Nury Martinez' Rumored Plan Is Riddled With Conflict, Corruption and Nepotism

By Daniel Guss

@TheGussReport - Last week, this column explained how LA City Council president Nury Martinez, City Attorney Mike Feuer, City Controller Ron Galperin and all but three other Councilmembers railroaded their peer Mark Ridley-Thomas into a suspension from his elected office that was accompanied by the suspension of his salary and health insurance even before he entered a plea to his recent 20-count federal corruption indictment.

In that piece, I provided examples of other high-ranking City officials who courted controversy with some even admitting to their misdeeds but were neither suspended nor had their salary and health insurance withheld.  

Add former Councilmember Richard Alarcon to that list.

A Councilmember in the 90s, Alarcon returned to the city's legislative body in 2007 to finish the term of Alex Padilla (who earlier succeeded him) and was re-elected to serve his final term in 2009 and stayed in that role until he termed-out in 2013.

As is now well-known, in 2010, Alarcon and his wife, Flora Montes De Oca Alarcon, were indicted on a slew of felony counts related to his not residing in his District as is required by law.  Her charges were for related fraud and perjury. The Alarcons were convicted on some of those charges, though the verdicts were eventually thrown out. The LA City Clerk's office confirmed for this column today that Alarcon was neither suspended from office during that multi-year escapade nor were his salary and benefits withheld.

In case you're keeping score:

Alarcon was neither suspended nor lost any income or health insurance despite 18 felony counts related to his work in the LA City Council office he held at the time.   

Ridley-Thomas, recently indicted on 20-federal felony counts related to his prior job, was suspended and his salary and health insurance are now withheld.

Hmmmph!

That leads us to this question: What's up with Martinez, Feuer, Galperin and the entire City Council (save for Mike Bonin, Curren Price and Marqueece Harris-Dawson) and their rush to judgment on Ridley-Thomas?

The answer is plenty and it reeks of corruption, conflict and nepotism.

Multiple sources within City Hall tell this column that Martinez is planning to appoint Ridley-Thomas's predecessor, Herb Wesson, as a "District Caretaker" while the Ridley-Thomas legal problems work their way through the system, which could take years or until a special election is held.

Herb Wesson

Photo Credit: Unknown

While Mr. Wesson may seem like a logical choice for the appointment, there are glaring conflicts of interest and too-close-for-comfort corruption ties.

1. Herb Wesson is now a lobbyist hawking his legislative chops to local governments as an advisor on, among other things, marijuana policy. Last December, he incorporated and registered Herb Wesson and Associates with the California Secretary of State, which may disqualify him from serving as CD10 Caretaker even if he hands-off control of his newly formed business.
2. While there is a battle over which Council District will oversee USC in the coming years, Herb Wesson's brother, Steve Wesson, is reportedly still employed at the school as USC Village Ombudsman presenting another potential conflict of interest.

But there appears to be more than just that going on here.  

Herb Wesson has spent much of 2021 licking his post-campaign-loss wounds by pleading for policy business from local governments and playing the poor card despite having raked-in millions of dollars in his prior government jobs, claiming "I'm just a small businessman trying to feed my family," though his children range in age from 39 years on-up. 

Deron Williams, Herb Wesson's former chief of staff, was in very close proximity to the activity in the federal indictment of former Councilmember Jose Huizar, who Wesson referred to as "my best friend."  While neither Wesson nor Williams stand indicted in that matter, their proximity to the corruption is a curious thing for Martinez to ignore, especially since she breathlessly ran to suspend Ridley-Thomas before he could even enter a plea.

So what's going on here?

Look to Martinez' Deputy Chief of Staff Alexis Marin-Wesson for clues.

Nury Martinez and Alexis Marin-Wesson

Photo Credit: LA Times

Her husband, Justin Wesson, is Herb Wesson's youngest son.  He served as City Council's "Floor Director" during his dad's time as its president. It was a job his father created for him though he mostly functioned as his father's chauffeur and valet. That is a curious choice for a driver given the son's 2012 DUI bust. According to Transparent California, Justin's 2019 salary and compensation, the last reported year available, totaled $141,350.48.   (Note: Justin also voted in scores of elections while registered at his parents' home address despite having a pregnant wife registered to vote in South Pasadena.  This was likely done to establish a fake "residency" to run to replace his dad.  The LA Times stopped pimping that idea after I first wrote about it.)

