John Noguez

John R. Noguez
Los Angeles County Assessor
In office
6 December 2010 – 2014
Preceded by Robert Quon
Succeeded by Santos Kreimann (fill-in)
Majority 999,393 (59.59%)
Mayor of Huntington Park
In office
March 2004 – March 2007
Member of the Huntington Park City Council
In office
March 2003 – 6 December 2010
Personal details
Born Juan Renaldo Rodriguez
November 29, 1964 (1964-11-29) (age 52)
Hollywood, California, U.S.
Spouse(s) Lilliana Guerrero (m. 2001)
Residence Huntington Park, California
Alma mater Roosevelt High School
CSU Los Angeles
Other names
  • John Noguez
  • Juan R. Noguez
  • Juan Renaldo Rodriguez Noguez
  • Juan Reynaldo Rodriguez
Website www.johnnoguez.com

John Noguez (born Juan Renaldo Rodriguez on November 29, 1964) is a Mexican American politician and a former Los Angeles County Assessor, currently under indictment on corruption charges relating to his term.

Early life and education

Noguez was born on November 29, 1964 at the Kaiser Permanente hospital in Hollywood, California, to Jesus Rodriguez and Carmen Anaya, immigrants from Mexico.[1][2] His father Jesus is from Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco while his mother is from Michoacán.[3]

Although his birth name is Juan Renaldo Rodriguez, he uses a number of aliases including Juan R. Noguez, John R. Noguez, and Juan Reynaldo Rodriguez Noguez.[2] The surname Noguez reportedly comes from his mother, whose full name is Maria Carmen Anaya-Noguez.[1] In traditional Spanish naming customs, the maternal surname follows the paternal surname, often hyphenated in Anglophone countries.

For the first 6 years of his life, Noguez was raised in Michoacan, Mexico.[3] Noguez spent the rest of his formative years in Boyle Heights and attended Roosevelt High School.[4] He went on to study at the California State University, Los Angeles' School of Finance, concentrating on real estate studies.[4] However, Noguez dropped out of the university, 3 classes shy of a bachelor's degree.[5] He holds an Advanced Appraiser Certificate from the California State Board of Equalization.[4]

Career

In 1985, he joined the Los Angeles County Assessor’s Office as a student worker, eventually becoming an Appraiser Specialist for major properties.[6]

Noguez has held non-partisan leadership roles in government, including President of the League of California Cities' Los Angeles Division, as well as Secretary Treasurer of the California Contract Cities Association.[6]

Since 2000, Noguez has served in the City of Huntington Park government, as mayor, member of the City Council and as City Clerk.[6] Noguez was elected to the Huntington Park City Council in March 2003 and re-elected in 2007 and was the mayor in 2004 and 2006.[2][7][8]

In the November 2010 general election, Noguez was elected as the Los Angeles County Assessor, winning a majority of 999,393 (59.59% of votes) and defeating John Y. Wong.[9][10] During the campaign, Noguez secured the endorsements of 4 of the 5 incumbent LA County Supervisors and former Assessor Rick Auerbach and raised $1,000,000 in campaign donations.[10] During the election, the Los Angeles Times had officially endorsed Noguez's rival, John Wong, considering him to be apolitical, as compared to Noguez.[11]

He is currently the only openly gay countywide elected official in Los Angeles County.[12] Despite his sexual orientation, he has been legally married to Lilliana Guerrero, a woman, since 2001.[13][14]

Corruption scandal

On January 4, 2011, Owen Harris, an appraiser at the LA County Assessor's office, spotted discrepancies in property assessments of affluent homes (which had been modified by Scott Schenter, a colleague appraiser), setting off a Los Angeles County District Attorney-led investigation into possible corruption within the office.[15]

On April 29, 2012, the Los Angeles Times and other media outlets reported that the Los Angeles District Attorney's office had intensified its corruption probe and searched a dozen locations, including the homes of Noguez and associated conspirators, following allegations that Noguez had peddled his influence to secure tax reductions for his campaign contributor's clients.[16]

