Yesterday, Monday, May 16, 2022, was, to honest Anaheim residents, like Christmas, Kwanzaa, and Whitsuntide all rolled into one.
We are still pinching ourselves to ensure we’re not dreaming: the FBI has got Mayor Harry Sidhu by the short hairs! It’s hard to see how he comes out of this; in fact, he doesn’t.
Haven’t we been screaming, for years now, at the top of our lungs and tirelessly, like a voice crying out in the wilderness, of the corruption of this Mayor and “HIS” Council Majority? And don’t your average complacent Joes and your complicit shills both look at us like we’re crazy, like we’re GADFLIES? Well, now color us VINDICATED. AGAIN!
I don’t believe our friends at the Register and the Voice quite get across the flavor and gist of the 55-page FBI affidavit, which reads like an Abbot & Costello cameo on Law & Order. Yes, the Stadium Heist is on hold once again, but the big news here for Anaheimers is the undeniable, stunning evidence of our Mayor’s shameless criminality.
I shall try my hand at summarizing the FBI document, although of course you could put the time into reading it yourself. But then again, you don’t have the time. Just read my “vignettes.”
The Orange County Register May 18, 2022
Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu is under federal investigation in connection with the city’s sale of Angel Stadium, according to information released Monday, May 16.
An affidavit filed in federal court May 12 says authorities are investigating whether Sidhu “shared privileged and confidential information with the Angels during stadium sale negotiations, actively concealed same from a Grand Jury inquiry, and expects to receive campaign contributions as a result.”
Documents including the affidavit in support of several search warrants were made public by the city Monday, and confirmed by a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles.
The warrants and affidavit came to light Monday, when state Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office requested that an Orange County Superior Court judge put on hold an agreement between the city and the state that was intended to settle a dispute over whether Anaheim broke an affordable housing law with the stadium sale deal.
Bonta’s office became aware on Friday of the federal warrant that “sets forth serious allegations of unlawful conduct” related to the stadium sale, according to the court filing seeking to stay the agreement with the city.
“These allegations call into question not only the validity of the land sale, but of the Stipulation for Entry of Judgment that is currently pending before this court,” Bonta’s filing said.
U.S. Attorney’s Office spokesman Thom Mrozek said Monday that multiple warrants were granted and executed on Thursday that allowed searches of Sidhu’s email and cellphone, as well as a hangar at the Chino Airport and a helicopter Sidhu owns that was kept there.
Sidhu could not be immediately reached for comment and attorney Paul Meyer, who is representing Sidhu, said late Monday that it would be “premature” to comment on the allegations.
The deal to sell the city-owned stadium to SRB Management, Angels owner Arte Moreno’s business partnership, for $320 million has been under scrutiny since it was proposed.
Some critics have argued the sale price was lowballed. A residents’ group filed an ultimately unsuccessful lawsuit that argued the city broke state open meetings law in crafting and approving the deal – the affidavit said Sidhu’s alleged withholding of information may have influenced the outcome of the residents’ lawsuit. And, state housing officials in December told the city it violated an affordable housing law.
City leaders have repeatedly denied these allegations and have said the city’s actions were lawful and in the best interest of Anaheim residents. To settle the dispute whether Anaheim broke an affordable housing law, the two sides agreed in April to the stipulated judgment that requires the city to spend $96 million of the proceeds from the stadium sale to build up to 1,000 affordable units offsite within five years.
“We are troubled by this,” Anaheim City Manager Jim Vanderpool said Monday in a statement. “Throughout this process, Anaheim staff and the City Council have worked in good faith on a proposal that offered benefits for our community.
“What has been shared with us was unknown to the city administration before today, and what is being described falls outside of the city’s process on the stadium,” he said. “We will continue to evaluate what this means and how to move forward in the best interest of our city.”
City spokesman Mike Lyster said Anaheim leaders will be watching as “this process plays out. We will determine what this means for the stadium plan in the days ahead.”
The investigation has been underway since at least 2019, according to the affidavit. The FBI’s affidavit seeking the warrants alleges Sidhu engaged in a variety of potentially criminal conduct, including:
Sharing confidential information with Angels Baseball while the city was negotiating the stadium deal, “with the expectation of receiving a sizable contribution to his reelection campaign from a prominent Angels representative.”
Concealing information from the Orange County Grand Jury and possibly destroying evidence, including deleting text messages and emails.
Instructing a witness who was cooperating with the FBI investigation to lie to the OC Grand Jury.
Fraudulently registering a HELICOPTER he was purchasing to an Arizona address to avoid paying nearly $16,000 in California sales taxes.
Two cooperating witnesses, one of whom is described as an employee of the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce, provided information to the FBI, and the chamber employee wore a wire during several conversations with Sidhu, the affidavit said.
In those conversations, Sidhu allegedly expressed an expectation of campaign contributions of at least $1 million from an unnamed Angels representative, the affidavit said.
Marie Garvey, spokeswoman for Angels Baseball and SRB Management, said it would not be appropriate to comment at this time. Anaheim Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Laura Cunningham said in an email responding to a request for comment:
“The chamber as an organization has no involvement in the allegations being reported.”
Anaheim Councilman Stephen Faessel said Monday night that he was surprised and disappointed by the allegations against Sidhu.
