Ron Calderon

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In August 2011, Calderon announced he would be running for the United States Congress in the newly redrawn California's 38th congressional district against incumbent U.S. Congresswoman Linda Sánchez in the Democratic primary. Calderon's State Senate district represented around 70% of the redrawn thirty-eighth. [14] Calderon withdrew from the race in January 2012. [15]

Corruption case

On June 4, 2013, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) raided Calderon's offices in the California State Capitol in an attempt to find evidence regarding accusations of criminal activity. [16]

An FBI affidavit was published online on October 30, 2013, by cable network Al Jazeera America with a claim that State Sen. Ron Calderon accepted about $88,000 in bribes from a Southern California hospital executive, Michael Drobot, for legislation regarding workers' compensation for an expensive surgical procedure, and an undercover FBI agent posing as a film studio owner during a wide-ranging probe into his conduct as a legislator. [17] On November 12, 2013, Calderon was suspended from his committee assignments, citing the ongoing inquiry into the alleged bribe. [18]

On February 21, 2014, Calderon agreed to surrender to federal authorities after being named in a federal grand jury indictment. [19] After surrendering to authorities on February 24, 2014, Calderon appeared in Court and pleaded not guilty to 24 charges relating to wire fraud, bribery, money laundering and falsification of tax returns. His trial was scheduled to commence on April 22, 2014. Calderon was released on a $50,000 surety bond. He could have faced a prison term of up to a maximum 396 years if convicted on all charges. The California Senate gave the senator until March 3, 2014, to either resign or take a leave of absence, failing which a vote would be taken to suspend him from office. [20] On March 2, Calderon announced that he would take a leave of absence. He was absent until the end of the 2014 session, at which point he was term-limited out of office. [21]

On June 13, 2016, federal prosecutors announced that Calderon agreed to plead guilty to mail fraud. [22] A week earlier his brother Tom pleaded guilty to money-laundering. [23]

In October 2016, Calderon was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Christina A. Snyder to serve 42 months in federal prison and perform 150 hours of community service. Calderon began his prison sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution, Sheridan in January 2017, and released in January 2019, after serving only 24 months of his 42-month sentence. [2] [24] Through his attorney, Mark Geragos, he had petitioned the Bureau of Prisons to be released 12 month earlier, in January 2018, under the Second Chance Act of 2007. [25]

Personal life

In 1982, Calderon married Ana. They have two children, Jessica and Zachary. Calderon resides in Montebello, California. [3] [26]

See also

References

  1. Schmidt, Gregory; Wilson, E. Dotson (June 30, 2007). "California Legislature 2007–08" (PDF). State of California. pp. 34 of 548 in PDF. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 11, 2009. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  2. 1 2 "Former State Senator Ronald Calderon Sentenced 42 Months in Federal Prison Receiving Over 150,000 Dollars in Bribes". justice.gov. October 21, 2016. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Ron Calderon's Biography". votesmart.org. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  4. 1 2 Senator Ronald S. Calderon – Biography
  5. "Senator Ron Calderon -- Biography". September 8, 2007. Archived from the original on September 8, 2007.
  6. "Our Campaigns - CA State Assembly 58- D Primary Race - Mar 05, 2002". www.ourcampaigns.com.
  7. "Our Campaigns - CA State Assembly 58 Race - Nov 05, 2002". www.ourcampaigns.com.
  8. "Our Campaigns - CA State Assembly 58 Race - Nov 02, 2004". www.ourcampaigns.com.
  9. "Senate District 30 (District Profile)". State of California. September 13, 2001. Archived from the original on October 8, 2010. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  10. "Assembly District 58 (SB 802)". State of California. September 13, 2001. Archived from the original on October 8, 2010. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  11. "Our Campaigns - CA State Senate 30 - D Primary Race - Jun 06, 2006". www.ourcampaigns.com.
  12. "Our Campaigns - CA State Senate 30 Race - Nov 07, 2006". www.ourcampaigns.com.
  13. "Our Campaigns - CA State Senate 30 Race - Nov 02, 2010". www.ourcampaigns.com.
  14. "RonCalderon.com". www.roncalderon.com.
  15. "Capitol Alert: Ron Calderon drops bid for Congress, endorses Linda Sanchez". February 5, 2012. Archived from the original on February 5, 2012.
  16. "FBI searches offices tied to California Sen. Ron Calderon | News - KCRA Home". Archived from the original on June 16, 2013.
  17. "California state Sen. Ron Calderon accepted $88,000 in bribes, FBI affidavit alleges". The Sacramento Bee.
  18. McGreevy, Patrick (November 12, 2013). "Sen. Ronald Calderon stripped of committee assignments amid inquiry". Archived from the original on December 2, 2013 via LA Times.
  19. "California State Senator Ronald Calderon Charged With Taking Bribes In Exchange For Official Acts On Behalf Of Hospital Owner And Independent Film Studio That Was Actually An FBI Front". www.justice.gov. June 22, 2015.
  20. "Corruption accused US lawmaker pleads not guilty". California Telegraph. Retrieved February 26, 2014.
  21. "Embattled State Sen. Ron Calderon Takes Indefinite Leave Of Absence". March 2, 2014.
  22. Dan Whitcomb (June 13, 2016). "Ex-California lawmaker to plead guilty in corruption case – prosecutors". reuters.com.
  23. Whitcomb, Dan (June 13, 2016). "Ex-California lawmaker to plead guilty in corruption case: prosecutors". Reuters. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
  24. McGreevy, Patrick (January 19, 2019). "Former state Sen. Ronald Calderon released after serving three years in political corruption case". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved January 22, 2019.
  25. Koseff, Alexei (August 14, 2017). "Former California lawmaker seeks early release from prison on corruption charges". Sacramento Bee .
  26. "Ronald S. Calderon". joincalifornia.com. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
Ronald Calderon
Ron Calderon.jpg
Member of the California State Senate
from the 30th district
In office
December 4, 2006 November 30, 2014
California Assembly
Preceded by California State Assemblyman, 58th District
2002–2006
Succeeded by
California Senate
Preceded by California State Senator, 30th District
2006–2014
Succeeded by