L.A. City News · @lacitynews
10th Feb 2011 from Twitlonger
MEGA-TWEET on L.A. Fire & Police Pension (LAFPP), CALPERS & LACERS RELATED ALLEGED PENSION FRAUD -- NAMES TO CONNECT:
For those interested in CalPERS corruption, to go along with your LACERS corruption, an LA Daily Blog reader is telling the story, from the beginning, starting with THIS:
CalPERS (Part 1):
Group (Credit Suisse), Hamilton Lane, and Portfolio Advisors for the Private Equity Advisor core mandate
******Commissioner Moret moved that the Board interview Aldus Equity (Aldus)
******State retirement system looking at Aldus investments-----
**********Louis Moret, Commissioner, Los Angeles Fire and Police Pension System (Confirmed) .... Marcellus Taylor, Managing Partner, Aldus Equity Partners (Confirmed):
RELATED LINKS TO ABOVE PASSAGE:
http://ow.ly/3TEOJ - http://ow.ly/3TEP9 - http://ow.ly/3TEPn - http://ow.ly/3TEPE - http://ow.ly/3TEPL
xxx
MORE:
Monday, June 8, 2009
BREAKING NEWS: Is CalPERS Lou Moret Having His Non-Profits Investigated by VARIOUS Agencies?
BREAKING NEWS: LA Daily Blog has just heard that CalPERS boardmember Louis F. Moret and his brother Gilbert Moret's non-profit organizations are being investigated by various agencies. I hope it isn't because of the blogging about the shadiness here on LA Daily Blog. (Just kidding, I hope it IS a result.)
Dr. Louis F. Moret Joins CalPERS Board of Administration
SACRAMENTO, CA – The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) announced today that Dr. Louis F. Moret has joined the CalPERS Board as the Member appointed by the State Assembly Speaker and Senate Rules Committee. He will serve a four year-term.
xxx
http://ladailyblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/pensiongate-attend-bilingual-foundation.html
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
PENSIONGATE: Attend the Bilingual Foundation of the Arts FUND RAISER for Villaraiogsa's Pension Commissioner's Attorney!
YOU'RE INVITED!
Olé Tardeada - A Fundraiser for the benefit of Bilingual Foundation of the Arts
A Fundraiser for the benefit of Bilingual Foundation of the Arts
Saturday, May 30, 2009
4:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Enjoy an afternoon and evening of great music, live entertainment, dancing, food, wine, beer and coffee bars and tequila testing along with the company of family and friends.
Information and reservations at (323) 225-4044
At the home of Gilbert and Margarita Moret
San Marino, CA 91108
(Call the number for directions to the event though, because If you are looking for Gil's address on Mapquest, the home is likely listed under someone else's name, because they usually put their homes in other people's names, so the Feds can't take it.)
Most likely, Louis Moret, who is one of the fine, upstanding Villaraigosa-appointed LOS ANGELES FIRE AND POLICE PENSION BOARD COMMISSIONERS will most likely be in attendance.
Zuma Dogg will be in attendance, in hopes of being able to interview Gilbert and Louis to ask them questions about CalPERS money and shady non-profits; and some other interesting questions relating to my PENSIONGATE 2009 investigation.
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION: Gilbert Moret is brother of Villaraigosa-appointed pension commissioner Louis F. Moret. Gilbert represented his brother Louis in the South Gate scandal involving Albert Robles and what is now the highly investigated PensionGate. Gilbert Moret has law offices in L.A., the Valley and Pasedena. He belongs to several non-profits. and was recently appointed Board Chairperson for Bilingual Foundation of the Arts.
THIS EVENT PROMOTED BY: Los Angeles City Employees Association.
NOTE: I understand none of this money will be going to pay for anyone's attorney fees having to do with the South Gate scandal or any upcoming PENSIONGATE attorney fees.
xxx
http://ladailyblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/calpers-california-pension-corruption.html
Friday, May 1, 2009
Wetherly Pension Scandal: LA Daily Blog Reader Weighs In
[Pictured: Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa breaks the bad news to community members at a recent Town Hall meeting on the budget crisis. Here he may be informing the crowd that his pension appointees lost $7 billion last year and are now being investigated by the SEC.]
