MASSIVE Los Angeles City News Evening Update (10/14/10) - Time To Drag Villaraiogsa, Herb Wesson & Eric Garcetti into Roberto Aldape/LA Housing Dept Conflict (Corruption) Allegations

The clock is ticking on the opportunity for Los Angeles Housing Department Assistant General Manager Roberto Aldape to resign from his position. It's the close of the business day, and it has not been announced that he has "resigned," yet. And more and more information is being forwarded on additional "conflict" allegations. Like using city equipment & personnel (city money) on Villaraigosa's bogus ballot measures. But that's small stuff, compared to what else will be exposed on LIVE TV, during Friday's Los Angeles City Council meeting. The only way to keep it from being exposed LIVE on-the-air, is to have a magical announcement come out before the LA City News reporter leaves for City Hall in the morning. (Once the trip has started, even if the announcement is made, the public comment is still ON!) And it's time to speed things up since people's living conditions and livelihood  are at stake. SO IT'S TIME TO DRAG HOUSING CHAIR HERB WESSON & COUNCIL PRESIDENT (AND HOUSING CHAMP) ERIC GARCETTI INTO THE FOLD. (Why NOT? You don't think they're tied?) It's all JUST what City Hall needs as FBI is investigating LA Housing. Hope the reporter gets a last minute "furlough day." 

HERE IS LINK to ORIGINAL LAHD "Conflict of Interest" memo from Sept 27, 2010 that SKYROCKETED to "Most Viewed", today. http://ow.ly/2TQee

