Former Bell Gardens Official to Stand Trial

Former Bell Gardens City Manager Maria Chacon on Monday was ordered to stand trial for allegedly violating conflict-of-interest laws by engineering her appointment as manager.

Superior Court Judge Samuel Mayerson rejected Chacon’s request to dismiss or reduce the felony count to a misdemeanor charge, and ordered her to appear for arraignment Aug. 19.

The judge’s ruling came after testimony from a district attorney’s investigator who said Chacon, a former councilwoman, voted for measures clearing the way for her appointment, and then met with council members to solicit support.

Appointed to the $89,000-a-year post in December 2000, she was fired after prosecutors filed the charge in June 2001.

Chacon’s attorney, Michael Nasatir, said the case was far from over.

“This is just the first round of a difficult fight ... and when all the facts are brought out in court, justice will prevail,” he said.

The preliminary hearing was delayed for months when Chacon’s attorneys tried to get the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office removed from the case for alleged conflict-of-interest violations.

Chacon’s attorneys said the prosecution was compromised because the office’s chief of investigations, Steve Simonian, worked in Bell Gardens when the alleged crime occurred.

A Superior Court judge agreed and disqualified the district attorney’s office, but an appeals court overturned the decision. If convicted, Chacon could face a three-year prison term.