To: Zuma Dogg
Fr: LA Daily Blog Reader
Dogg, Take a look at the attached. Ziman is claiming he doesn't own any of the company or have anything to do with it. He started the company and swaps out money between a broker dealer called DAV Wetherly and Whetherly Capital because he doesn't have a broker dealers license.
THE REAL BRAINS AND BRAWN BEHIND WETHERLY
Wetherly Capital and its owners Dan Weinstein and Vicki Schiff are deeply embroiled in the New York, New Mexico, Los Angeles, and possibly nationwide pension fund scandal involving placement agents. The New York and Federal indictments state that Wetherly shared placement fees with indicted Hank Morris around the country including, New Mexico and Los Angeles.
Although only listed as a technical advisor on the website, the brains, brawn and political influence behind Wetherly is Los Angeles real estate magnate Richard Ziman. Ziman is a co-founder and co-owner of Wetherly Capital. Ziman together with Weinstein have, for many years, donated and bundled large amounts of campaign contributions and have close relationship with top elected officials across the Country, including, the Clintons, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, Former California Governor Gray Davis, former California Controller Steve Westly, California Attorney General Jerry Brown, disgraced New York State Comptroller Alan Hevesi, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, former California Treasurer Phil Angelides, Mayor Villagrosa, and many others. Daphna and Richard Ziman open their Beverly Hills mansion countless times a year for political candidates, many of whom wield power and influence critical to Wetherly’s success as a placement agent.
Ziman also co-founded Arden Real Estate. Arden was one of the largest Southern California office building REITS before it was sold to GE Capital in 2007. After disposing of Arden, Ziman founded, with Vicki Schiff of Wetherly, American Value Partners a real estate fund of funds. Ziman, Weinstein and Schiff used their political influence and their Wetherly platform to raise several hundred million dollars from public pension funds around the country.
Wetherly counts among its significant clients the following:
1.
Arthur Levine and his partner Lauren Leichtman of Levine-Leichtman Capital Partners;
2.
Henry Cisnero of City View;
3.
Tony Ressler and John Kissick of Ares Capital;
4.
Tony Ressler’s brother, Richard Ressler of CIM;
5.
Roy Disney and Stanley Gold Shamrock; and,
6.
Brad Freeman, US Ambassador Ron Spogli and William Wardlaw of Freeman & Spogli.
xxx
http://ladailyblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/pensiongate-attend-bilingual-foundation.html
Member of Los Angeles pension board resigns
Mayoral appointee Kelly Candaele quits after inquiries about his involvement in a fundraiser for city attorney candidate Jack Weiss.
By David Zahniser
Times staff writer Phil Willon contributed to this report.
8:28 PM PDT, April 28, 2009
[Zuma Dogg comments in brackets.]
One of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's pension board appointees stepped down Tuesday after The Times inquired about his involvement in a campaign fundraiser for City Councilman and city attorney candidate Jack Weiss -- an activity that violates the city's ethics law.
[Two other Villar's pension appointees are now being investigated by SEC over $7 BILLION police and fire pension losses in shady Wall Street investments, last year, that will force the city to the brink of bankruptcy in 2013.]
Kelly Candaele, who had been on the Los Angeles City Employees' Retirement System Board of Directors since 2005, was one of six hosts of the event Monday in Beverly Hills, according to the invitation.
The City Council voted in 2004 to bar city commissioners and board appointees from engaging in campaign fundraising activities, as a response to the investigations into appointees of then-Mayor James K. Hahn. The law prohibited those officials from calling contributors or appearing on fundraising invitations.
[ALRIGHT...STOP RIGHT HERE! Zuma Dogg CALLS for ALL the money that was raised at this fundraiser on Monday in Beverly Hills to be RETURNED! Why? People showed up and donated money because you had a (formerly) respected City of Los Angeles Mayoral Board Appointee on the invitation. KINDA an endorsement and a cause to show up to the event to meet the (formerly) honorable L.A. City Board of Directors member. SO THIS MEANS, NAMES OF ALL THE CONTRIBUTORS AT THE EVENT THAT EVENING NEED TO BE DISCLOSED; THE MONEY NEEDS TO BE RETURNED; AND MAY NOT BE RE-CONTRIBUTED. Release the names Jack, return ALL the money from that evening since it was based on an ethics violation.]
