Bell Gardens Is Urged to Stop Paying Official

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office has advised Bell Gardens to stop paying its embattled city manager because she is under investigation for possibly violating conflict-of-interest laws.

Prosecutors contend that Maria Chacon’s contract with the city is void and that she should pay back any salary she received since her appointment in 2000.

The advisory affidavit letter, sent to the city’s finance director late last month, was obtained this week by The Times.

The revelation comes three weeks after teams of investigators raided Chacon’s home and City Hall offices searching for documents as part of a political corruption probe in Bell Gardens and neighboring Cudahy.

Prosecutors suspect that Chacon, a former councilwoman, violated conflict-of-interest laws by voting for measures that cleared the way for her appointment. Since the raids, the blue-collar community has been awash in rumors that Chacon’s days as manager are numbered.

Bell Gardens’ special counsel, Dan Marmalefsky, said Chacon remains manager, but he would not comment on whether she is being paid. He said prosecutors are pushing for Chacon’s ouster even though she has not been charged.

“It’s bizarre,” said Marmalefsky. Chacon’s contract, he said, entitles her to at least a hearing. “Enforcement of the affidavit would violate the due process clause.”

Her attorney, Edward Munoz, said Chacon has no plans to step down. “Our position is that she hasn’t done anything wrong,” he said.

Chacon’s critics were heartened by the authorities’ action, however. They say it shows that prosecutors are taking seriously their claims that Chacon has abused her position to consolidate her grip on power in the city of 45,000 southeast of Los Angeles.

“They [prosecutors] really mean business,” said Joaquin Penilla, an ex-councilman. “She voted . . . to remove obstacles that would allow her to become city manager and make more money. It should never have been done.”

Chacon, who does not have a college degree, makes $89,000 a year running the city.

The district attorney’s office would not comment on what penalties, if any, the city would face if Chacon stayed in her post. Some legal experts say prosecutors may be trying to get her to step down without having to press charges.

In the affidavit, prosecutors cite a rarely used statute that requires cities to stop paying officials who are found in violation of laws prohibiting politicians from voting on contracts in which they have a financial stake.

Chacon has not been charged with any crime, but prosecutors maintain that probable cause exists to believe she has violated the law.

Cudahy City Manager George Perez, who is also under investigation for similar alleged wrongdoings, said his city had not received a similar letter from prosecutors.

Chacon had been on the council several years when she voted in 1999 to dismiss the previous city manager. A few months later, she voted to eliminate a law requiring a one-year waiting period before former council members were eligible for appointments. Within months of the repeal vote, council allies appointed her manager, prompting protests that she was not qualified.