Former SEIU 660 President Alejandro Stephens to serve four months in prison
"Former SEIU 660 President Alejandro Stephens contemplates jail time".Four months, probably less with good behavior.
But for disgraced former SEIU Local 660 President Alejandro Stephens, the stigma of contributing to debunking the legacy of the late Los Angeles County Labor Federation Leader Miguel Contreras, will weigh on Stephens for life in the labor community.
Stephens enters jail today, having pleaded guilty to tax evasion and federal mail fraud. His plea was the byproduct of a 2004 scheme that funneled $52,000 from the Contreras created Voter Improvement Project (VIP), into campaign coffers, for his successful election as President of SEIU Local 660. Local 660 is the primary union for 50,000+ LA County workers.
While Stephens is the only person doing jail time, the likes of former girlfriend and California SEIU Leader Arnelle Grajeda ("A.G."), son Carlos Grajeda ("C.G.") and Contreras ("M.C."), were listed by federal investigators as "co-schemers. The feds also questioned former SEIU International Leader Andy Stern, on whether he provided Stephens with a "no show position", but no accusations or charges are pending.
For SEIU, the Stephens conviction is the latest embarrassment for the union in Los Angeles. Stephens and Grajeda join the likes of former SEIU 6434 Leader Tyrone Freeman, who looted union coffers and directed those monies to dubious non-profits with ties to family members. Freeman also attempted to raise the dues of some of his poorest members and directed them into financial resources for LA County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas campaign. Freeman was removed by SEIU and awaits any legal repercussions stemming from his various schemes. The excessive dues that were taken from his members, were made whole by the union.
But the biggest hit here, besides Stephens doing jail time, is to the legacy of the late Miguel Contreras. With the conviction of Stephens, which by the way, was an outgrowth of the Martin Ludlow/ SEIU 99 investigation and convictions and mixed it with the dubious political follies of Contreras disciples former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. the Contreras Legacy is forever tarnish.
The harsh reality is that political historians will look back upon the supposed golden era of the Labor Left in Los Angeles and see where destructive narcissus behavior, mixed with financial excesses in the labor-dominated halls of governments, led us to our looming day of financial reckoning.
Your thoughts..............
Scott Johnson in CD 14
** Bloggers note: I served with Carlos Grajeda on the City of Commerce Part-Time Union Board which was part of the old SEIU Local 347, under the ethical and democratic leadership of then General Manager Julie Butcher. During my time as Treasurer and Secretary, many of us knew of the linkage of Stephens and the Grajedas. But none of us knew of the scheme which resulted in the legal proceedings, that are the premise for this post.
Labels: Alejandro Stephens, Arnelle Grajeda, Carlos Grajeda, SEIU, Tyrone Freeman
Posted by Red Spot in CD 14 @ 12/08/2010 03:40:00 PM
17 Comments:
Red Spot, I don't care what anyone says about your posts... they're always awesome.
Don't let the haters and ball washers of the corrupt you expose ever keep you from putting together awesome posts.
What else would anyone expect from the SEIU?
Red Spot,
When you were Treasurer and Secretary, did you use spellcheck?
I would love to see your written input from those days.
If you DID you spellcheck, why don't you use it HERE on Mayor Sam?
Red Spot, I don't care what anyone says about your posts... they're always written as though a 3 year old writted them.
Add to the list of corrupt and narcissistic SEIU primadonnas: Diane Factor. Ms. Factor is involved with the Worker Education and Resource Center, Inc. (WERC). WERC is a non-profit. It supposedly provides nursing training but who does it "serve"? It only serves persons who are members of one union, the SEIU, and who work in healthcare jobs for one employer, the County of Los Angeles.
Diane Factor is the queen of SEIU's WERC as its Director. She has a sense of entitlement that comes from the arrogance of SEIU the long list of SEIU jerks listed in the article.
Ms. Factor's most recent "accomplishment" included colluding with Los Angeles Community College District Board members and officials to grab voter-financed space at the historic Van de Kamps Building. That building was promised to voters as a community college satellite to Los Angeles City College and $62 million of voter approved bonds went to build it.