L.A. CITY NEWS

LA City News

• YES, time to drag HERB WESSON and ERIC GARCETTI into the LA Housing Dept Corruption Allegation fold. (Why? You don't think they're tied?) 12 minutes ago
• ALL THIS HOOPLA over LA Housing Dept Asst GM is JUST what Villaraigosa, Wesson & Garcetti need with FBI investigating housing projects! 13 minutes ago
• FUTURE HEADLINE IN LA TIMES: "Today, amidst public allegations of conflict of interest; and several million dollars unaccounted for..." 18 minutes ago
• LANow: Does band that blocked 101 freeway deserve hard time or slap on the wrist? http://lat.ms/chazli (HARD TIME! SERIOUS safety issue!) 20 minutes ago
• When you hand out trophies to SOME students who achieve well on a test, you demoralize the rest of students. THE ACHIEVEMENT is the reward! 21 minutes ago
• RT @LANow: Your commute: Live L.A. traffic conditions. (Let me guess...speedy, smooth and problem free @ 65 MPH. OH, not April Fool's, yet?) 26 minutes ago
• Barack Obama: New site shows real effects of the steps @TheDemocrats have taken to rebuild our economy. (No, the STREETS show REAL EFFECT.) 28 minutes ago
• Schwarzenegger Tweets About Gov's Race: Gov. Schwarzenegger finally weighing in... (Who cares what someone people don't support has to say?) 29 minutes ago
• Villaraigosa: @ South LA's Figueroa Elementary to present trophies to students who rocked state CST math exam! (REST can feel like LOSERS!) 30 minutes ago
• Can tell by amount of traffic being driven to http://LACityNews.com by Google search for "Roberto Aldalpe" today, story HIT INSIDERS, TODAY. 35 minutes ago
• RT @villaraigosa: My reaction to the recent, tragic suicides by gay teens.(Let's guess. You're happy and support it. SHAMELESS pandering.) 41 minutes ago
• HEY @VILLARAIGOSA, What would the indictment be for City Official @ LA Housing Dept who used City equipment & time ($) on YOUR ballot Prop? 52 minutes ago
• THE MAYOR OF LOS ANGLES will be held accountable for the MASSIVE CORRUPTION @ LA Housing Dept. HIS GUY! More Friday on LIVE CITY TV! PAIN! 56 minutes ago
• WORD MUST BE GETTING OUT: Getting referrals from Google search for "Rober7to Aldape" today. And TOP POST is "Conflict Memo" from Sept 27th. about an hour ago
• Villaraigosa: "I was humbled & honored to be present at opening of..." (Always with honor he's humbled to be somewhere, NOT 4 ACHIEVEMENTS.) about an hour ago
• If LA Times were reporting Housing Dept CORRUPTION, blogs/radio would be ALL OVER story. So we have to get Times to print his resignation. about an hour ago
• THE PEOPLE OF LA HOUSING DEPT have sent a VERY CLEAR message: ROBERTO ALDAPE STEPS DOWN. Just a matter of how much blog damage till he does. about an hour ago
• LA council members say they need the DWP to give jobs to their displaced workers. http://bit.ly/cBzgCQ (Thought DEPT was to provide W&P?) about 2 hours ago
• ROBERTO ALDAPE of Los Angeles Housing Department should know that people are filing complaint with CA Bar Association. RESIGN! about 2 hours ago
• TIL NOW, the name of LA Housing Asst. GM has been withheld from BLASTING on TV 35. If he doesn't resign TODAY, name will BLAST on TV Friday. about 2 hours ago
• RT @LANow: L.A. teachers union to discuss lawsuit settlement next week http://lat.ms/dAkhZm about 3 hours ago
• L.A. City Mayor & Council should be applying more pressure to LA Housing Dept Asst GM ROBERTO ALDAPE to RESIGN, NOW! SCREWS BEING TIGHTENED! about 3 hours ago
• Due to L.A. City News' ZERO TOLERANCE policy on city corruption, and ROBERTO ALDAPE still has not resigned, WE WILL BE UPPING ANTE TODAY! about 3 hours ago
• L.A. CITY NEWS has a ZERO TOLERANCE policy for municipal corruption and is calling for IMMEDIATE RESIGNATION of L.A. Housing Asst GM. HURRY! about 3 hours ago
• Will Los Angeles get its own version of Jon Stewart's rally? (SEE THIS INSPIRING POST!) http://ow.ly/19s4BZ about 3 hours ago
• If City Hall won't issue a permit to the "Restore Insanity" group that wants to hold a rally, they should just have it at L.A. City Hall! about 4 hours ago
• The White House assures L.A. residents they are very aware of the traffic problems that ensued last time Obama visited. Taking measures. about 4 hours ago
• THIS SITE DOES NOT SELL YOU OUT by running Google ads or any ads. (Other blogs have ads running for causes they are fighting against. DUMB!) about 4 hours ago
• latimes: Dow fell 2 points, or 0.01%, to 11,095. S&P 500 fell 4, or 0.4%, to 1,174. Nasdaq fell 6, or 0.2%, to 2,435. http://lat.ms/9KlAjf about 4 hours ago
