LA County prosecutors announced charges against several former Maywood city officials last week in connection with a years-long public corruption probe.
Former Mayor Ramon Medina has been charged with solicitation of bribery, conspiracy, embezzlement, and theft. Former City Manager Reuben Martinez and former city planning director David Mango have been charged with the theft, misuse of public funds, conspiracy, and embezzlement. Several other people, including Medina’s son, are also facing charges.
Among the series of allegations is the claim that Medina and other public officials used taxpayer money to pay for work on their homes and the homes of friends. The contractor they used billed the city over $1.5 million. Prosecutors say the invoices were approved by Martinez and Mango.
“No one is above the law. Public officials should be working to benefit the people, not their own bank accounts,” Dist. Atty. George Gascón said in a statement. “Pay-to-play politics have no place in Los Angeles County and we are all deserving of a clean government.”
Amid the scandal that went on in Maywood, there were bright spots. The indictments detail attempts by upstanding officials, such as former City Manager Pedro Carrillo, to push back against the alleged wrongdoing.
“I think myself and a lot of good people of Maywood have been waiting for this day for a long time, for years,” Carrillo told the Los Angeles Times. “It’s disheartening for the community when five to six years have passed and they don’t see the justice system is doing right by them.”