In May 2012, Schenter was arrested on 60 felony counts for lowering the property tax rates by $172 million for homeowners in Beverly Hills, Brentwood and Pacific Palisades in exchange for contributions to Noguez's campaign.[17][18] Schenter had resigned after an internal investigation was launched and he was unable to provide evidence justifying the lower assessed property values.[19] Schenter allegedly received $100,000 in bribes.[20]

On June 1, 2012, Noguez announced he would be taking indefinite paid leave of absence amid ongoing investigations, while continuing to receive an annual salary of $192,000.[21] On June 12, 2012, Santos Kreimann, a civil servant of 20 years, was selected to fill in the vacant role as County Assessor.[22]

On October 17, 2012, Noguez was arrested on 44 counts of conspiracy, bribery and corruption, with bail set at $1.36 million.[23] Also arrested were key conspirators Mark McNeil, Noguez's chief appraiser and Ramin Salari, a campaign contributor and Arizona tax consultant.[23] Between February and September 2010, Noguez allegedly accepted $185,000 in bribes from Salari and used his influence to lower the appraised property values for Salari's clients, to help the clients save millions of dollars in property taxes.[23] In total, the property tax scam deprived the Los Angeles County of at least $1.16 million in tax revenue.[20] Improper tax breaks were granted to more than 100 wealthy Westside property owners.[24] If convicted, Noguez faces more than 30 years in state prison.[25]

On March 7, 2013, John Noguez makes bail and is released from Men’s Central Jail.[26] He was in custody for close to four months mainly due to the California Penal Code 1275.1 restriction that was imposed in 2012 by Superior Court Judge Shelly Torrealba. The restriction required that Noguez had to prove any money used for his defense was not derived from criminal activity.[27] The 1275.1 restriction proved to be difficult for John Noguez to make bail. His family and friends hired Los Angeles bail bondsman Morris Demayo who dealt with difficult 1275.1 pc cases in the past like the $2 million bail of former Bell City Manager Robert Rizzo and the $4 million bail of Joshua Woodward. After the court hearing to release John Noguez, Morris Demayo said he was stunned by how thorough the district attorney's vetting process had been for potential donors. "A lot of people were turned away, that's why this took so long," Demayo said. By comparison, he said former Bell City Administrator Robert Rizzo was able to raise $2 million in "a week and a half."[26]

Tax breaks were given properties owned by Salari's clients, including The Old Spaghetti Factory on Sunset Boulevard and other high-end properties on the Westside.[28][29] Lower values were simply entered into the County computer system without any documentation or process.[15]

The Los Angeles Times initially questioned the case of Jordan Kaplan, who was among the over one million property owners[30] in Los Angeles County who filed appeals or had their property taxes reduced after the 2008 crash.[31] As was true for a large majority of appeals during that period,[32] the County Assessor’s Office failed to respond for almost two years before denying Mr. Kaplan’s appeal.[33] The delay did not save any taxes for Mr. Kaplan, as the reassessment was retroactive.[34] After Mr. Noguez ceased to act as County Assessor, an independent three judge Assessment Appeals Board granted Mr. Kaplan’s appeal in 2013, finding that Mr. Kaplan had been overcharged on his taxes in each year since he had purchased his house, and the overpayment had to be refunded.[35]

LA County Supervisor Michael Antonovich has called for Noguez's immediate resignation from his post as County Assessor.[36] Former LA County Tax Assessor (1990-2000) Kenneth P. Hahn has also called for Noguez's resignation, in a letter to the Los Angeles Times.[37] Despite being charged, Noguez will continue to receive an annual salary of $192,000 unless he is convicted, removed or resigns from office.[20][38]

