Robles Says He’ll Turn Himself In

Former South Gate Treasurer Albert Robles, considered a fugitive by authorities after being indicted last week on conspiracy charges, said in a telephone interview late Sunday that he is not in hiding, and intends to turn himself in early this week.

“Isn’t a fugitive somebody who runs away from something? I’m running toward them,” Robles said, adding that he plans to cut short his stay in Mexico to “face the music.”

Last week, the Los Angeles County Grand Jury accused Robles in a multi-count indictment of orchestrating a scheme to violate election laws and misuse public funds in order to thwart a voter recall drive against him and his City Council allies.

On Thursday, Robles’ two alleged co-conspirators -- Angel Gonzalez and Ricardo Hernandez -- were arrested. Prosecutors said they were unable to find Robles and urged a judge to unseal the indictment so the public could help in the search. The judge issued an arrest warrant.

Robles, saying he was calling from Mexico, said that on Thursday morning he was in San Diego, where he had been volunteering as a counselor at a summer youth camp. He left for Baja California that same day, he said, without knowing that he was under indictment. Robles said he went to Mexico for business and vacation and planned to stay there through August.

Robles said he learned that he had been indicted from a friend on Friday. He said he now wants to turn himself in directly to the judge, and that he will asked to be released on his own recognizance.

“I’m telling you I am heading to the judge’s chambers ... without being detected by law enforcement so as not to give them the story that a fugitive has been apprehended,” Robles said.

Sandi Gibbons, a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office, said investigators are continuing their search.

“If he turns himself in, he turns himself in,” she said. “But at this point in time he hasn’t, and there is a warrant out for his arrest.”

The eight-count indictment charges Robles with conspiring to send a political mailer with the fraudulent endorsement and forged signature of former South Gate Police Chief Rick Lopez.

Robles also is suspected of secretly creating three political action committees and using a front man to conceal his control of the organizations.

Robles denies the charges.

“I think the truth will bear something very different out. I don’t know how they secured those facts. But that’s not the case,” said Robles, who was South Gate’s most powerful politician before being ousted in the January recall.

The indictment comes less than a year after Robles pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of possessing illegal semiautomatic assault weapons. He also was charged with threatening to kill rival politicians in a case that was eventually dismissed by a judge after a jury deadlocked on the charges.

Robles was not specific about his whereabouts in Mexico.