• NO QUESTION momentum is building on new http://LACityNews.com online resource. Google stats show traffic building by the hour! Sorry shady. about 4 hours ago
• LA TIMES: Will LA get it's own version of Jon Stewart's rally? City already trying to prevent. SEE THIS STORY! INSPIRING! http://ow.ly/2TFSW about 5 hours ago
• A TRUE SHAME & CRIME: FBI stories expose how $100's of millions for affordable housing get SCAMMED or unused, while LA homelessness grows. about 5 hours ago
• @Villaragiosa needs to address "coin & card" meter RACKETEERING: When you add money for more time, METER CLEARS EXISTING BALANCE. SHADY! about 5 hours ago
• RACKETEERING LAWSUIT IN MAKING over new LA City "coin & card" parking meters: When you add money for more time, it CLEARS EXISTING balance! about 5 hours ago
• RT @CNBCbrk: Florida Judge Rules 20 States Can Proceed with Lawsuit Seeking To Block Obama Healthcare Reform #obama #healthcare about 6 hours ago
• LA COUNCIL may as well force DWP to TRIPLE pensions of dead-weight hires they're FORCING on DWP: Bankruptcy will re-work pensions, anyway. about 6 hours ago
• Couple who dumped RV waste in Venice street get probation (NO JAIL TIME) because Trutanich reached too far asking for 3 MONTH JAIL sentence. about 6 hours ago
• RT @KFIAM640: LA is clashing with the DWP over the utility's pension problem. http://bit.ly/cBzgCQ about 6 hours ago
• TOP REFERRAL LINK TO http://LACityNews.com: Google search for "Roberto Aldape." (Asst GM of LA Housing Dept as BLASTED by ZD on TV & blog.) about 6 hours ago
• HOW YOU KNOW AN IMPACT IS BEING MADE: According to Google stats, a lot of people are typing "Roberto Aldalpe" then clicking LACityNews link. about 6 hours ago
• HUIZAR WILL LOSE: This time, City is MUCH worse off; challenger is MUCH more popular with as much money as Huizar & Mayor's machine is weak. about 6 hours ago
• HE WON'T WIN: Jose Huizar WILL LOSE re-election. His shady election team ain't what it used to be & popular challenger has too much money. about 7 hours ago
• THE PROBLEM WITH TRUTANICH: He seems to like to be an over-reaching bully beyond what most judges are comfortable with. TOO HOT HEADED. about 7 hours ago
• RT @villaraigosa: New coin & card meters generated an extra $230,000 in revenue for LA in September alone! (BECAUSE THEY ARE SCAM DEVICES!) about 7 hours ago
• It's EASY for LOCAL radio talk show hosts to fall into trap of rehashing what NATIONAL CABLE TV show cover, TOSSING AWAY LOCAL ADVANTAGE. about 12 hours ago
• It's EASY for LOCAL radio talk show hosts to fall into trap of rehashing what NATIONAL CABLE TV show cover. THEY TOSS AWAY LOCAL ADVANTAGE. about 12 hours ago
• When KABC morning show comes on @ 5a, after ALL national shows since 12noon, previous day, start w LOCAL talk. Not NATIONAL CABLE TV recap. about 12 hours ago
• People in OTHER 14 districts: When JANICE HAHN hijacks meeting w her mouth (talking about HERSELF) keeps YOUR CM/staff from getting to work. about 13 hours ago
• NOT JUST TRYING TO POKE FUN: But Janice Hahn's RUNAWAY MOUTH actually is an issue of waste & inefficiency grinding city business to a halt. about 13 hours ago
• RT @cnni: Rapper talks man down from hotel roof http://bit.ly/aSdQnN (Do you mean he "rapped" him off roof top?) about 13 hours ago
• Still a combative podium relationship: But City Attorney Dion DID go (a little) out of his way to ask how LACityNews.com reporter was doing. about 13 hours ago
• LACityNews.com: Because market research showed people wanted a DRUDGE REPORT style site for NEWS about LA CITY; and the URL was available. about 13 hours ago
• Christine O'Donnell Faced Off in Senate Debate: She was "enchanting." Crowd was "spellbound." Reminded crowd to "cast" spell, I mean vote. about 13 hours ago
• CNN: 'Underwear bomber' to represent self http://bit.ly/d5KPWw (Remember to wear "briefs," not boxers. (As in "legal" briefs...RIM SHOT!) about 14 hours ago
• NYTIMES Politics. Linda McMahon lags among women voters; many put off by wrestling biz. (Voters SHOULD be MORE "put off" by political biz.) about 14 hours ago
• DOES HE EVER SHOW UP?: Confused & frustrated Councilman Greig Smith (not even seeking re-election) seen on side of milk carton as "missing." about 14 hours ago
• MESSAGE TO MERCEDES MARQUEZ: Fix the mess you created with your Asst GM hire at LA Housing Dept and find somewhere else for him, ASAP! about 14 hours ago
• NO SURPRISE posts on otherwise UNCOVERED issue of LA Housing Department CORRUPTION @ http://LACityNews.com are MOST VIEWED posts, per stats. 

