Albert T. Robles

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Albert T. Robles is an American politician and former mayor, councilman, treasurer, and deputy city manager for the City of South Gate, California. In 2005, he was convicted of corruption and sentenced to 10 years in federal prison. [1]

Contents

Political career

Robles graduated from the University of California Los Angeles [2] and became an aide to a legislator. [3] In 1991, Robles became the youngest mayor of South Gate at the age of 26. [4] In 1992, he was elected to the South Gate City Council by a predominantly Mexican-American electorate. [3] In 2002, Robles was appointed by the City Council to the Deputy City Manager position. [3] In 2003, Robles was recalled along with Mayor Xochitl Ruvalcaba, Vice Mayor Raul Moriel, and Councilwoman Maria Benavides in an election that was monitored by Los Angeles County by order of Governor Gray Davis. [5] Robles retained his position as Deputy City Manager. [3] In 2005, he was convicted on federal corruption charges then sentenced the following year to 10 years in prison. [1]

Criminal charges and conviction

Robles was accused of making threatening statements to State Senator Martha Escutia and Assemblyman Marco Firebaugh. He was tried in 2002 but all charges were dismissed when the jury deadlocked on all counts. His attorney argued that his statements were merely the kind of language typical of South Gate politicians and not literal threats. [6]

Robles was indicted on federal corruption charges in 2004. This stemmed from his award of contracts worth millions to friends and business associates as well as funneling money through the awarded contracts to himself and family members. [3] He was found guilty of 30 counts of bribery, money laundering, and depriving the electorate. [4] He was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison and ordered to pay the city of South Gate $639,000 in restitution. [1]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Becerra, Hector (2006-11-29). "Robles sentenced to 10 years". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2006-11-30.[ dead link ]
  2. ↑ Marosi, Richard (25 January 2003). "The Freebies Pile Up as South Gate Goes to Polls ; Some residents say the city's largess before a recall vote resembles the graft they saw in Mexico". 25 Jan 2003 Issue. Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on October 1, 2007. Retrieved 2006-12-04. Have Third World politics come to South Gate? As three council members and the treasurer face a closely watched recall election Tuesday, many residents say the answer is yes.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 McGrath, Roger D. (19 May 2003). "South Gate: Mexico Comes to California; How an all-American town became a barrio". 19 May 2003 Issue. American Conservative. Archived from the original on 7 December 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-01.
  4. 1 2 Rosenzweig, David; Lee, Wendy (29 July 2005). "Ex-South Gate treasurer convicted in bribery case". 29 July 2005 Issue. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2006-12-01.
  5. ↑ "South Gate Voters Clean House; Ousted Robles Said He May Seek Office Again". KNBC Los Angeles. 29 January 2003. Archived from the original on 26 May 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-01.
  6. ↑ Salladay, Robert (2006-12-15). "Brawl Began Over Political Boss Charged with Rape Threats". LA Times. Retrieved 2008-04-05.
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