Lynwood, CA - Local newspaper reports that a report made public by the City clears former City Manager, making Pedroza's accussations of embezzlement false.
Read story here.
Monday, April 09, 2007
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12 comments:
HAHAHHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHAHHA HAHAHAHAHAHHHAH AHAHAHHAHAhAHA
What are you all going to say now?
Oh, the newspaper is wrong. We know better simply because we say so.
Hahahahahhaha.
Wheres the link to the article?
Are you trying to be like Matt Drudge? You should at least say Developing... at the end of your post if this has yet to be confirmed.
Get a copy of the Lynwood Wave and you can read it.
If after reading this article you still want to beleive in Enrique Martinez then you are a big moron. Read the article and you will see he got off on a technicality. In other words he did screw the city. But because he knew the loop wholes he got away with it. The approval of the remodeling was done by having the council approve a budget. Then he said the remodeling was approved because the budget allowed for it. For those who don't understand. He basically left loop wholes in contracts and apporvals for his convenience later down the line. It's not against the law but it is unethical. He also married his assistant. All he needed was common sense to realize it was not a good idea to marry your assistant and then not say anything until months later. And why does he get his money up front? Do the other employees get their in advance. Don't think so. F... Pedroza, but on this one he actually was right. Martinez is a piece shit no good ass hole. Good ridence.
Report said Enrique Martinez did not embezzle more than $45,000 from the city but did violate city’s nepotism policy and was insubordinate.
LYNWOOD — A report made public Tuesday night exonerated former City Manager Enrique Martinez of embezzlement accusations made by Mayor Pro Tem Fernando Pedroza last week. Pedroza had accused Martinez last week of embezzling $47,000 from the city.
The investigation, conducted by human resources attorney Richard Chrysler and Jeff Love, began after Martinez was placed on paid administrative leave in mid-January by Mayor Louis Byrd, Councilman Alfreddie Johnson and Pedroza for unspecified reasons.
In adiditon to the embezzlement charge leveled by Pedroza, Martinez was accused of remodeling city offices without council approval, leaking information to the FBI and district attorney’s office, implementing a dress code for city employees, prohibiting employees from speaking with council members, ordering new street signs without going through proper channels and being behind the recall attempt against Byrd, Pedroza, Johnson and Councilwoman Leticia Vasquez.
Martinez also was investigated for violating the city’s neoptism policy after hiring Marianna Marysheva as assistant city manager and finance director in 2005 and then secretly marrying her a few months later without disclosing the marriage to the council.
The investigation revealed that Martinez clearly violated the policy when he married a direct subordinate and continued working in an employer/employee relationship with her.
“Added to this, Mr. Martinez, failed to disclose the fact that he was married to his direct subordinate … to his employers, the City Council,” the report stated.
Martinez said that neither he nor former Human Resources Director Sandra Rocha knew about the nepotism policy that was established in 1977.
The nepotism charge and an allegation that Martinez was insubordinate by refusing to participate in the investigation into his alleged violations were the only ones sustained by the investigation.
Martinez, in response to the report’s findings, said he did not respond to the mayor’s request on March 12 to submit to an interview with investigators because “forcing him would be a violation” of his rights. In fact, Martinez said his lawyer called Chrysler and told him that he was out of town and that his client could not be forced to meet with the city without him.
The investigation revealed that all five council members voted to authorize the remodeling efforts and that there was “no misconduct on behalf of Martinez related to the remodeling of the offices.”
The report also cleared Martinez of any wrongdoing from a city-issued check he received Jan. 11 for $45,807. It was that check that Pedroza contended was “embezzled” from the city.
The check was for vacation, sick leave and other accrued leaves that Martinez said he was entitled to.
“It was alleged that these funds were potentially received inappropriately and in violation of the terms of his contract,” the report stated.
The investigation showed that Martinez did not process the check in accordance with the terms of his employment contract, but that he was entitled to the money. “In order to be compliant with his contract, Martinez would have had to wait until November 2007,” to receive the money, the report stated.
Council members were told during Tuesday night’s closed session that as it pertained to the funds, Martinez did “nothing unlawful … and did not commit a crime.”
In a late interview Wednesday afternoon, Martinez said that he was happy that the investigation cleared him of the embezzlement charges.
“You just can’t go around saying that,” Martinez said. “All I can say is that the truth has exonerated me once again.”