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MEMO: Conflict of Interest Allegations at Los Angeles Housing Department (City Council WAITING for City Attorney's LATE Report On This Issue)

THIS IS THE MEMO CITY HALL DOESN'T WANT YOU TO SEE...even if your typical NC member doesn't care. 


LETTER FROM (ALLEGEDLY) FRUSTRATED L.A. HOUSING DEPT STAFF ON RENT ESCROW CONFLICT OF INTEREST as addressed by Council, currently awaiting a (delayed) report from the City Attorney's office:

Dear Sir,

We are a group of Housing Department employees who are too intimidated to disclose our identities, yet are troubled enough to address some of the recent conflict of interest allegations pertaining to the Rent Escrow Account Program (REAP).

We would like to thank you for speaking up during the July 21st Council meeting and bringing to light the fact that the Housing Department’s REAP contractors are under a cloud of serious conflict of interest allegations (July 21, 2010 Council Session, Item  #37).

You were absolutely correct in your observation that some REAP contractors may have abused their roles and turned their LAHD contracts into a revolving business by playing on both sides of the proverbial fence.

As we understand, during the July 21st session the LAHD and the City Attorney’s Office were tasked with investigating the aforementioned conflict of interest allegations and submitting a report to the City Council on their findings.

We would like to inform you, however, that as far as REAP is concerned, there exists an appearance of impropriety within the Housing Department itself. As things stand now, the LAHD is not in a position to conduct a fair and impartial investigation, and it should be precluded from investigating its REAP outreach contractors. It is an open secret that some member(s) of the LAHD executive team have a private and personal interest in this matter that may influence the objective exercise of their official duties. This, at the very least, smacks of blatant conflict of interest.

Specifically, the LAHD Assistant General Manager in charge of overseeing REAP, Roberto H. Aldape, was previously employed by and had a business relationship with one of the outreach contractors in question – the Los Angeles Housing Law Project.

To place the subject matter in a broader context, Roberto H. Aldape was hired by the LAHD in late 2006, having neither led large organizational units nor having worked in the public sector in his prior employment history. His appointment is yet another of a series of questionable and arbitrary actions that over the years the LAHD has become infamous for. Stated another way, the LAHD hired one of its contractors’ representatives (if not the contractor’s principal agent) and placed him in charge of overseeing the same contractor.

Mr. Aldape is a fervent adherent of the kiss-up-kick-down school of management, and his foul mouthed, bullying management style demands not merely obedience but also obeisance. He mercilessly and relentlessly goes after all those who dare to contradict him or question his tactics and management style. As time passed, somehow his interim AGM position was eased into a permanent one. Also noteworthy is the fact that nowadays the LAHD has four AGMs, whereas in the past it had only two or three.

The person directly in charge of REAP, Compliance Division Director Roya Babazadeh, is not about to challenge or express opinions contrary to Mr. Aldape’s. Suffice it to mention that Ms. Babazadeh’s appointment to her current position was not without controversy itself: she was promoted over more qualified and experienced female and minority candidates, and her promotion was in direct violation of class-specific preconditions and requirements.

Assistant General Manager Roberto H. Aldape’s relationship with one of the REAP outreach contractors, the Los Angeles Housing Law Project, is of such opaqueness that it definitely should raise a red flag. In the past decade or so the Los Angeles Housing Law Project has been awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars in City contracts, yet one may never find out how many side lawsuits this contractor has initiated from information gained through REAP outreach contacts.

Curiously, in various documents and websites, Mr. Aldape’s law office and the Los Angeles Housing Law Project had been listed under the same address.

For example, in the City of Los Angeles Compliance List For Equal Benefits Ordinance database, the Law Offices of Roberto H. Aldape and the Los Angeles Housing Law Project share the same address: 1125 West 6th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90017 (EXHIBIT 1 and EXHIBIT 2).

