{"article":{"id":138096,"heading":"Rocky Delgadillo Sells Out","author":"Antonio Maron","created":"2005-10-28 22:00:15","modified":"2013-11-11 00:35:52","last_modified":"Mon, 11 Nov 2013 07:35:52","article":"<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><body><p>\"I think Rocky will bring a fresh look to the attorney general's office, and that's what we need.\" <br>  <br> ---Notorious L.A. Slumlord Stanley Treitel, who contributed heavily to Rockard Delgadillo's campaigns after the City Attorney cut him a deal in court. <br><br> Los Angeles City Attorney Rockard Delgadillo has come under intense scrutiny by the LA Times and progressive groups over the revelation that he allowed local slumlords to evade heavy financial penalties in exchange for nearly $20,000 in campaign contributions. <br><br> From the LA Times: <br><br> \"Los Angeles City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo accepted thousands of dollars in political contributions from two landlords accused of operating apartments with slum conditions after he settled a lawsuit against them for a third of the amount the city initially sought. <br><br> Lance Robbins, called \"one of Los Angeles' most notorious landlords\" in the lawsuit, and Stanley Treitel have an extensive history of involvement with properties cited for violations. Inspections of their buildings have found blocked emergency exits, cockroach infestations and faulty wiring on the premises, according to city records.\" <br><br>  <br>  <br> Read the whole story here: <br>  <br> <a href=\"http:\/\/ktla.trb.com\/news\/local\/la-me-rocky26oct26\">http:\/\/ktla.trb.com\/news\/local\/la-me-rocky26oct26<\/a>,0,6471886.story?coll=ktla-news-1 <br><br> That's right, the \"New Face of the Democratic Party\" turns out to be a hustling vendido who sells out the poor to make himself richer and more powerful.  As if his racist anti-gang posturing isn't bad enough, the guy is being paid to look the other way as slumlords profit by renting hellholes to working people. <br><br> According to Delgadillo's campaign website: <br><br> \"The next Attorney General of California can help lead the fight for people and families across this state who need a champion as they struggle to make a living, pay for health care and secure their retirement.\" <br><br> Sounds like he's not the man for the job. <br><br> Unbelievably, Rocky is refusing to return the filthy money. Join the campaign to make him give back the cash and DO HIS JOB. The City Attorney should PROSECUTE slumlords, not cultivate them as political contributors. <br><br> Let Rocky know that you don't appreciate the old school politics of corruption. Write him at: <br><br> <a href=\"mailto:rdelgadillo@atty.lacity.org\">rdelgadillo@atty.lacity.org<\/a> <br><br>  <br><br>  <br><br>  <br>  <br> &nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","contact":"amaro@gmail.com","link":"","address":"","phone":"","parent_id":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","summary":"Rocky Delgadillo in bed with LA's most slimy slumlords. Demand that he return the corrupt cash!","numcomment":6,"fileurl":"\/uploads\/2005\/10\/rock.jpg","filesize":"20.0 kibibytes","article_url":"\/news\/2005\/10\/138096.php","image":{"original":"\/uploads\/2005\/10\/rock.jpg","small":"\/uploads\/2005\/10\/rock.jpgthumb.jpg"}},"attachments":[],"comments":[{"id":138101,"heading":"Writer","article":"You know, I can understand Rocky not monitoring every campaign contribution he gets.  But according to the \u201cLos Angeles Times,\u201d he didn\u2019t notice three years of contributions by two L.A. slumlords he\u2019s repeatedly prosecuted.  Then he said it doesn\u2019t matter, after all, if he took campaign money from those he\u2019s trying to convict.  But the best part of the story is how a slumlord payed part of Rocky's ethics fine!  ","author":"Joe","parent_id":138096,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2005-10-28 23:29:28","modified":"2013-11-11 00:35:52","fileurl":""},{"id":138222,"heading":"Slumlords are OUTLAWS, Delgadillo said three weeks ago!","article":"Here is a direct quote from Delgadillo just weeks ago\r\non September 29, 2005 at Westside Today (Brentwood Media Group)  I guess only some slumlords are outlaws to be pursued, I guess they didn't pay him off.\r\n\r\nMID-WILSHIRE LANDLORDS CHARGED\r\n\r\nSeventy-two criminal counts of health code, fire, building, and safety violations have been charged against the landlords of five apartment buildings in Mid-Wilshire and Pico-Union areas. The landlords allegedly maintained dilapidated buildings that had poor plumbing, no hot water, and were infested with vermin. The landlords could each face a $1,000 fine and six months in jail if convicted. &quot;These slumlords are outlaws,&quot; City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo told the Los Angeles Times. &quot;They are breaking the law, and we are pursuing them.