Los Angeles Community College officials, led by Board members Mona Field and Sylvia Scott-Hayes, used $7 million of the $62 million to reconfigure the planned classrooms on the first floor of the building into a private suite of executive offices to house Queen Diane Factor and her SEIU staffers. Yes, the reconfiguring of the building for Diane Factor resulted in a LOSS of classrooms built for our young adults.
E-mails obtained from the District show Factor threw several hissy fits during the re-design of the building because she did not see "our space" on the drawings. She wanted "her space" to be separated from the students. Apparently, Queen Factor does not like to rub elbows with the students she "serves."
More information at www.vandekamps.org.
Red Spot,
Is all of the information you've providing here honest, factual and confirmed?
Or is this one of the many posts in which you've played fast and loose with the facts, failed to confirm, and for which you later had to apologize and retract?
You should put in a disclaimer for THAT each time you post from now on so we can know whether it's the same ol' red spot or not.
It's too bad that the Gatto controversy cost Red Spot his credibility. "NOONE" knows whether he did his homework or not.
What? You are not covering the LA Weekly's expose of Rudy Martinez's improper appropriation of an LAPD badge?
http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/2010/12/rudy_martinez_lapd_badge_1.php
Flip Martinez is looking weaker and weaker everyday.
9:31am,
I'm shocked that Mayor Sam even allowed your comment.
On this blog, if a comment comes too close to exposing their bias (read: Red Spots fabrications and truth-bending), they rarely if ever allow it to be posted.
Ah, the people of this district are too dumb to get an honest CM or to find an honest replacement.
WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE IN THIS DISTRICT? IS THIS THE BEST THAT YOU'VE GOT? ISN'T THERE ONE HONEST BUSINESSPERSON OR ATTORNEY IN YOUR DISTRICT?
And we should trust Scott's word based on what?
"the ethical and democratic leadership of then General Manager Julie Butcher."
ha ha ha
lol
good one!
She's good for the union people, but don't try to sell that she's good for anyone else, including the city.
Why is there so much corruption in organized labor?
Go, Rudy, go!
(Away!)
Must we put up with this week-by-week unveiling of yet another seriously flawed character who wants to "save" us from the incumbents, and who's only real "qualification" is he's rich enough to try and buy a council seat?
All the while the Huizar haters try to rationalize continuing to lower our standards because (THEY say... ) "well, Jose is worse" and never offer any proof, other than he voted against what they were for in their own little self-interested worlds.
Rudy Rich needs to go back to being a simple, self-serving capitalist, and stop wasting voters' time. The filing deadline just passed YESTERDAY and we've already heard more unsavory issues surrounding this new "Mr. Transparent" and "Mr. Accountable -- none of which HE has actually revealed (in the interest of BEING transparent); none of which HE is willing to be accountable for now -- than anyone has ever suggested about Huizar in a decade of public life.
"Transparent" people don't keep blaming on "political dirty tricks" the fact that they have lots and lots of bad political baggage, which they were so arrogant as to think no one would dig into and report, or that just wouldn't matter to people so DESPERATE for a change in office (NOT!)
If Red Spot thinks' Gil Cedillo is a "Victim" then just keep watching Rudy Rich try to blame the increasing number of very real skeletons in his closet on the one Skelton working for Huizar. "Parque" may be very good at his job, but he can't go back in time and make Rudy do some of the really STOOPID things now coming out about him, and which are likely to be just the tip of the iceberg (can you image what the early March "surprise" is going to be after all this dripping water torture?)
Whether they do it for a fee or to boost their own candidate's chances doesn't matter in the end. When political hacks reveal just how flawed a challenger's character really is, they perform a service for us.
If we're also too STOOPID to pay attention, then we get what we deserve.
Why only 4 months? He should be put away for life.
Wasn't Huizar a paid "consultant" for this Contreras group?
Why yes he was Grasshopper.
"Why is there so much corruption in organized labor?"
Because corruption supports more corruption. Those that are in power pave the way for their most loyal and obedient minions. Even in local union elections, money greatly influences who gets exposure. And the same affliction that infects local City elections, festers in local union elections as well. The disease is commonly known as voter apathy.
Corruption becomes an opportunistic infection that spreads as fast as a cancer that never sleeps.
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