FBI probe? That’s news to Calvert
Congressman Ken Calvert said Monday that published reports indicating that he is under investigation by the FBI for his involvement in a disputed land deal were untrue.
“I have never been contacted by the FBI, and they have not contacted any of our partners,” said Calvert, a Republican from Carona.
FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said she could neither confirm nor deny whether the agency was investigating Calvert.
The Associated Press, which had reported that Calvert was under investigation, said Monday that its published story was erroneous.
Dan Rodriguez, general manager of the Jurupa Area Recreation and Park District, said an FBI agent came to his office about six months ago regarding the land deal that was the subject of a 2007 grand jury investigation.
The park district filed a lawsuit against the Jurupa Community Services District, which sold four acres of land in Mira Loma to Stadium Properties. Parks officials said the sale was illegal because the community services district failed to notify other agencies first about the sale. The parks district had hoped to build baseball fields on the land where Stadium Properties, of which Calvert is a partner, wants to put a self-storage facility.
The grand jury concluded that the sale violated state law. The parks district is now suing the community services district.
“The FBI came into my office to ask if I had heard anything else new about the lawsuit, and I said nothing aside from the fact that it was going through the court system,” Rodriguez said.
“He said he wanted to learn a little bit more about it and asked me what I knew. He didn’t mention Calvert specifically.”
Calvert said his group has nothing to do with the dispute.
“We are in the middle of this thing,” he said. “If they want to pay us what we put into it, then they can have the land. We have $1.2 million in it.”
He said he would be happy to respond to any FBI inquiry.
“If they want to depose me they can depose me,” he said. “I have nothing to hide.”
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