O.C. Latino Leaders Fear Repercussions

The indictment Tuesday of two Santa Ana city councilmen on corruption charges stunned Orange County’s Latino community, especially among leaders who say political gains made over the years may be lost in one fell swoop.

“Oh, no!” said Amin David, an Anaheim businessman and president of Los Amigos of Orange County, an organization that addresses Latino issues. “It’s a black eye for the city of Santa Ana. I’m saddened and shocked that they did go ahead and indict. The charges sound very serious.”

A federal grand jury Tuesday indicted Councilmen Ted R. Moreno and Tony Espinoza and two political allies on charges of extortion, money laundering and conspiracy in raising money for their campaigns with promises to help donors with business before the city.

Moreno denied the allegations. An attorney for Espinoza declined to comment. They are scheduled to be arraigned Monday.

Moreno and Espinoza gained considerable support from Latino voters, who have said their concerns were not heard by previous politicians in a city that has the highest concentration of Latinos in the county and the second highest in the nation behind El Paso. Of the city’s 305,000 residents, 73% are Latino.

Community leaders said that despite their growing numbers in the city, their struggle for political power has evolved slowly, and that the indictments will not help the future of Latino politics.

“Unfortunately, Latino citizen involvement is still in its infancy,” said Al Amezcua, former president of the Hispanic Bar in Orange County, and former chairman of the Orange County Hispanic Chamber. “Possibly there’s some growing to do in terms of how to manage influence.

Amezcua, however, took exception to portraying Latinos with a “broad brush” because of the allegations against the four men named in the indictments.

Rueben Martinez, a Latino bookstore owner and political activist, said the indictments couldn’t have come at a worse time. The city is already divided along racial lines, and the recent struggle between Moreno and others on the City Council, especially with Mayor Miguel Pulido Jr., have only added to a tense atmosphere.

“I don’t like the splitting up of the community,” Martinez said. “There are good people who are Latino and also good people who are non-Latinos. People have been working so hard making the city better, and something like this makes the city so small.”

Arturo Vargas, executive director of the Los Angeles-based National Assn. of Latino Elected Officials, said the indictments will not stop political progress in the Latino community.

“One of the things to bear in mind is no elected official is free from scrutiny,” Vargas said. “And, we’re living in a period where there is heightened scrutiny of our elected officials, and Latino officials are not excluded from that.”

For Santa Ana businessman Bob Lopez, the indictments may tarnish the image of Latinos overall.

“The names really don’t matter,” Lopez said. “We struggle so hard to prove ourselves and then we get some negative thing hitting the newspaper and some people say, ‘Ah. See what [Latinos] do when they get elected.’ ”

In downtown Santa Ana, most residents were unaware of the charges against the two councilmen. But once they were told, most expressed surprise and sadness.

“It’s disappointing that something like this could happen,” said Teresa Saldivar, president of the downtown Santa Ana Business Assn. and owner of Teresa’s jewelers.

“I hope the charges are not true because this will affect the image of all of us Hispanics,” said Gustavo Gomez, owner of Jalisco Bridal shop on Bush Street.

Susano Rocha, a native of Tijuana, said he was unaccustomed to hearing about political corruption cases in the United States.

“I hate to admit this, but it is more common to have this happen in poorer countries like in Latin America,” he said as he made his way to the butcher shop. “Supposedly, there is no need to do this here.”