Archive for August, 2009

The fallout from the federal investigation into the dealings of deceased Los Angeles County Federation of Labor chief Miguel Contreras continued last week, when mail fraud were filed against Alejandro Stephens, a leader of the local affiliate of the Service Employees International Union, which represents Los Angeles County workers. Stephens agreed to plead guilty to [...]

A Diamond Bar man has been arrested on charges of

A 60-year-old Oxnard man was convicted of attempted murder for a knife assault on his wife. Prosecutors say that Eduardo Mosqueto stabbed his wife of 43 years in front of several witnesses at an Oxnard Post Office following an argument. Prosecutors say that Mosqueto acquired the knife a week before the incident and [...]

A federal judge has sentenced four women and one man to prison terms of between 30 and 40 years for their roles in a prostitution ring. US attorneys allege that the suspects forced young Guatemalan women into slavery as prostitutes and prevented them from leaving the area. The victims were guarded around the clock and [...]

An Ojai man will be tried on Ventura child abuse charges. The alleged abuse was reported to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office by the victim’s uncle who said that he noticed new bruising on the 3 year-old boy every few weeks. The uncle also reported that he had seen the child’s father, Ernesto Flores, 23, [...]

A federal judge has sentenced Hammad Samana for his role in plotting a terrorist act against targets including the Los Angeles International Airport, synagogues, the Israeli Consulate in Los Angeles and military targets, including recruiting stations and military bases. Prosecutors say that former inmates of Folsom Prison recruited Samana to be part of [...]

Noted Hollywood film producers Gerald and Patricia Green have been accused of bribery related to their oversight of the Bangkok International Film Festival in Thailand. Federal prosecutors have charged the Greens under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and say that the Greens paid Thai officials to allow them to run the film festival and benefit [...]

Former Ventura County realtor Veronica Gallegos, 28, pleaded guilty to felony theft and five counts of grand theft, stemming from allegations that she defrauded investors of more than $1.3 million in a phony construction scheme.
Gallegos is accused of telling victims that she was an accredited investor and accepted funds from six individuals. The victims [...]

Hollywood screenwriter Roger Avary, who shares an Academy Award with director Quentin Tarantino for their Pulp Fiction script, pleaded guilty to a Ventura DUI that resulted in the death of Avary’s passenger. Avaray also pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter in the case.
The accident, which occurred in January 2008, injured Avary and [...]

Antoine Haroutunian, 47, of Glendale, was sentenced to 7 years and 3 months in federal prison on federal fraud charges related to a $14 million Ponzi scheme he operated successfully for three years. Haroutunian admitted that he defrauded investors of the money between 2005 and 2008 by promising returns of 24%. Instead, Haroutunian used [...]