“My family goes back 81 years in Anaheim, and I’m hurt by this” because it casts a dark cloud over the city, Faessel said.
There’s much more to be learned to determine what actually happened, he said, and until there’s more information, he won’t second-guess his vote to approve the stadium deal.
“I’m not going to make a judgment this early into this unfortunate issue.”
Councilman Jose Moreno said even though he’s been critical of the deal since the beginning, he’s not happy about the allegations of improper information sharing that may have advantaged the stadium buyer at the city’s expense.
“It doesn’t feel good, if it is being vindicated,” he said, “because ultimately this is taxpayers’ money, this is trust in government, and we swear an oath to do what’s best for our city in an open, transparent way.”
The Orange County Register May 18, 2022
Former CEO of Anaheim Chamber of Commerce facing criminal charges
Former Anaheim Chamber of Commerce CEO Todd Ament appeared in court Tuesday facing federal charges of lying about his assets when purchasing a home in Big Bear City, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Ament was charged Monday with making false statements to a financial institution in late 2020 when seeking a loan to buy the second home, according to a press release issued Tuesday.
The announcement comes the day after news broke that Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu is under investigation for alleged fraud, bribery, obstruction of justice and witness tampering in connection with the city’s deal to sell Angel Stadium to Angels owner Arte Moreno’s business partnership.
Since his election in 2018, Sidhu worked closely with Ament and the chamber, including teaming up on the “Anaheim First” initiative that was intended to create a 10-year city improvement program based on residents’ input. The program was stalled by the pandemic, but Sidhu recently sought to revive it.
At the federal courthouse in Santa Ana, where Ament arrived in handcuffs for a first appearance hearing Tuesday afternoon, the attorney representing him, Sal Ciulla, declined to comment on the case or say what, if any, connection it may have to the federal investigation into Sidhu.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Lim, who is among the lawyers prosecuting the case against Ament, also said after Tuesday’s hearing he couldn’t comment on whether the Anaheim probes were related because of the ongoing investigation. He added that, “I think the affidavits for complaint and the search warrants speak for themselves.”
The events described in the affidavits took place in similar time frames and the Ament affidavit mentions multiple unnamed Anaheim elected officials.
An affidavit filed in federal court May 12, in support of search warrants requested in the Sidhu probe, includes references to an FBI investigation that led to a cooperating witness who was an employee of the Anaheim chamber. Names throughout the affidavit were redacted, except in one section transcribing a taped conversation between Sidhu and the cooperating witness, when Sidhu addresses the person as Todd.
Current chamber CEO Laura Cunningham said in an emailed statement late Tuesday, “We at the chamber are shocked by the public allegations about former President and CEO Todd Ament, who separated from the chamber last year. We feel saddened and angered by these disturbing allegations and will cooperate with any law enforcement inquiries.”
To help with financing the Big Bear home, the affidavit supporting the charge alleges that Ament, with the help of an unnamed political consultant at a prominent public relations firm, “devised a scheme to launder proceeds intended for the chamber through the PR firm into Ament’s bank account,” the press release said.
The affidavit in support of the charges against Ament also alleges he was:
Working with the political consultant to defraud a cannabis business client by claiming they could offer influence over a potential cannabis ordinance, and diverting the client’s money to Ament’s personal bank account.
Acting as a “ring leader,” along with the consultant, of “a specific, covert group of individuals that wielded significant influence over the inner workings of Anaheim’s government.”
Working with the political consultant to prepare scripted comments for an unnamed Anaheim city official to deliver at council meetings.
The FBI obtained the information described in the affidavit from sources including intercepted and recorded phone calls, interviews with several witnesses, and bank and other financial records, according to the document.
The affidavit also describes how Ament and the consultant allegedly led “a small group of Anaheim public officials, consultants and business leaders” that Ament and the consultant referred to as a “family” and a “cabal” that held regular meetings to “exert influence over government operations in Anaheim,” the Department of Justice’s press release said.
To illustrate that allegation, the affidavit details a November 2020 phone conversation the FBI listened in on, in which Ament and the political consultant discussed which Anaheim City Council members could be trusted, who should be invited to a retreat to strategize on city issues, and who might need to be reminded to “be a loyal member of the team” because they’d gotten help with their reelection.
The document also gives a lengthy description of the alleged cannabis scheme, which entailed receiving payment from an unnamed cannabis industry client to lobby the city to approve retail sales of cannabis and have influence over creation of the regulations for pot shops. However, the affidavit alleges, Ament and the political consultant actually appear to have worked against the client’s interest by secretly working with an industry competitor and then slowing progress of the issue at City Hall.
Although several Anaheim elected officials and at least one city employee are mentioned, the names of those people are all redacted from the affidavit.
At the hearing Tuesday, prosecutors and Ciulla agreed to Ament’s release from custody on the condition that Ament would be on the hook for a $30,000 bond if he fails to show up for future hearings in his case. Ament spoke little, only to confirm when asked by Magistrate Judge Autumn Spaeth that he understood the details of the allegations against him and his pretrial release. He did not enter a plea.
An arraignment is scheduled for June 21 at 10 a.m. at the Santa Ana courthouse.