Santa Ana Mayor Also FBI Target, Informant Says

The FBI informant at the center of the public corruption case against Santa Ana Councilman Ted Moreno testified on Tuesday that he also worked with federal agents on similar investigations involving Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido and a former Anaheim councilman.

The witness, Vaskin Kashkerian, said he was part of a team of informants who funneled phony campaign contributions to Pulido. The mayor, in turn, sent back the donations because he said the checks contained “mistakes,” according to Kashkerian.

Federal officials also launched an investigation into former Anaheim councilman Lou Lopez after he allegedly told Kashkerian that he would provide political favors in exchange for $20,000, the informant testified.

Prosecutors said Tuesday that neither official was charged with any crime and that neither is currently under investigation. Pulido and Lopez could not be reached for comment.

The revelations came on the second day of testimony in the trial of Moreno, accused of extorting $31,000 from Kashkerian in return for favorable votes on a beer-and-wine license permit.

Moreno and several political allies were accused of taking part in a scheme to gain a majority voting bloc on the Santa Ana City Council. Kashkerian’s testimony suggests that the FBI’s initial examination into possible wrongdoing extended far beyond Moreno and his allies.

Moreno claims the FBI entrapped him, and that Kashkerian was a highly paid informant motivated by financial gain. The questions about his past dealings with the FBI appeared to be an attempt by Moreno’s attorney, Dean Steward, to undermine Kashkerian’s credibility as a witness.

Kashkerian, owner of several area gas stations, said he had worked in as many as 19 FBI investigation in the mid-1990s, ranging from corruption to fraud cases. He said he became an informant after cooperating in the probe against former associate, Anaheim City Planner Majid Ahmadi, who was eventually charged with extortion.

In the Pulido investigation, Kashkerian said he helped funnel FBI money to the politician by recruiting other people as donors. It is unclear why he was told to do so, and federal prosecutors would not comment on the nature of the investigation.

In the Lopez case, Kashkerian testified that the councilman asked him for $20,000 to pay off campaign debts. Lopez allegedly promised Kashkerian to help him with favorable votes in his future dealings with the city. It is not clear if Kashkerian ever gave Lopez the money.

Kashkerian said he had taken part in other FBI investigations of wide-ranging criminal activity, including a plot to ship chemicals to Iraq and a $3-billion scheme to sell fuel from Azerbaijani oil pipelines.

Kashkerian was asked by Steward why he “attracted” so many offers from people allegedly engaged in criminal activity.

“I’m a very friendly person and outgoing,” said Kashkerian. “I make friends easily.”

Later, Steward asked Kashkerian why he had agreed to cooperate with the FBI.

“I wanted to help my country,” Kashkerian replied.

Under cross-examination, Kashkerian said he received $53,000 from the FBI for his services.

An FBI agent later testified that it was common for informants to be compensated for their efforts. The agent, Gary K. Morley, said Kashkerian never asked for payment in exchange for his cooperation.