[The Epoch Times, May 26, 2022](The Epoch Times reporter Jill McLaughlin / Wen Hui compiled) The Anaheim City Council voted unanimously on May 24 to immediately rescind its alliance with the Los Angeles Major League Baseball Angels. The team agreed to buy Angel Stadium in Anaheim for $320 million.
Lawmakers dropped three years of negotiations with SRB Management, the development management firm of team owner Arte Moreno, after the corruption allegations in two FBI affidavits were made public last week. “Based on the conduct outlined in the FBI investigation affidavit, it seems to me that this deal cannot move forward,” said City Councilman Avelino Valencia.
City Attorney Robert Fabela said the city will face a lawsuit brought by the Angels for at least $5 million in damages. Angels representatives sent a letter to the city last week setting a deadline for approval of the deal.
Mayor Harry Sidhu resigned on the day of the city council meeting amid alleged corruption, leaving six councillors to discuss the stadium deal. The city council chamber was packed on Tuesday, with about 100 people in attendance.
The audience cheered the mayor’s resignation at the meeting, with a majority applauding City Councilman Jose Moreno’s insistence against the stadium deal. He said the recent FBI investigation exposed Anaheim’s “Pandemic of corruption.”
“This is a painful and challenging time for Anaheim,” acting Mayor Trevor O’Neil said at the meeting. “The ongoing public outrage is understandable.”
During the public comment period, speakers at the meeting urged the council not to approve the stadium deal.
A member of Orange County’s People’s Homeless Task Force, a homeless housing advocacy group, lost a lawsuit against the city last year when she claimed the city was in ballpark sales negotiations in violation of the Public Meetings Act. This time, she threateningly told parliament that she had not yet completed her charges against the MPs.
“This Angels Field deal needs to close today,” said Janine Robbins of the People’s Homeless Task Force.
Ashleigh Aitken, who nearly beat Sidow in the 2018 mayoral run, will run for the seat again this year. She told lawmakers that Anaheim needed campaign finance reforms, including a ban on lawmakers from voting on issues raised by campaign supporters.
“We need to consider anti-kickback reforms that prohibit city council members from accepting gifts, jobs or campaign contributions from donors, even when councillors advance the public interest,” Aitken said.
Councilman Moreno announced his intention to put the issue on the agenda going forward, and councillors agreed.
City Councillors’ Opinions and Surveys
A letter was read to Congress on behalf of Senators Tom Umberg, Representatives Tom Daly and Lou Correa calling for immediate The current and former city councillors investigated and said the sale of Angel Stadium must be called off.
During the meeting, O’Neill revealed more details about the investigation, saying he and another lawmaker were mentioned in the investigation documents. “I can say with relative certainty that I am the ‘elected official No. 3’ mentioned in one of the phone conversations,” O’Neal said.
Councilman Stephen Faessel said the deal should be reconsidered in the future. O’Neill said he was the “elected official No. 4” mentioned in the investigation. “If we want to keep trying to sell stadiums, maybe in the distant future we’ll do better,” Fassel said.
Ahead of the meeting, at the request of the California Attorney General’s Office and the Department of Housing and Community Development, the Orange County Superior Court will suspend ballpark transactions for 60 days starting May 17.
Sidou resigned after allegedly leaking secret information to baseball team owners during ballpark sale negotiations to get campaign donations, according to an FBI affidavit. Sidhu has not been charged or charged.
City officials said the new mayor could be decided by voters in November.
Person involved
Acting Mayor O’Neal was mentioned in a lengthy FBI affidavit filed on May 16. The court filing details a sordid scheme involving cannabis business consultant and political adviser Melahat Rafiei. Rafey was the Democratic National Committee representative and secretary of the California Democratic Party at the time.
According to the filing, former Anaheim Chamber of Commerce CEO Todd Ament believes O’Neal and Fassel may be “loyal to their team.” Arment was arrested last week for illegal financial transactions.
The affidavit, written by FBI special agent Brian C. Adkins, described a conspiracy by Rafey, Ament and an unnamed political adviser. The consultant is widely believed to be Jeff Flint.
Adkins detailed a conversation between the political adviser and Arment in which he described the insider as a “cabal”. The pair allegedly debated whether O’Neal, Fassel, and other unnamed elected officials should be included in their cabal. However, Flint was not charged or named in the investigation.
Rafiy resigned last week after publicly admitting she was a cooperating (tainted) witness in the federal investigation. She was previously arrested in 2019 for “theft or bribery” involving federal funds related to the marijuana industry. Rafiy worked with the investigative agency for three years and at one point wore a bug to record conversations. The charges against Rafiy were dismissed “without prejudice”, which means they can be re-raised at any time. She denies the allegations.
The Angels are still operating under a lease agreement that expires in 2038. ◇
Responsible editor: Fang Ping