Roughly four hours after The Times asked Villaraigosa's office about the event, Candaele submitted his resignation letter, saying he had put his name on the invitation by mistake. "Although I did not raise or contribute any political funds, this is inconsistent with the ethics pledge I signed when appointed to serve," he wrote.
[HE PUT HIS NAME ON THE INVITATION BY MISTAKE??? NO WONDER THESE VILLARAIGOSA-APPOINTED PENSION INVESTORS LOST $7 BILLION ON WALL STREET LAST YEAR! THEY MAKE DUMB, DUMB, STUPID MISTAKES. (If you believe his bullsh*t reply that it was "by mistake." Oh, Boo-hoo-hoo...it's not his fault: The Pension Investing Board of Director make a boo-boo. HIS BAD!]
Two other hosts of Weiss' fundraiser hold positions with Wetherly Capital, a company that has promoted investing opportunities to two city pension boards, including the one on which Candaele served. Wetherly, known in industry circles as a "placement agent," has become a subject of interest in recent weeks for investigators looking into allegations of kickbacks at the New York state pension fund.
[Ah ha! No wonder all these Villaraigosa-appointed pension investors are funneling so much money into Jack Weiss' City Attorney campaign. They NEED Jack to win so he can keep their tracks covered. Except, TOO LATE...the SEC is looking into it now...LOL! REMEMBER...LACERS (city employee pension fund) lost SEVEN BILLION DOLLARS last year on Wall Street AND NOW, the SEC is looking into it. And I've heard it's called "pay to play" and is gonna bring down a few folks inside and connected to City Hall.]
Weiss, who is running to replace City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo in the May 19 election, will give back roughly $20,000 raised from Monday's event, said his campaign consultant Ace Smith. "Jack Weiss believes that his campaign must be held to the highest standards," Smith said in a statement.
[Is that $20,000 ALL the money from everyone who contributed at this ethics violating event, or just Villar-appointee? HEY GREAAAAAAAT...Villaraigosa appoints these clown ass turkey commissioners, who knows WHO they paid off to get the contracts, they invest fire and pension money in shady bullshit risky (shill) companies that TANKED; THEN, after Villar appoints them, they funnel money to Jack Weiss. WHO SAYS WEISS AND VILLARAIGOSA AREN'T TODAY'S "BONNIE & CLYDE?" (Or "Bonnie & Bonnie.")]
Weiss' opponent, Carmen Trutanich, said the councilman should have known better and took action only after getting caught. "He got caught with his hand in the cookie jar," he said.
Top advisors to the mayor, upon learning of the violation, requested that Candaele submit his resignation, a Villaraigosa aide said. In a statement, the mayor described Candaele as an upstanding leader who made "an honest mistake."
[NO, it was a DIS-honest mistake. ARE YOU TELLING ME NO ONE KNEW THE DIFFERENCE??? THESE ARE THE TOP LEADERS OF THE CITY...WHO LOST SEVEN BILLION DOLLARS, ARE NOW BEING INVESTIGATED BY SECURITY AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION, ARE FUNNELING MONEY TO JACK WEISS CAMPAIGN...AND EVERYONE SOUNDS LIKE MR. MAGOO!!! NO WONDER THE CITY IS CERTAIN TO BE DECLARING BANKRUPTCY IN 2013!]
Weiss' fundraiser occurred just days after The Times reported that two other Villaraigosa pension board appointees, Sean Harrigan and Elliott Broidy, had received letters from the Securities and Exchange Commission seeking information on any income they have received from companies doing business with their agency. They serve on the Los Angeles Fire and Police Pensions board. The SEC also asked Broidy and Harrigan for information on their communications with Wetherly and two other companies linked to the New York pension probe.
