Pacheco Funds Group Linked to Race

Los Angeles City Councilman Nick Pacheco has given more than $66,000 in public money to a nonprofit group closely tied to a political organization supporting his reelection bid, according to city documents.

Since taking office, Pacheco has authorized numerous payments from his council office neighborhood services account to Madres del Este de Los Angeles-Santa Isabel, a Boyle Heights nonprofit best known for helping stop the construction of a prison on the Eastside in the 1980s.

The group is run out of the South Mott Street home of its founder, Juana Gutierrez, whose address is also listed with the City Ethics Commission as the location of Mothers for Nick, a political committee backing Pacheco’s reelection.

Between Dec. 30 and Jan. 21, Pacheco gave Madres $36,500 for holiday programs and the organization’s operation, according to documents obtained through a public records request by the campaign of former Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa, who is running against the 14th District councilman.

At the end of January, Mothers for Nick reported making $36,085 in independent expenditures for a campaign supporting Pacheco’s reelection.

Steve Barkan, Villaraigosa’s campaign consultant, said the pattern of spending shows a link between the two organizations.

“It’s outrageous that Councilman Nick Pacheco is using public money to fund a political organization that is supporting him,” Barkan said.

Pacheco said he did not know of any connection between the two groups, and said the money his office gave Madres was solely to assist their community projects.

“My intentions were to get toys to the kids in the project, and that program has been successful,” said Pacheco, noting that each expenditure was authorized by the city controller’s office after receiving a receipt from the group.

“I think it’s really offensive that they would challenge the integrity of these mothers, especially when they have the weight of the controller’s office behind them,” he added.

Pedro Carrillo, Pacheco’s campaign manager, said the Villaraigosa campaign’s charges are desperate.

“That’s insulting to the Madres and all the moms that have worked so hard in the community,” Carrillo said.

Esperanza Vielma, treasurer of Mothers for Nick, did not return repeated calls seeking comment. Elsa Lopez, project manager for Madres, also did not return calls seeking comment.

Like other council members, Pacheco is allotted $250,000 a year in discretionary money to fund neighborhood services and programs. Applications for the money go to the city clerk’s office, along with a description of how the funds will be used, but the spending does not need the approval of the City Council. Any expenditure over $5,000, however, is considered a contract and must be approved by the city attorney’s office and follow city contracting guidelines.

Community Donations

Since taking office, Pacheco has given money to a variety of groups in his district, including the Eagle Rock Chamber of Commerce, Catholic Charities and Barrio Action Youth for neighborhood cleanups, youth programs and other community projects.

Las Madres has been the recipient of a large share of the money. In the last few years, the group received $4,999 for computer equipment and $5,000 for air conditioning, along with money for an arts festival and soccer uniforms, according to documents obtained from the city controller’s office. All of the expenditures were broken up into amounts of $5,000 or less.

Since Dec. 30, Madres has received a total of $15,000 for a Thanksgiving giveaway, $15,000 for a Dia de los Reyes program, $5,000 for general operations and $1,500 for a senior citizens Christmas program.

Meanwhile, Mothers for Nick reported in the last two days of January that it planned to spend more than $36,000 on the design, printing and mailing of 100,000 campaign fliers advocating Pacheco’s reelection, according to documents filed with the City Ethics Commission. The group did not provide the commission with a copy of the mailers they sent out, as required by law. On Thursday, Mothers for Nick reported spending $366 on printing T-shirts.

Mothers for Nick was previously connected to La Colectiva, a campaign organization with a controversial past that was run by Martin GutieRuiz, the son of Madres founder Gutierrez and a childhood friend of Pacheco.

During the 2001 mayor’s race, La Colectiva was identified as a player in the launch of an anonymous hit phone call that accused Villaraigosa of being soft on child molesters and other criminals. Investigators with the district attorney’s office determined that the campaign of Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Los Angeles) placed the calls through a phone bank operated by La Colectiva. GutieRuiz denied any knowledge of the calls.

Investigation Closed

The district attorney’s office also investigated whether La Colectiva mixed public money with campaigning during Pacheco’s 1999 campaign, when the group worked for Pacheco about the same time it had a county contract to do outreach for the state Healthy Families program. The investigation was closed in May 2002. No charges were filed.

La Colectiva’s attorney was Ricardo Torres, another Pacheco friend who took responsibility for mailing out two fliers in November that accused Villaraigosa of womanizing and turning his back on Latinos.