The house of the Huntington Park mayor searched for corruption examinations

The town hall of Huntington Park and the houses of the current and former city council members were searched on Wednesday as part of a corruption examination entitled “Operation Dirty Pond”, the public prosecutor of the district of La County said. Electronics, documents and records were confiscated, said that.

The arrest warrants were delivered in the houses by Mayor Karina Macias, council member Eduardo “Eddie” Martinez and former members Graciela Ortiz and Marilyn Sanabria, the sister of a current council member. Ricardo Reyes, Manager of Huntington Park City, was served with an arrest warrant, as was the city’s public work department. Reyes, Macias and other council members could not be reached immediately for a comment.

Photos that have published on Facebook Show Police Tape that block the entrance to the Huntington Park town hall and a white van in the parking lot. The district prosecutor said that numerous objects were confiscated from every location, including public records, financial documents, computers, tablets, mobile phones and other forms of electronic devices.

The prosecutors said the arrest warrants come from an ongoing examination that began in November 2022. According to the explanation, the investigators asked the alleged abuse of millions of dollars for the construction of a regional water center in Salt Lake Park. The city has assigned more than 20 million US dollars to the project and spent around 14 million US dollars, although nothing has been built yet.

“My office is committed to ensuring that officials maintain the highest standards for honesty, integrity and transparency,” said La County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman. “If concerns arise regarding the use of public funds or the actions of the official lawyers, it is our duty to thoroughly examine and to protect the public’s trust.

The police were present in the town hall of Huntington Park on Wednesday in the middle of a corruption probe.

(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

A copy of an arrest warrant tested by The Times suggests that the investigators will check bribery, embezzlement of public funds, conflicts of interest, money laundering and conspiracy. The arrest warrant also indicates that the examination focuses on Efren Martinez, a long -time consultant in the city and a controversial figure.

Martinez, who ran and lost for the State Assembly last year, could not be reached immediately for a comment.

As part of the investigation, law enforcement officers at Martinez ‘house and in the office of his consulting firm Unified Consulting Services served arrest warrants.

Searching commands were also delivered in the houses and offices of Edvin Tsatining and Sona Vardikyan, owners of the JT Construction Group Inc., the contractor who was selected for the construction of the Aquatic Center in Huntington Park. The company did not answer a request for comments.

An employee of Huntington Park City, who could not be identified because they were not allowed to speak about the investigation, said that around 9 million US dollars were paid to the construction companies and the city tried to determine how the money was spent. So far, according to the source, the city has only identified only 3 million US dollars.

In his explanation, Hochman said: “I would like to praise our committed prosecutors and investigators for their hardworking work in this complex case. Your unshakable commitment to justice ensures that nobody – regardless of your position or title – stands above the law. “

Times Staff Writer James Quairy contributed to this report.