New York Atty. Gen. Andrew Cuomo filed an indictment last month against onetime New York pension official and political consultant Henry Morris. Wetherly and the firm Morris worked for, Searle & Co., have shared fees for deals at three major pension funds in California. Wetherly representatives said the firm is cooperating with investigators.
The Weiss fundraiser was at the home of Richard Ziman, an unpaid advisor to Wetherly Capital. Ziman and his wife were listed as hosts, along with Wetherly's managing director, Dan Weinstein. A Wetherly representative said Weinstein did not attend the event.
Weinstein and other Wetherly employees have contributed $54,700 to city candidates since 2002, including at least $1,500 to Weiss, according to the city Ethics Commission. Wetherly clients have contributed at least $12,750 to Weiss.
[See...all the clowns who just lost $7 BILLION in a pay-to-play Wall Street scandal; who are now being investigated by SEC over the biggest financial bamboozle-bankruptcy loss IN CITY HISTORY...AND MOST LIKELY U.S. HISTORY -- ARE BACKING JACK WEISS FOR CITY ATTORNEY!!!]
A day after attending the fundraiser, Candaele voted with colleagues to require that placement agents be identified when representing firms seeking contracts with the City Employees' Retirement System.
[A day late and $7 billion dollars SHORT to cover up with your certain to be caught up in the SEC investigation puppet city attorney candidate.]
Wetherly spokesman Daniel DelRe said Tuesday that he didn't immediately have names of firms Wetherly represented before the city employees' pension board since 2006. Companies listed as clients on Wetherly's website have secured multimillion-dollar commitments from the board in recent years. It was not clear if Wetherly helped get those deals.
Candaele said that he wasn't sure whether he had met with Wetherly managers on city business but that his support for Weiss was "totally unrelated" to the firm.
[Again, no one is sure...everyone is making an honest mistake...no one did ANYTHING wrong and NO ONE will be carried away in FEDERAL handcuffs over the pension investigation. And it has NOTHING to do with grocery store investments, or the former Ralphs grocery owner (Ron B.) and Ari Swiller is feeling totally Zen, and none of this will tie back to Jack Weiss or Antonio Villaraigosa, and Villar's gubenetorial dreams are not only completely over at this point. And I didn't tell you so about any corruption with pension commissioners and didn't feel the pension investments were THE BIGGEST thing going on in the city that turned out to be bigger than a $50,000 lactation class.
xxx
Saturday, April 25, 2009
SEC Investigation Into Villaraigosa's City Hall Wall Street Pension Investments IS THE ONE THAT IS GOING TO TAKE DOWN CITY HALL CORRUPTION, FINALLY!!!
Here's an early flag that triggered ZD's awareness to what has now turned into the SEC inquiry into Villaraigosa-appointed pension fund investors, during my investigation into the Grand Avenue Project:
I hope LACER pension money isn’t being invested into this project, because MacFarlane works with Related Co (the project developers) elsewhere in the city.
And if actually HAD any pension money to invest, I would put in a stipulation that none of it may be invested in this risky, speculative, un-necessary project, with only detail for one (of three phases) worked out, and no guarantee that the project has enough funding to even be completed. (And all kinds of loopholes that allow developers to "filp" the project to new operators, once any part (office, housing, retail) is completed -- AND allows developers to scale back on the number of affordable housing units required.
Why pension money is risky investment: The City is tied in to the success or failure of this project with the private developers (Related) for the term of the 99 year lease. If construction costs over-run, the City gets hit, if we can’t find someone to build the five star Mandarin Hotel (and there is concern that we may not find someone willing to build more luxury hotel accommodations in the area, the city takes a hit. (See Bonneventure) If retail revenues and occupancy rates do not generate to the levels promised, the city takes a hit (because what we gave was based on what we expected to take in).
What if the project never even gets completed? With only phase one agreed to, and even that has not been executed, who’s to say people can’t drop out, default, or what if City money doesn’t come through?
ALSO, look how Related was selected as the developer by the Grand Authority (summary, page 3) Wonder what interests those selected to sit on the board (who selected the NY based company) had.
