Hews Media Group-Community News has exclusively learned that former Central Basin Municipal Water District General Manager Tony Perez has settled his wrongful termination lawsuit for $700,000.
Mr. Perez confirmed the settlement in a telephone conversation.
“I am pleased that we resolved this matter and that we can all move on,” he said.
The settlement is another in a long line of costly litigation cases and questionable payments resulting from the actions of former Central Basin General Manager Art Aguilar, President Bob Apodaca, vice-president James Royal and director Leticia Vasquez.
Back in October 2014, Mr. Apodaca, Mr. Roybal and Ms. Vasquez voted to fire Mr. Perez “for cause,” indicating misconduct on the part of Mr. Perez.
Sources told us Pacifica Services, Inc. CEO Ernie Camacho wanted Mr. Perez fired for questioning Pacifica’s no-bid contracts that amounted to over $5 million.
Immediately after his firing, the three voted to hire the Los Angeles-based law firm of Tafoya and Garcia for $100,000, paying the firm an immediate $20,000 retainer to “investigate” Perez.
At the time, directors Art Chacon and Phil Hawkins slammed the vote. They walked out of the Central Basin boardroom.
The questionable investigation was conducted five months before Mr. Perez filed his lawsuit.
We conducted an investigation of the billings of Tafoya and Garcia – and the investigators they were using. We found they billed $90,000 in less than 35 days, with David Garcia and another attorney frequently working 13-hour days, seven days a week, each billing $350 per hour.
In addition, investigators who arrived at 9 a. m., logged 15 hours per day working at Central Basin, often working past midnight.
Interestingly, all Central Basin employees leave at 5 p. m.
Shockingly, at a Perez worker’s compensation hearing weeks later, the commissioner-judge soundly rebuked Tafoya and Garcia, and essentially their $100,000 investigation.
The judge told them that their investigation was “after the fact,” that they could be “manufacturing information,” and that the judge would only speak to the Central Basin representative who was at the hearing.
In the months following, Mr. Apodaca, Mr. Roybal and Ms. Vasquez voted to tender the Perez termination lawsuit to Central Basin’s insurance company in an attempt to settle, which it did for $700,000.
Director Vasquez, who was recalled for the Lynwood City Council in 2007, is a “party plaintiff” to a whistleblower lawsuit that could net her over $2 million, suing the agency she was elected to represent.
The attorney fees related to defending the lawsuit are said to be well over $300,000 and counting.
We exclusively obtained the settlement documents related to a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by a former female employee with Central Basin against Mr. Apodaca that resulted in a massive $670,000 payout for the victim.
Sigrid Lopez, who worked as a public outreach director with Central Basin filed the sexual battery lawsuit against Mr. Apodaca in 2012, alleging, among other charges, that her contract was not renewed because she refused Mr. Apodaca’s sexual advances.
In documents obtained via a public records request, we found files detailing over $10,000 in District payments to Director Apodaca’s widely acknowledged common-law wife and Whittier City Commissioner Caroline Medrano, as well as to another Whittier area firm that District sources claim Ms. Medrano utilized to conceal a bulk of her fees.
Source are telling us another sexual harassment lawsuit could be filed against Mr. Apodaca.
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