In addition, various websites also convey the same information: the Law Offices of Roberto H. Aldape and the Los Angeles Housing Law Project had the same address and conducted their business from the same physical location (EXHIBIT 3 and EXHIBIT 4).

Mr. Aldape’s relationship with the Los Angeles Housing Law Project is a murky one at best and raises numerous ethical questions: What exactly was his relationship with the Los Angeles Housing Law Project that he was allowed to operate his own law practice from the same address?

Were the Law Offices of Roberto H. Aldape and the Los Angeles Housing Law Project actually the same entity and different in name only?

Did the Law Offices of Roberto H. Aldape at one point in time morph into the Los Angeles Housing Law Project, or was it the other way around?

Were these two business names used interchangeably, depending on convenience and expediency?

Did Mr. Aldape conduct a separate law practice while simultaneously working with the Los Angeles Housing Law Project? If so, how many of his private practice cases originated from the Los Angeles Housing Law Project?

Another potential red flag arises from the fact that the name of the Los Angeles Housing Law Project cannot be found in the California Attorney General’s database listing of nonprofit organizations. Interestingly enough, among the five REAP outreach contractors, the Los Angeles Housing Law Project is the only one that is not listed in this database.

All nonprofit groups are under strict registration and annual reporting requirements, and as a nonprofit corporation, the Los Angeles Housing Law Project cannot be exempted from such rules.

It remains to be seen whether this is an omission by the California Attorney General’s Office or the Los Angeles Housing Law Project. If a nonprofit corporation fails to register, the nonprofit is in violation of the California Nonprofit Integrity Act.

A failure to register would also violate the City of Los Angeles contract provisions, where a “good standing with any regulatory agencies” is one of the requirements.

It is unquestionable that, at the very least, Mr. Aldape has had a pivotal business relationship with the Los Angeles Housing Law Project.

The idea that somehow he could be impartial enough to oversee an objective and fair investigation of the Los Angeles Housing Law Project is laughable, if not outright illegal. Should Mr. Aldape nominally recuse himself from this investigation, it would be equally questionable to assume that any of his subordinates would be brave enough to come up with evidence potentially incriminating the Los Angeles Housing Law Project.

Needless to say, those brave and ethical enough to do so would incur Mr. Aldape’s full wrath and fury, while having no place to hide.

After the expiration of the current REAP contracts, a new RFP will go out inviting submission of proposals for outreach services. The Los Angeles Housing Law Project will undoubtedly be one of the bidding contractors. Again, it would strain credulity to assume that anyone inside the LAHD could be in a position to objectively evaluate the proposals and act contrary to Mr. Aldape’s interests.

The Law Offices of Roberto H. Aldape/Los Angeles Housing Law Project arrangement has been a winning one for Roberto H. Aldape. He has managed to parley this curious business deal into a high-paying government job, thus completing the circle fully and gaming the system in its entirety.

The losers in all these, however, have been the taxpayers of Los Angeles and the employees of the LAHD. The former have been kept in the dark and are clueless about the machinations taking place inside LAHD; the latter, while mostly aware of these shenanigans, are too cowed and helpless to do anything about them.

The overwhelming majority of the LAHD employees conduct themselves in an ethical manner day after day, yet over the years this department has been marred by allegations of impropriety and conflict.

And almost without exception, high ranking members of the LAHD have been the source of these transgressions. Time and again, the LAHD has proven that it is not capable of self-policing, and that its internal control mechanisms do not work.

An investigation of the Rent Escrow Account Program is long overdue. The program desperately needs bright sunlight to be shone on its numerous dark corners. We hope the City Council will take the lead on this matter.

[Will try to post the PDF attachment of Exhibits 1-4, documenting how Mr. "Two Hats" has been using both addresses as referenced above. But you can clearly see both addresses being used in the Exhibits.]

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