budget is larger than is being reported. Department
expenses are usurping from other departments within the city. For example, the PD's
gasoline, vehicle usage, and maintenance expenses are charged to other departments.  
Many of their charges are concealed to make it appear that the police department is more
affordable.

Although the adopted general fund budget shows a usage of 60% by the police department,
the actual general fund usage for salaries and benefits is 75% of the general fund. There are
a total of ten departments within the city, not including the $14.2 million for the PD, the
remaining departments share just $4.6 million".  

See WatchOurCity.com report below from March 8, 2007 regarding Noguez and his close ties
to the Police Officers Association.

_________________________________________________________________________
Tuesday July 13, 2010
Update Wednesday July 14,
2010
The Editor,
WatchOurCity.com
Depriving the Public of
Honest Services: Bell,
Maywood, Huntington
Park, LAUSD
Fiduciary fail by Maywood, Bell,
Huntington Park officials.
Tuesday July 13, 2010
The Editor,
WatchOurCity.com
Huntington Park in $1.2
Million Fiscal Deficit Partly
Caused by City of Bell's
George Cole
Mayor Noguez gave George Cole
millions
Monday, October 4, 2010 6:00 am
WatchOurCity.com
Mayor Noguez in bed with
George Cole: Awards  
Multi-Million Dollar Housing
Redevelopment contract to
Cole, Recently Arrested by
the D.A. & sued by the AG
Huntington Park's
Redevelopment Agency awards
$3.8 million for Fiscal Year
2009-2010 to Cole's Oldtimers.
Monday, September 27, 2010 6:00 am
WatchOurCity.com
Mayor Noguez  
Implicated in Bell
Scandal with Cole
Noguez directed multi-million
dollar contracts to George Cole's
Oldtimers Foundation, shared
convicted felon as campaign
managers with George Cole.
Monday, September 27, 2010,
WatchOurCity.com
Huntington Park's Mayor
John Noguez Shakes down
Charter School for
campaign Contribution in
Exchange for Project
Approval
Mayor John Noguez and City
Attorney Leal called meeting
with Charter school. Noguez is
running for L.A. County Assessor.
September 24, 2010,
WatchOurCity.com
Huntington Park Attorney
Francisco Leal making
$630,000, more than twice
city of L.A.'s Attorney
Mayor John Noguez authorized
payments to Leal, and is good
friend to Bell's George Cole.
Thursday, Sept. 16, 2010, 6:00 am,
WatchOurCity.com
Supervisor Antonovich
sends formal request to
D.A. to investigate John
Noguez
Antonovich "referred" letter to
the D.A.s' office "for his review
and appropriate action".
Complaint seeks to investigate
Huntington Park mayor John
Noguez based on allegations
that his legal name is John
Rodriguez. Noguez is in a
November runoff race against
John Wong for Assessor.
Election Watch 2007
Questionable Endorsement of Mayor Noguez's
Corruption Team by Police Officers Association

Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez Appears at Noguez
Campaign Office During Weekend

The Editor,
WatchOurCity.com
Posted Wednesday, March 8, 2007

Huntington Park, CA - The Huntington Park Police Officers Association (HPPOA) endorses the
team of Noguez, Gomez and Hernandez.

The "Noguez Campaign Committee" sends a campaign propaganda mailer showing a letter
written by Chris Lisner, a Huntington Park detective and president of the HPPOA. The letter
states that Detective Lisner "proudly endorses Juan "John" Noguez,
Ofelia Hernandez, and Mario Gomes for re-election". The letter is dated February 22, 2007.

On February 23, 2006, a high ranking Huntington Park Police Officer and member of the
HPPOA emails WatchOurCity.com and states the following: "I do agree with many of the points
that you have presented over the past few years and think that your work is valuable.

"In any event, I think your pursuit of corrupt officials is admirable and would like to help in any
lawful manner that I can but please take notice that we in the police department are also subject
to corrupt leadership (or were). Additionally, despite our desires to correct these problems we at
the line level hold the same weight  as any other citizen (actually less) when trying to fix the
system."

It is hard to reconcile the contents of the email above with HPPOA's action in endorsing the
Noguez candidate slate.

Mayor John Noguez and his running mates council members Ofelia Hernandez and Mario
Gomez, are the subject of this website's three years worth of documented reports of
extensive, blatant and methodical corruption, reports which the Police Officer's Association
itself admires and agrees with as evidenced in their email to this website's editor.

It is puzzling when the police officer says that it is admirable of WatchOurCIty.com to pursue
corrupt officials "and would like to help in any lawful manner", then his own Police
Association turns around and endorses the very same corrupt officials that this same
website has been watching and exposing, namely, Noguez, Hernandez and Gomez, including
Ed Escareno, their campaign manager in 2003, who in December 2005 was convicted of
Grand Theft of public funds.

It is even more puzzling because one of the challengers, Efren Martinez, is a decorated U.S.
Marine still in active duty, with war service stints in Iraq and Somalia. So much for supporting
our troops!

