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La Voz de Aztlan
Los Angeles, Alta California
February 12, 2001
LOS(T) ANGELES: Clinton Cocaine Pardon Taints Latino Democrats
(ACN) The recent "Pardons for Sale" corruption scandal in the highest levels of the Democratic Party apparently reaches all the way to Los Angeles elected Latino politicians. It appears that the former Speaker of the California Assembly Antonio "Tony" Villargairosa, Congressman Xavier Becerra, and State Senator Richard Polanco all received money to lobby Bill Clinton for the pardon of the notorious cocaine trafficker Carlos Vignali. All three wrote letters and Becerra personally called Bill Clinton on January 19, the last day of Clinton's presidency, for a pardon. Vignali, who had been convicted of distributing over 800 pounds of "crack" cocaine from Los Angeles all the way to Minneapolis, was released the next day from federal prison.
This is shocking to former members of La Raza Unida Party because repeated calls to Congressman Becerra's office to look into the framing of political prisoner Ramsey Muniz have all been ignored. How naive of La Raza activists who may still believe that "right makes might" in the present political system. Instead, the reality is "money makes right" and justice is now bought. Congressman Becerra received $11,000 from Vignali's wealthy Los Angeles businessman father and Tony Villargairosa received $2,795. Both Becerra and Villaraigosa are running for mayor of Los Angeles. State Senator Richard Polanco who is running for Los Angeles city councilman received $26,000 from Vignali's father. The money figures are amounts that were reported by the three politicians.
Now we may have a clue why all these Latino elected officials have remained so quiet in the LAPD Rampart corruption scandal that started when a dirty cop stole three kilos of cocaine from a police evidence room. The area that these three politicians represent is called Pico-Union and it is a well known area for cocaine sales and distribution. The entire LAPD Rampart corruption scandal has been the result of turf wars for the multi-billion dollar coke trade in the area. The city councilman that Polanco wants to replace, Mike Hernandez, was convicted on a cocaine charge. He was caught buying cocaine from a constituent. Pico-Union is mostly a poor working immigrant community and the Democratic Party could care less about improving the quality of life of the community. Earlier this year , a two story dilapidated apartment fell from its own weight on numerous immigrant families killing one and seriously injuring many others. The absentee Jewish owner had ignored requests from the city to fix the structure. The large percentage of the community does not know how to hold their elected representatives accountable and they take advantage of this through the Democratic Party machine that is largely finance by LA westside Jewish business interests. The politicians in turn work to protect their business interests while dabbling in questionable practices for personal profit.
It should now be apparent to La Raza that the Democratic Party is corrupt from head to toe and that we need to do something about it. We can not depend on elected Latino representatives because in most cases they are as corrupt as the party they belong to. The time has come to empower a third political party, clean out the present crooked politicians and reform the political system in California and the southwest in similar ways that the PAN is doing in Mexico.
Prior Cuacauhtzin Columns:
LOS(T) ANGELES: The Shameful LAPD and LAUSD Corruption Scandals
California Proposition 21 Will Incarcerate More Latino Children
The Hypocrisy of U.S. Immigration Policy
A DEAFENING SILENCE: Latino Elected Leaders and the LAPD Corruption Scandal
COCAINE: Los Angeles Police and the City Hall Connection
LAPD CORRUPTION: Who Killed Officer Cuesta?
When Law Enforcement Becomes Criminal
Vigilantism at the US/Mexico Border May Spread Northward
Los(t) Angeles and the Democratic Convention 2000: Suffering the Consequences of Sins
A Cop's Badge is Not a Shield of Impunity!
Mothers . . . don't let your daughters grow up to be like Linda Chavez-Gersten
LOS(T) ANGELES: Clinton Cocaine Pardon Taints Latino Democrats
Other Articles by Hector Carreon
THE CORROSIVE INFLUENCE OF THE DOLLAR: The Shameful Trade in Mexican Baby Organs
Hector Carreon is the founder and editor of La Voz de Aztlan and resides in Whittier, California. He was born in the Mexican state of Chihuahua and moved to Aztlan at the age of 5 years. Hector is a graduate in Civil Engineering from California State University at Long Beach where he was a founding member of the Society of Mexican-American Engineers and Scientists (MAES). He served honorably for two year as a Vietnam-era soldier in the U.S Army's 2nd Armored Division and is a graduate of the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund's Advanced Leadership Program. Hector Carreon can be contacted at La Voz de Aztlan