Funny how the Times' David Zahniser, Dakota Smith and Emily Alpert-Reyes never told you about that.

Hey, but a dad has got to do what a dad has got to do to get their lay-about kids salaries they could never dream of earning in the private sector, right Mr. Wesson and Mr. Ridley-Thomas?

They are birds of a feather.

If you recall, Justin and Alexis were forced to reimburse the LAPD thousands of dollars for misusing the agency for private security at their 2018 wedding. (This was a story that Wesson's office allegedly fed to Zahniser immediately after I inquired about it in order to get a "softer" report. Zahniser allegedly misled his readers by not disclosing that.)

Now, with rumors that Papa Wesson's consulting business is flailing, he and his son are reportedly eyeing their old government salaries that would land them roughly $400,000 combined each year that Ridley-Thomas remains suspended or until a special election is held.  

That's Martinez' likely motivation: enriching her third-in-command, and pseudo younger sister, Alexis by re-employing Justin vis-a-vis appointing his dad Herb Wesson, who implies that his adult children rely on him for income even in their middle ages.

That and the fact that Martinez continuously struggles as Council president, unable (or unwilling) to explain how she is fixing the city's considerable ills while continually censoring the public from complaining and keeping them out of meetings despite vax mandates.  She would readily welcome Papa Wesson's counsel.  It's a win-win for the politicians, but not one that is in the public's best interest assuming Wesson is even eligible for the appointment.  

There is also Ms. Marin-Wesson's mother-in-law, Fabian Wesson, who remains mired in controversy, having falsified her academic qualifications to land a $250,000 job replacing a Ph.D. at the South Coast Air Quality Management District, or AQMD.  Her predecessor, who is also a professor at UCLA, was succeeded by Mrs. Wesson because, as an AQMD spokesperson told me, she "thought she graduated" with a bachelor's degree, except she did not.

In any other job outside of nepotistic LA politics, you get fired for lying about your qualifications.  But not in the dumping ground of political patronage, the AQMD.

By the way, LA City Councilmember Joe Buscaino, a member of the AQMD Governing Board, has dodged this column's questions about Fabian's false quals, so his claims of being a crime-fighter "eager to slap the cuffs" on guys like Englander and Huizar ring completely hollow.  More on that in an upcoming column.

So Nury Martinez' largesse toward Herb Wesson, who endorsed her to succeed him as Council president, is loaded with the same toxic sludge that led to Englander's conviction, Huizar's and others' indictments and whatever comes next.

What a surprise.

So why did Martinez, Feuer and Galperin allegedly conspire to oust Ridley-Thomas before he could even enter a plea?

Simple. Martinez wanted Ridley-Thomas out.  Feuer, who is likely to get creamed in his campaign for Mayor by leading candidate Karen Bass, reportedly okayed the railroading of Ridley-Thomas to curry favor with the Councilmembers whose endorsements he will need to even be competitive.

The same goes for Galperin in his hotly contested campaign to become an LA County Supervisor as key endorsements needed in that race quickly dry up. 

So at LA City Hall, the corruption, conflicts and nepotism are business as usual, at least until the next shoes, plural, drop.

Nury Martinez, her Chief of Staff Ackley Padilla and Alexis Marin-Wesson did not respond to a request to field unscreened questions.  Mark Ridley-Thomas is believed to be shopping for attorneys to fight the suspension.

Get the popcorn.

(Daniel Guss, MBA, was runner-up for the 2020 Los Angeles Press Club journalism award for Best Online Political Commentary and has contributed to CityWatch, KFI AM-640, iHeartMedia, 790-KABC, Cumulus Media, Huffington Post, Los Angeles Daily News, Los Angeles Magazine, Movieline Magazine, Emmy Magazine, Los Angeles Business Journal, Pasadena Star-News, Los Angeles Downtown News, and the Los Angeles Times in its Sports, Opinion and Entertainment sections and Sunday Magazine, and other publishers. Tell your friends to follow him on The Twitters @TheGussReport)

Was Mark Ridley-Thomas On Your Corruption Bingo Card?