The ex-city manager, who is set to start as city manager in Redlands on Monday, said he sympathizes with Lynwood residents who are not involved with the governmental process of the city.
“This is the type of stuff that loyal and competent city workers have to go through,” Martinez said. “There are very few workers who will take a stand because they are often intimidated and are afraid of losing their jobs.
“But this is the type of stuff they do,” Martinez said about the council members who put him on paid administrative leave without giving him reasons. “They just like to throw stuff up on the wall to see if it sticks. Then when it doesn’t, they throw up some more stuff. It’s how they operate. It’s a culture of intimidation.
“The problems that Lynwood has, they’ve been there for years, way before I got there and way before the current counci lmembers got there,” Martinez said. “But if no one wants change, then nothing gets changed.”
Pedroza said late Wednesday afternoon that he was satisfied with the investigation’s findings. He said the fact that Martinez clear violated the city’s nepotism policy, proves that Martinez could have been fired for cause a long time ago.
Asked about the findings that cleared Martinez of the embezzlement charge, Pedroza said that he still believes the city should “force” the ex-city manager to pay back the money and make him wait until November.
“I could tell you that I am satisfied with [the report],” Pedroza said, adding that he really could not comment further because Chrysler, the attorney had warned him and the rest of the council about using the word embezzlement. “I will tell you that it is my belief that the city manager violated city policy when it comes to the $45,000. He has not earned it yet and he also committed nepotism and it is my belief that he committed insubordination.”
Pedroza and the rest of his colleagues on the council were interviewed for the investigation. The transcripts of those interviews are included in the report. Rocha, current payroll specialist Jaime Rivas, Redevelopment Agency employee Olivia Segura and City Treasurer Iris Pygatt also were interviewed. Those transcripts also are included in the report.
In the transcript, Rivas said the city had made exceptions to their own rule regarding requests for payouts for vacation and sick hours. The city had made the exception twice before for Martinez, with Vasquez signing off on the check when she was mayor and by former Councilman Ramon Rodriguez when he was mayor.
The last $45,807 received by Martinez was approved by Mayor Byrd, who in the report claims he didn’t know what he was signing but that he signed it trusting Martinez.
“Although technically a violation of the rules of Martinez’s contract, it does not go unnoticed that other exceptions to this rule have been made for him as well as other employees of the city,” the report stated.
Technically, Martinez did not violate the law, sources say the attorney told the council members in closed session, but he did violate his contract and he did violate city policy.
“[The councilmembers] didn’t even tell me what they were putting me on leave for,” Martinez said. “But something told me that somehow they would find a way to blame me for all of the potholes in the city.”
Cost of the investigation is unknown. However, the city last year paid $50,000 at the request of Johnson and Vasquez to investigate the failed recall against the two of them. Findings for that report were never made official or disclosed to the public.
Whe4re's the report???
"Martinez also was investigated for violating the city�s neoptism policy after hiring Marianna Marysheva as assistant city manager and finance director in 2005 and then secretly marrying her a few months later without disclosing the marriage to the council.
The investigation revealed that Martinez clearly violated the policy when he married a direct subordinate and continued working in an employer/employee relationship with her."
Hey Blog Man!
What's up with a story about Art Hernandez and how his two girlfriends on council covered for his a$$ ?
Didnt that one Mayor in San Bernardino just get busted for stealing less money?
- The Watcher
Hey Phyllis and Canisha!
We havent forgot about you four...ooops I mean two (thought I saw four)!
How are Bird's nutz?
(I dont need a cut and paste from your church bulletin, just say "delicious" or "sweaty")
I don't understand why the old fart mr. byrd protects autra so much. The entire city knows she is a worthless good for nothing lazy elephant. She should of been gone years ago. She should of been gone when enrique first became city manager. I know she was on the list to get fired by enrique, but he was stopped by mr. byrd. Thats why enrique had no choice, but to promote her lazy a$$ and give her promotions and increases.
Hopefully she will get fired once mr. byrd joins his buddy Paul Richards in jail. Who knows he might even become his lover.
http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_H_martinez11.3c9997b.html
How very Clintonesque of Martinez...
BAD BOYS, BAD BOYS......
AH, WHATCHA GONNA DO......AH, WATCHA GONNA DO WHEN THEY COME FOR YOU!!!!!
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