References

  1. 1 2 "Court Exhibits" (PDF). Various sources. KNBC-LA. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 Anderson, Jeffrey (7 February 2007). "Name Game in Huntington Park". LA Weekly. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  3. 1 2 Terrazas, Conrado. "Interview with Juan Noguez, Mayor of Huntington Park". Adelante Magazine. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 "Assessor John R. Noguez". Office of the Assessor, County of Los Angeles. December 2010. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  5. ↑ Lin, Rong-Gong (10 October 2010). "Real estate veterans face off in assessor's race". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  6. 1 2 3 "ABOUT JOHN NOGUEZ". Assessor John Noguez Officeholder. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  7. ↑ "Huntington Park Mayor & City Council". City of Huntington Park. 26 May 2004. Archived from the original on August 5, 2004. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  8. ↑ "City Council". Huntington Park City Hall. 2006. Archived from the original on October 6, 2006. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  9. ↑ "Assessor". Final Official Election Returns. County of Los Angeles Department of Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  10. 1 2 Lin, Rong-Gong (4 November 2010). "John R. Noguez easily wins race for L.A. County assessor". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  11. ↑ "John Y. Wong for L.A. County assessor". Los Angeles Times. 6 May 2010. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  12. ↑ Ocamb, Karen (12 November 2010). "LGBT Anger Persists Post-Election". Frontiers LA. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  13. ↑ Villaconte, Christina (22 October 2012). "Los Angeles County Assessor John Noguez staying in jail". San Gabriel Valley Tribune. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
  14. ↑ "Judge lowers bail for Assessor Noguez". Los Angeles Wave. 22 October 2012. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
  15. 1 2 Maddaus, Gene (April 19, 2012). "The Scandal Roiling the L.A. County Assessor's Office Suggests Your Tax Bill Is All About Who You Know, and How Much You've Donated to Assessor John Noguez". LA Weekly. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  16. ↑ Dolan, Jack; Ruben Vives (26 April 2012). "Raids expand probe of assessor". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  17. ↑ Peschiutta, Claudia (21 May 2012). "Ex-LA County Appraiser Arrested For Allegedly Lowering Property Values". CBS. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  18. ↑ Vives, Ruben (26 May 2012). "Former L.A. County appraiser is arraigned". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  19. ↑ Dolan, Jack; Ruben Vives (20 April 2012). "Ex-appraiser says he cut values in hopes of donations to assessor". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  20. 1 2 3 Dolan, Jack; Ruben Vives; Jack Leonard (17 October 2012). "L.A. County assessor arrested in bribery case". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  21. ↑ Dolan, Jack; Ruben Vives (1 June 2012). "L.A. County assessor takes leave amid probe of his office". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  22. ↑ Song, Jason; Jack Dolan (13 June 1012). "L.A. County official nominated to fill John Noguez's post". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  23. 1 2 3 Deutsch, Linda (17 October 2012). "John Noguez Arrested: LA County Assessor Caught Up In Corruption Case". Associated Press. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  24. ↑ "Assessor John Noguez, associates face at least 32 criminal charges". Los Angeles Times. 17 October 2012. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  25. ↑ "County Assessor John Noguez, 2 Others Arrested In Corruption Investigation". CBS. 17 October 2012. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  26. 1 2 http://articles.latimes.com/2013/mar/08/local/la-me-assessor-20130309.html|title=After months in jail, Assessor John Noguez makes bail
  27. ↑ "L.A. Now". Los Angeles Times. 22 January 2013.
  28. ↑ Dolan, Jack; Ruben Vives (4 May 2012). "Hollywood parcel gained in value as its property taxes were slashed". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  29. ↑ Dolan, Jack (8 May 2012). "Former restaurant site now part of Noguez investigation". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  30. ↑ Los Angeles County Assessor Annual Report for 2012, p.18 url=http://assessor.lacounty.gov/extranet/News/rollrls2012.pdf
  31. ↑ Dolan, Jack (2 July 2012). "Noguez donor's firm got big cuts in property values.". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  32. ↑ "Report on Budgets, Workloads, And Assessment Appeals Activities In California Assessors' Offices". California State Board of Equalization. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  33. ↑ Dolan, Jack (July 2, 2012). "Noguez donor's firm got big cuts in property values". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  34. ↑ Jack, Dolan (July 2, 2012). "Noguez donor's firm got big cuts in property values". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  35. ↑ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kaplan_Independent_Board_Decision.pdf
  36. ↑ Villacorte, Christina; Brian Charles (17 October 2012). "L.A. County Assessor John Noguez arrested in property-tax corruption probe". LA Daily News. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  37. ↑ Hahn, Kenneth P. (19 October 2012). "Letters: Resign, John Noguez". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  38. ↑ "Assessor Noguez keeps $197,637 salary despite charges". Los Angeles Times. 17 October 2012. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
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