Voice of OC has done some terrific reporting on the shenanigans going on at Santa Ana City Hall.
The latest revelations come from testimony in a civil lawsuit brought by former Police Chief Carlos Rojas. (The lawsuit was settled for $350,000 in December, right before a scheduled hearing in the case.)
According to Rojas, Mayor Miguel Pulido had quite the side hustle going, personally renting out city-owned property to enrich himself. He also allegedly offered to guarantee marijuana dispensary permits in exchange for tens of thousands of dollars and directed police on which marijuana businesses to raid and which permit applications to give priority.
David Cavazos, the city manager from 2013 until late 2016, said in a sworn deposition the mayor called him to suggest city staff move forward a particular permit for a marijuana dispensary, and called the police department directly to try to influence which dispensaries got raided.“I think [City Attorney] Sonia [Carvalho] might have had a conversation with the mayor. ‘Mayor, stop it. Stop trying to orchestrate the situation, which dispensaries…you want to have enforced on, which dispensaries you don’t want to have enforced on, which applications you’re working on to try and move them up the list. All that’s got to stop. That’s inappropriate,’ ” Cavazos testified.
In a disturbing anecdote, Rojas also recalls how Pulido allegedly suggested a venue run by a convicted drug trafficker for a 2016 Hillary Clinton campaign event. Clinton staff toured the restaurant, which is associated with the mayor, but did not ultimately choose it for the event — perhaps thanks to a warning from Rojas himself.
Pulido has said he “categorically denies” the allegations against him.
It doesn’t end there. Voice of OC also reports that Santa Ana Police union president Gerry Serrano is accused of bribing city council members in an effort to force Rojas out of his job. Serrano’s actions were payback for Rojas disciplining him after a 2011 hit-and-run DUI arrest, according to the ex-chief.
The city’s current police chief is mired in a scandal of his own. Chief David Valentin, Serrano’s choice for Rojas’ replacement, has been accused of sexual harassment by the wife of SAPOA’s former boss.