Ex-Official in South Gate Is Indicted

Former South Gate Treasurer Albert Robles has been indicted on five felony counts for allegedly masterminding a wide-ranging conspiracy to violate election laws and misuse public funds in a failed attempt to fight off a voter recall drive earlier this year, according to a document unsealed Thursday.

Two alleged co-conspirators, Angel Gonzalez and Ricardo Hernandez, were arrested Thursday, the day after the Los Angeles County Grand Jury returned the indictment.

Robles’ whereabouts are unknown and he is considered a fugitive, authorities said.

“The hunt for Albert Robles begins,” said Joe Scott, a spokesman for the district attorney’s office.

Thomas Brown, a criminal defense attorney who has represented Robles in the past, was not available for comment Thursday, and it is not clear if Robles has an attorney. Robles is a director of the Central Basin Municipal Water District but has attended few meetings in recent months.

The indictment accuses Robles of conspiring to print and mail false campaign fliers and to use city money to pay for them. He is alleged to have sent a political mailer with a fraudulent endorsement and to have forged the signature of former South Gate Police Chief Rick Lopez.

Robles is also accused of surreptitiously organizing and controlling three political action committees. Three misdemeanor counts also charge him with election fraud.

Steve Meister -- the attorney for Gonzalez, who was Robles’ campaign materials printer -- said his client is innocent. The lawyer accused the district attorney’s office of targeting anyone associated with Robles, whom voters recalled in Janu- ary.

“It’s another example of how the district attorney is making South Gate the focus of so much attention for what most people feel is a

“The recall is over.”

But in South Gate, where many residents and politicians have encouraged authorities to investigate Robles, the indictment drew praise.

“Albert and his administration put this community in a bad position.... We’re on the verge of bankruptcy,” Vice Mayor Henry Gonzalez said. “If the charges are warranted, they should pursue it.”

The indictment represents the latest fallout from Robles’ two-year reign as the city’s most powerful politician. After voters overwhelmingly tossed him and his allies from office, officials discovered that Robles had signed more than $2 million in checks in his final days as treasurer. The last-minute spending left the city’s emergency reserve fund all but empty.

The city was also burdened with expensive severance contracts awarded to Robles and several of his allies in the administration. The treasurer, who was also deputy city manager, was fired last month. Federal and local authorities continue to press forward in other political corruption investigations.

Last year, he was charged with threatening to kill political rivals in a case that was dismissed after a jury deadlocked.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard Wilson asked a judge at a hearing Thursday to unseal the indictment, in part so the public could help locate Robles.

According to the indictment, the conspiracy took shape in the weeks leading up to the city’s hotly contested recall election, in which Robles was targeted along with Mayor Xochilt Ruvalcaba, Vice Mayor Raul Moriel and Councilwoman Maria Benavides.

The city was flooded with anti-recall mailers, one of which contained a photograph of a uniformed Police Chief Lopez. The flier immediately drew criticism, because it is unlawful for an officer to campaign in uniform.

Lopez denied that he had authorized the mailer.

Robles and his co-conspirators allegedly used Lopez’s image without his permission and forged his signature on the flier.

Hernandez, a graphic designer who allegedly worked on the mailer, received $252,000 in city contracts as a payback, according to the indictment.

In another count, Robles is charged with conspiring to hide his control of three political action committees by using a front man. He allegedly did so to deceive voters into thinking that the candidates he supported were actually independent.

Robles, who rose to power in late 2001, is also accused of procuring jobs and contracts for political supporters in exchange for campaign contributions to his political action committees.

Hernandez’s attorney, Bryan Altman, said his client plans to plead not guilty at his arraignment in early August.

Robles and Angel Gonzalez face two felony conspiracy counts, two felony charges of unauthorized use of a signature in a campaign advertisement and one count of misappropriation of public funds, also a felony.

They are also charged with a misdemeanor for allegedly reproducing a city seal with intent to deceive voters.

Hernandez is charged with one felony and three misdemeanors.