 By Daniel Guss 

@TheGussReport - Shame, shame, shame if you are a follower of Southern California politics and didn't have Los Angeles City Councilmember Mark Ridley-Thomas, MRT, on your corruption bingo card.  Yesterday, he and a former USC dean were indicted for what amounts to the following.

One of MRT's sons, Sebastian Ridley-Thomas, SRT, who had no legitimate reason for being elected to public office other than sporting a locally famous political surname, allegedly got all "hands across America" with women when he was in the California State Assembly and had to skedaddle so investigations into his haranguing proclivities could be dismissed as politically unnecessary. 

Mark Ridley-Thomas, Sebastian Ridley-Thomas

Photo Credit: ABC7

The media swallowed hook, line and stinker SRT's claim that his abrupt resignation was due to "medical reasons."

Like many coddled, lay-about children of politicians, SRT's daddy came to his rescue to get him a job that MRT apparently felt his son wasn't qualified to legitimately earn on his own and went over the top by allegedly buying him a professorship at the University of Southern California, USC.

Daddy Ridley-Thomas also allegedly bought Offspring Ridley-Thomas a USC graduate school admission and a full scholarship.

Think about that for a moment.  Mark Ridley-Thomas allegedly bought his kid a scholarship.  What bowl of Apple Jacks were those kids fed growing up where nobody seems to have raised the notion of accomplishment over entitlement?

You know, the type of bull that Mark Ridley-Thomas and all politicians spew day and night.

According to the indictment, all MRT had to do in exchange (i.e. a quid pro quo) was funnel your tax dollars and mine back to USC in a twisted amalgam of non-profits, nepotism and looking the other way. But it was apparently so aggressively ill-conceived that even USC couldn't ignore it and appears to have ratted out the wrong-doers to the feds itself.

What is it about USC that makes it a magnet for wealthy, powerful parents who think their kids aren't smart enough to get in on their own but can still be purchased from a cashier, as though the degree is a Prada bag that you carry around town?  Here's looking at you, Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli.

On that note, USC continues to refuse to say whether Gianna "Gigi" Caruso, daughter of bazillionaire and a Chairman of the USC Board of Trustees Rick Caruso, earned her way into the school.  The last time this column asked, the school dodged the question and described Ms. Caruso in a way that was nothing short of shameful.

Rick Caruso, Gigi Caruso, Tina Caruso

Photo Credit: Unknown

By the way, are we still allowed to say "chairman?"  USC still does.

To be fair, we shall assume that the bikini entrepreneur (and gal pal of the Loughlin/Giannulli children) earned her way into USC through exceptional grades, test scores and community service.  It's just that the school and papa bear have refused to say that she did, let alone provide the specifics.

Mr. Caruso might very well make an excellent successor to uber-failure Eric Garcetti, perhaps in the tradition of Richard Riordan, the only stellar alcalde L.A. has had in the past several decades and maybe the best ever.  If he decides to run, the Los Angeles Times should ask about Gigi's admission into USC.

But don't bank on it.

-----

A year ago, the Los Angeles Times endorsed Mark Ridley-Thomas to return to LA City Council despite knowing full-well about the alleged crimes for which he and a former USC dean were indicted yesterday, writing:

"He has made questionable ethical decisions, most notably when he funneled $100,000 from campaign fund to USC, which then hired his son as a professor."

Hey thanks for that endorsement, LA Times.  Imagine what a clear-eyed endorsement of a capable, accomplished community activist and attorney named Grace Yoo, who doesn't have the stink of scandal emanating from her pores, could have done for L.A.

But misapplied power and cronyism are hard habits to break.

The Times also repeatedly endorsed Mitch Englander,  who currently brushes his teeth in a federal prison in Arizona.  It also gave us the thumbs-up for Jose Huizar, who might someday set up camp in Englander's prison. And the Times has repeatedly endorsed others like Mayor Eric Garcetti, former Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and former L.A. City Council president Herb Wesson.

