Sorry to bore you with the same old, same old...but yes, L.A. Times reports (A-GAIN!), that another Los Angeles City Building Inspector has been busted (A-GAIN!), for taking bribes (A-GAIN!). And it all coincides with an FBI investigation (A-GAIN!) This time the greedy, soon to be locked up, pathetic bastard is Albert Acosta. As in, your legal defense is gonna "a-cost ya!" (A lot more than the bribes you took, you dumb, desperate CHUMP! Did you rub Antonio's "Little Anthony Weiner" for the gig, AL?)
Third L.A. building inspector is fired in corruption probe
A 27-year employee, building mechanical inspector Albert Acosta, is fired after the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety determines that he accepted bribes. [He probably JUST started takin' bribes in his 27 year career and probably got busted on this first time!]
By David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times
June 23, 2011
The Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety fired a 27-year employee after determining that he had accepted bribes, making him the third person at the agency to lose his job as a result of a major corruption probe, officials said Wednesday. [Between E-RIPS and people getting fired over bribes...AND IT'S SYSTEMATIC/A LOT OF BRIBE-TAKERS, there aint' gonna be anyone left working in the department!]
Albert Acosta, 54, was fired Friday, department spokesman David Lara said in a statement. He worked as a building mechanical inspector in the department's Van Nuys office, where he earned more than $83,000 annually. [GIVE HIM A BREAK: That's just based salary, like a waiter or Starbucks clerk. Then you gotta hustle for tips!]
Lara said officials discovered that Acosta had solicited funds from contractors while on duty but would not provide additional details.
The internal city investigation that led to the dismissal coincides with an FBI probe that began last summer. Hugo Gonzalez, 49, of Eagle Rock and Raoul Germain, 60 of Altadena pleaded guilty to bribery charges and were fired.
In addition to those three employees, the department placed two other workers on leave last month as part of its internal probe. Samuel In, a code enforcement inspector in the department's Koreatown office, was placed on leave on May 4 and retired two days later, according to a memo sent by Robert "Bud" Ovrom, the agency's top executive. [AND HERB WESSON AND HIS THUG-STAFF IS NERVOUS AS F*CK OVER THIS. Aren't all of y'all? Oh, HELL YEAH!]
Frank Rojas, who worked in the department's West Los Angeles office, was placed on leave at the same time as In. He left his job on June 16. Ovrom would not provide any details on Rojas, saying he did not want to discuss personnel issues or "jeopardize an ongoing investigation."
Rojas did not respond to three requests for comment. Acosta, who lives in Sylmar, could not immediately be reached for comment.
In a memo to L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa that was obtained by The Times, Ovrom said the FBI and department investigations have extended to agency supervisors. [And they will extend to the next level up from there...OOPS, Sorry, Antonio...that means, Y-O-U! (SO sad!)
The FBI launched a sting operation in August, with an undercover agent posing as a contractor. As part of that operation, one confidential informant told the FBI that bribes were "systemic" at the building department and described giving cash, building materials and even a vacation in exchange for city approvals, according to affidavits filed by federal investigators. ["Systematic," as in "business as usual." Aka: Organized Crime Routine]
Six months later, city building officials received an anonymous complaint about bribes at 52 construction sites, all of them in South Los Angeles. That complaint prompted the city to begin its internal review. In April, a federal grand jury sent a subpoena to the Department of Building and Safety demanding records on 12 employees, including Gonzalez, Germain and Acosta. [IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHO MADE THE COMPLAINT, CONTACT ZUMA DOGG, IF IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT YOU KNOW.]
Councilman Dennis Zine called Wednesday for Ovrom to appear before the council's audits committee next week to explain what is being done to improve oversight within the department and to eradicate corruption. "We have no idea how widespread it is," he said. [ZD: It ain't "narrowspread," y'all!]
Original post
david.zahniser@latimes.com
[with commentary by zumadogg@gmail.com]
DZ & ZD (But the GOOD DZ, not to be confused with the BAD DZ (Dennis "Kiss My Hine" Zine)
AND FOR YOU CORRUPTION JUNKIES...HERE'S A BIG ONE: A senator sends letter to HUD Secretary about L.A. Housing Authority's Rudy Montiel. MORE GOOD NEWS FOR ANTONIO VILLARAIGOSA: Senator Grassley, R-Iowa sent a letter to Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, tough questions: KCET http://t.co/4SOdglM via @kcet
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