&quot;\r\n\r\n","author":"Suze","parent_id":138096,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2005-10-30 20:36:20","modified":"2005-10-30 20:36:20","fileurl":""},{"id":139162,"heading":"New problem for Delgadillo","article":"LA Weekly, November 11 - 17, 2005 \r\n\r\nFirst Call\r\nIf you\u2019re a Trojan in trouble, see Nooch \r\nby JEFFREY ANDERSON \r\n\r\nSo you\u2019re a USC football star and you\u2019ve been arrested. Who do you call?\r\n\r\nA well-connected veteran attorney would be nice, preferably a former prosecutor.\r\n\r\nA former Trojan, one who has guided your teammates safely through criminal matters, would be even better.\r\n\r\nHow about an ex-Trojan, ex-prosecutor on USC\u2019s speed dial who just left the City Attorney\u2019s Office as a special assistant to Rocky Delgadillo? Perfect.\r\n\r\nTrojan fans take heart; UCLA Bruins fans get ready for a showdown on December 3. Odds are Long Beach attorney Carmen Trutanich will make the potential misdemeanor assault charges against linebacker Rey Maualuga go away without lifting a finger.\r\n\r\nTrutanich, a defense lawyer known around Delgadillo\u2019s office as \u201cNooch,\u201d rotated in and out of his staff job on the 8th floor of City Hall so fast recently, it\u2019s hard to tell if he was coming or going. His ability to work both sides of the street is so seamless, he\u2019s humbled: \u201cI try to conduct myself in a way so that my dad, if he was watching, he\u2019d be proud.\u201d\r\n\r\nPride is fine, but clients prefer results. And Nooch delivers.\r\n\r\nTrutanich, USC class of 1973-74, is as much the go-to guy for Trojans in trouble as he is for Delgadillo, whose office will decide in the coming days whether to charge Maualuga for allegedly punching out a partier on Halloween. If charged, Maualuga is scheduled to appear in court November 22.\r\n\r\nThat\u2019s a big if.\r\n\r\nTo say that Trutanich has juice with Delgadillo\u2019s office is an understatement. In four months as special assistant city attorney, from July 1 to November 1, by his own account, he handled sensitive negotiations with the Coliseum Commission and developed a multimillion-dollar proposal for a Bureau of Investigation. He also allegedly blurred the lines in his \u201cmonitoring\u201d of a lawsuit filed against Delgadillo and former chief deputy Terree Bowers, despite the city\u2019s conflict of interest that led to the hiring of Baker & Hostetler. The suit has so many Los Angeles judges as witnesses that it was moved to Orange County.\r\n\r\nThen Maualuga called. It was only natural. Trutanich, a former prosecutor with the Los Angeles District Attorney\u2019s Office, represented former USC cornerback Eric Wright after Wright was arrested on suspicion of rape while in possession of 136 hits of Ecstasy in March. In April, after Trutanich put together a defense team consisting of himself, a Torrance-based attorney and an investigative firm, the D.A.\u2019s Office found insufficient evidence to file sexual-abuse or drug charges, according to news reports.\r\n\r\nLast year, Trutanich represented running back Hershel Dennis, who emerged from a four-month investigation for alleged sexual assault with no arrest and no charges. NCAA and Pac 10 officials inquired about pay arrangements in both cases. Trutanich said the families paid.\r\n\r\nIn June, Trutanich took a leave of absence from his lucrative practice to serve Delgadillo, who also is running for California attorney general. But first, Trutanich wrapped up a criminal case he was defending, which was prosecuted by the City Attorney\u2019s Office.\r\n\r\nWithin less than a week, he went from criminal defense attorney to Delgadillo campaign contributor to special assistant to Delgadillo.\r\n\r\nOn June 26, the Daily Breeze reported that Trutanich\u2019s client, Joseph Zacher, pleaded no contest to illegal storage of hazardous waste, after initially facing five counts of illegal disposal, which threatened jail time and a fine of $500,000. Zacher avoided both, agreeing to clean up the site and report to a Los Angeles judge every 90 days.\r\n\r\nFour days later, on June 30, according to the secretary of state, Trutanich gave $5,600 to Delgadillo\u2019s campaign for attorney general. (Trutanich also gave $1,000 to Delgadillo\u2019s re-election campaign in 2004, according to the Ethics Commission.)\r\n\r\nThe next day, on July 1, he became a special assistant city attorney, reporting to Delgadillo. While he won\u2019t disclose his salary, he says he made \u201ca lot less than in private practice,\u201d while working on the deal to bring NFL football back to Los Angeles and a proposal for an investigative unit that would beef up the office\u2019s prosecution capacity.\r\n\r\nTrutanich tendered his resignation on September 6 and returned to private practice on November 1, he said this week. The City Attorney\u2019s Office says his resignation was effective September 30. Either way it was convenient for Maualuga, who was arrested on Halloween. \u201cDid someone from UCLA call you?