But there's nothing that the Times loves to do more than floating the notion of coddled, lay-about political offspring (like Sebastian Ridley-Thomas and Justin Wesson) running to succeed their parents rather than encouraging fresh names with better ideas.

Huzzahs!  Everyone gets a trophy, everyone gets to walk in their parents' footsteps just because they're special!

Everyone except the kids who earned those spots in school.

Everyone except the candidates for office who would have worked diligently and with integrity to improve L.A.

Note to the L.A. Times: You can't manufacture the Kennedys. Even the Kennedys were not what the media wanted us to believe that they were. And neither are these locals.

If Los Angeles is going to be a glutton for felons, failures and flunky children of kleptocrat politicians, it is the Times' job to keep us from falling off that cliff rather than giving us a shove.

Thanks again, El Segundo Times.

-----

And finally, this column has chosen the top five politicians or political hangers-on who it thinks might be indicted next. We'll keep that on the note pad over here by the morning lime water.  But here's a hint: Methinks some will be for bankruptcy fraud, wire fraud, tax evasion, forgery and/or voter registration fraud.  Okay, or bribery, but we assume you already knew that.

Tell your friends to follow me on The Twitters @TheGussReport.

(Daniel Guss, MBA, was runner-up for the 2020 Los Angeles Press Club journalism award for Best Online Political Commentary and has contributed to CityWatch, KFI AM-640, iHeartMedia, 790-KABC, Cumulus Media, Huffington Post, Los Angeles Daily News, Los Angeles Magazine, Movieline Magazine, Emmy Magazine, Los Angeles Business Journal, Pasadena Star-News, Los Angeles Downtown News and the Los Angeles Times in its Sports, Opinion and Entertainment sections as well as its Sunday Magazine, among other publishers.)

Presently using mi amigo Scott's sign-in until tech matters are resolved.

Bloggin Happy Hour Missive on the perils of Over Indulgence

Drunk with Daddy, City Council President Herb "Mini Amin" Wesson's Power ..... or just Drunk?

Drinking and Driving is an "Appetite for Trouble" for "Mini Amin Wesson" son Justin Wesson (allegedly). 

It seems that many dictators in recent times have sons who live large lives. The late Iraqi Dictator Saddam Hussein had Uday, the late North Korean Cult Figure Kim Jong Il, has that little chubby kid now running North Korea and City Council President Herb "Mini Amin" Wesson? Meet Justin ....... as he awaits his day before the judge.

The bloggin facts ..........

Los Angeles City Council President Herb Wesson's son, a member of the lawmaker's City Hall staff, was arrested over the weekend on suspicion of drunk driving, authorities said Tuesday.
Justin Wesson, one of Wesson's legislative deputies, was stopped at a DUI checkpoint at 9th and Figueroa streets, said Frank Mateljan, a spokesman for City Atty. Carmen Trutanich. He was taken into custody Saturday about 8:15 p.m. and released the following day, according to Sgt. Ben Zucker of the Los Angeles Police Department’s West Traffic Division.
In a statement, the councilman said his son was not driving a city vehicle at the time of the arrest.  “Drinking and driving is against the law. I’m grateful that no one was injured,” he said.
"Within the office, appropriate action will be taken," Wesson said. Ed Johnson, Wesson's spokesman, would not elaborate.
Justin Wesson, 30, was hired by the city in July 2011 and earns $54,434 annually working for his father, who represents neighborhoods stretching from Koreatown to the Crenshaw Boulevard corridor. The younger Wesson regularly attends City Council meetings, sometimes sitting next to his father’s chair.
Johnson would not discuss Justin Wesson’s duties in the council office. "No further comment is no further comment," he said.
In 2005, during his first run for City Council, Wesson's campaign committee paid his son $10,333 for consulting work, according to Ethics Commission records.
Arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 18. The case will be referred to Trutanich's office for review and blood-alcohol results are pending, Mateljan said.

.... don't let son of politicos get drunk with delusions of "daddy's power" (allegedly).

Your thoughts ................
Scott Johnson in CD 14