I also see in the summary that the project was approved for Related to be the developer, then substituted Related, with a spin-off company (GALA, Grand Ave LA) as developer, which is Related; plus CIUP (the CALPER pension people). [OH NO...CALPER IS THE PENSION FUND PEOPLE WHO INVEST IN MACFARLANE. PENSION FUND ALERT, Y'ALL!!! PENSION FUND ALERT!!! It says, “This was essentially the formal approval of the initial team selected. (Really, well what “un-essentials” were left out. (The City and ZD seem to differ on what is essential, and what isn’t.)
The "speculated" project cost already went up from $1.8 billion to $2.5, they haven't even started yet, and construction ain’t getting any cheaper.
The City is supposed to run municipal services for the City and help keep it ticking. Not use City funds (general and possibly pension) to invest in a forced, private project with no real benefit to the community, decided by a select few. June 10, 2007
Click here for full post
Click here for recent Zuma Dogg pension alerts:
Since then, I have followed this, AND AGAIN ESPECIALLY WHEN I SAW THE SUB PRIME CRISIS AND ECONOMIC DOWNTURN AND WALL STREET FALL-OUT THAT I ALSO PREDICTED EVERY STEP OF THE WAY IN ADVANCE, AND KEPT THINKING BACK TO THE PENSION FUND:
THEN, I posted multiple warnings and appeared before city council warning of risky Wall Street investments with city pension money. And when it was announced during a council meeting recently (very quietly and calmly) that the city lost $7 Billion in pension money, I and have been screaming and blogging for a FEDERAL investigation into how Villaraigosa's money mangers (his appointments in charge of investing the city pension money) were being paid, who they paid, what was being invested in, and how much money these managers made while the city lost $7 billion in one year and will now most certainly face bankruptcy and further down gradings under Los Angeles Mayor and fading Gubernatorial former-hopeful Antonio Villaraigosa.
I hear Ari Swiller is passing large bricks, right now, and a whole bunch of folks who work inside city hall, and who have ties to city hall are not enjoying the Lakers game or the nice spring weekend, but on the phone with their attorneys...or hiring attorneys.
You know Ari Swiller: Villaraigosa's un-official, non-registered, paperless, think tank advisor who may end up being the one with the most to worry about in all of this. You know Ari, he used to work for Malibu socialite and rock and roll billionaire Ron Burkle, of Ralph's grocery store money. Anyway, Clinton had to pull money out of Burkel's investment shenanngians when Clinton ran for office. And wait until you see where this pension money was being invested and ZUMA DOGG has said all along, this is the big one Elizabeth. And here it is before us. So let's enjoy the ride and hope this take a bite out of crime and corruption in Los Angeles City Hall.
YES KIDDIES, and when I say kiddies I mean KABC, KFI, LA Weekly, LA Times' David Zahnisher and others: YOU ALL KNOW THERE HAS BEEN ONE MEDIA OUTLET COVERING THIS ALL ALONG, WARNING OF IT WHILE IT WAS HAPPENING, THEN CALLING FOR A FEDERAL LOOKIE-LOU INTO THE WHOLE $7 BILLION DOLLAR AFTER THE FACT MESS. AND YES, GRIEG SMITH AND LOS ANGELES CITY COUNCIL, I WARNED ALL OF Y'ALL ON THE RECORD ABOUT FIVE HUNDRED TIMES, RECENTLY! So now everyone can sit back and say there was no way they could have know, and boo-hoo-hoo, there was nothing that could have been done.
EXCEPT ZUMA DOGG KNEW!!! SO WHY DIDN'T YOU??? AND NOW, it's the biggest story (along with the DWP water story) that you will be covering in your after-the-fact media coverage. LOL! Out-scooped by a homeless and hungry, cement-dwelling dogg. AND YOU TAKE A PAY CHECK!?!? Go cover how much the city spends on calligraphy or keep complaining about presentations on Friday or symbolic staff cut backs and all that "gotcha" stuff...everyone knows who is predicting the BIGGEST, GIGANTIC issues that really matter. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!
But everyone reading this is having the last laugh, cause they are all collecting paychecks and I woke up outside on the cement again today and am still waiting to eat something. But at least I can say "Ha, Ha, I told you so," right?
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