\u201d Trutanich said when contacted by the Weekly. \u201cIf this is the best they got, they\u2019ll be looking for help on December 3.\u201d\r\n\r\n\r\nTrutanich cited Government Code Section 41805 as authority for him to move in and out of Delgadillo\u2019s office like a turnstile on game day, defending criminal matters under the office\u2019s jurisdiction at the beginning and end of his brief tenure. He says he had business cards printed but never got to use them. He offered praise for Delgadillo, Delgadillo chief of staff Ann D\u2019Amato and assistant city attorneys in the criminal branch Maureen Siegal, Charles Goldenberg and Earl Thomas.\r\n\r\nTrutanich\u2019s familiarity with Delgadillo\u2019s top criminal attorneys overlaps with a lawsuit the city has been fighting for more than two years. The lawsuit, which Trutanich monitored, involves charges that Delgadillo used his authority to deter the City Council from ordering a special investigation of a discrimination and retaliation complaint by former Assistant City Attorney Lynn Magnandonovan. Goldenberg was a defendant in the case but has been dismissed, according to court records. Thomas is a key witness.\r\n\r\nThe rub is: The City Attorney\u2019s Office has declared a conflict of interest. Under conflict rules, the City Administrative Office must oversee the private firm handling the case.\r\n\r\nYet Trutanich appeared for the City Attorney\u2019s Office on four occasions and allegedly was seen participating in the defense of the case, which is being handled by Baker & Hostetler: July 18, at the deposition of Assistant City Attorney Zna Houston; July 22, at the deposition of Rocky Delgadillo, which the court has sealed; July 25, at the deposition of Siegal; and August 1, at a second deposition of Delgadillo.\r\n\r\nSources at the depositions said that Trutanich was overheard on his cell phone in the hallway one day telling someone, \u201cThey ain\u2019t got shit,\u201d and that he periodically whispered what appeared to be instructions to attorney Larry Gartner of Baker & Hostetler. The City Council has set aside $1.5 million for lawyers\u2019 fees. The city has been billed $1.08 million so far.\r\n\r\nWhen contacted, Gartner declined to comment. Kim Talley, a partner at the firm, later said that Trutanich was simply there to observe. Jonathan Diamond, a spokesman for Delgadillo, said, \u201cThere\u2019s a big difference between monitoring and oversight.\u201d\r\n\r\nNooch says it was all in a day\u2019s work. \u201cRocky asked me to monitor the lawsuit, to make sure the city is getting its bang for the buck,\u201d he told the Weekly. \u201cI was there as a representative for him and the city. I think I added value with my input. If you were involved in a lawsuit, wouldn\u2019t you want to be able to communicate with your lawyer?\u201d ","author":"News Dept.","parent_id":138096,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2005-11-12 18:41:45","modified":"2013-11-11 00:36:42","fileurl":""},{"id":140775,"heading":"tenants evited today","article":"Remember Thanksgiving weekend when Venice tenants protested outside Delgadillo's house.  He invited some in and they decided he was nice guy after all.  Well they were evicted today, just before Christmas.  These were same tenants waiting at City Council meeting last week while LaBonge et all tossed basket ball and made sports bets.   Yet another unjust, actually illegal, eviction Rocky let happen.  Fraudulent use of Ellis Act has penalties including jail time, but do you think these owners will be penalized at all?   ","author":"Suze","parent_id":138096,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2005-12-08 04:51:58","modified":"2005-12-08 04:51:58","fileurl":""},{"id":188823,"heading":"Ms.","article":"can you tell me where does one go when Mr. Delgadillo and Mr. Lockyer fail to do their job as far as civil rights violations re lockouts? Can one file a complaint with the U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, or where? ... Thank you.","author":"teresa aguilar","parent_id":138096,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2006-11-21 22:29:52","modified":"2006-11-21 22:29:52","fileurl":""},{"id":227762,"heading":"is tampering on the internet a crime?","article":"I am terresa aguilar and I did not place the negative comment above about Mr. delgadillo. Should you wish to know about my case, please see federal court at CADC case # # EDCV 09-856-VAP (OPX)or copy & paste  http:\/\/www.geocities.com\/aguilar.teresa\/MyFedCase.html or www.geocities.com\/li1022bra\/fedcase509.html","author":"teresa aguilar","parent_id":138096,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2009-06-05 22:31:05","modified":"2009-06-05 22:31:05","fileurl":""}]}