In contrast, the only service given by HPPOA's endorsed slate of Noguez and team is self
service with their cute pay raises and eye-popping travel bonuses, and let's not forget the
corruption in the form of millions of dollars in contracts to friends and campaign donors while
service to families just does not matter.

The HPPOA's message to the residents and voters of Huntington Park is loud and clear: We
do not honor service to our country, but we do honor corruption with our endorsement.

Now, to be fair to HPPOA members, they probably had no choice in the matter and were
forced at virtual
gunpoint to endorse the corruption slate of Juan "John" Rodriguez Renaldo (Noguez), or
whatever his real name is. If they did not, Noguez and Leal could deploy their very own
police chief to do their bidding, who just a few months ago was recruited by Noguez and city
attorney Francisco Leal from Maywood's police department. A simple threat would have done
it: You endorse us or our lackey police chief will fire you.

Perhaps this is what was being described in the email noted above: "please take notice that
we in the police
department are also subject to corrupt leadership..."

Noguez and city attorney Francisco Leal hired the police Chief from Maywood to be
Huntington Park's Chief. This was done in secret and without a search for the most qualified
candidate. This was also done right a few months before the 2007 elections. The hiring of
Huntington Park's new chief was perfect.
Wonder what Mayor Noguez and the city attorney were hiding?Wonder why Maywood is
dealing with alleged corruption with their police department?

Francisco Leal is city attorney in Huntington Park and Maywood. Corruption works best with
economies of scale, which is  basic economics 101 applied to corruption.

Noguez seems to desperately need help for his reelection campaign and is helped by calls to
voters from the Police Officers Association, from Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez and State
Senators Gil Cedillo and Ron Calderon. All these politicians urge you to vote for the
corruption team.

Speaker Nunez even urges voters to join him on Saturday March 3 in the campaign
headquarters of Noguez, Gomez & Hernandez.

In 2003 Speaker Fabian Nunez also supported the Noguez team and also made a personal
appearance at their kick-off campaign. Fabian called Noguez and his campaign manager,
then council member Edward Escareno, men of  "honor and integrity" and stated that
Huntington Park residents would be proud to have men such as Noguez and Escareno
represent the residents of this city. Escareno was not employed for most of his city council
tenure and two years later was convicted of GRAND THEFT of public funds.

Why does the Sacramento Latino Democratic leadership insist on supporting council
members without any means of support, are unemployed and uneducated?

Why?

The answer is simple. Francisco Leal, city attorney at your service. Lucrative million dollar
contracts. Campaign contributions. Maywood and Huntington Park council members voted to
hire Francisco Leal as city attorney in closed door session and without competing bids. Now
you know why mayor John Noguez , Fabian Nunez and the entire Latino Caucus in
Sacramento thinks you are stupid?

If you were Fabian Nunez, who would you endorse in Huntington Park's city council race? A
U.S. Military serviceman with military stints in Somalia and Iraq fighting for this country, or an
unemployed council member without any education? The unemployed council member is more
easily manipulated. Can you handle the truth? Makes you wonder: Is Fabian encouraging
corruption?

Can you handle the truth? Francisco Leal is a personal friend of Speaker Nunez.

Find out why Fabian Nunez would support corrupt mayor Noguez who asked for $50,000 in
campaign contributions in exchange for approving construction of Aspire Charter School in
Huntington Park. Read about the corruption of John Noguez, or whatever his real name is:
- "Mayor Noguez Thinks you are Stupid"

- "Why John Noguez Will be Reelected: It's the corruption, Stupid"

- Find out who State Senator Ron Calderon Really Cares About (hint: Not Your Children)

- Find out why local corruption has friends in Sacramento like Fabian Nunez

- L.A. Weekly and L.A. Times: City Attorney Francisco Leal enriches himself with lucrative city
contracts in Maywood and Huntington Park.
Huntington Park
mayor Juan Noguez
lied about having a
college degree.

A 2007 campaign
mailer he sent to
voters in Huntington
Park stated
"Eventually he
graduated from  Cal
State Los Angeles
with a degree in
Finance". In fact,
Noguez admitted
during an October
2010 city council
meeting that he
does not have a
college degree.

The fraud he
perpetrated on
unwitting residents
is characteristic of
his public policies.
Monday October 11, 2010 6:00 am
WatchOurCity.com
Times Endorses John Wong  
for County Assessor, Again
Noguez Fails Endorsement
"Political entanglements" says
L.A. Times as reason not to
endorse Huntington Park mayor
John Noguez for Assessor.
Noguez awarded rigged
multi-million dollar contracts to
Bell's George Cole, recently
arrested by the D.A. in Bell's
corruption scandal.
Academic Degree Scandal  
Widens - Huntington Park's  
mayor Noguez Does not  
have a College Degree
Noguez did not inform voters he
failed to get a college degree.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010, 6:00 am
WatchOurCity.com
D.A. Steve Cooley
Rescinds Noguez
Endorsement
Cooley is first elected official to
rescind endorsement of John
Noguez for County Assessor.
Noguez is Huntington Park's
mayor implicated in Bell scandal.