The City of Industry is suing a former mayor, his four sons and several entities, alleging all were involved in “public corruption and personal profiteering” that cost the tiny municipality millions of dollars.
The lawsuit filed Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court alleges ex-Mayor David Perez “enriched himself and the companies he controlled at the expense of the city and its citizens to whom he assumed an obligation to faithfully serve.”
“This lawsuit arises from extensive public corruption and personal profiteering, all at the city’s expense,” the complaint alleges.
A Perez family member did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the suit, which also names the former mayor’s sons — David M. Perez, Vincent M. Perez, Christopher Perez and Peter D. Perez.
The companies named in the suit include Zerep Management Corp, City of Industry Disposal Co., Valley Vista Services Inc. and Grand Central Recycling & Transfer Station Inc.
The city entered its first contract with Zerep for general maintenance and services in 1980 and it was subsequently renewed or amended several times, according to the lawsuit. Payments to Zerep and its affiliates from 1995 to 2014 totaled $219 million, “much of which went to the benefit of the former mayor, his brother and his brother’s sons,” the suit alleges.
Perez and the others “submitted or conspired to submit claims for money for the provision of general maintenance and miscellaneous services under the Zerep contract to the city that were never authorized or provided, or were inflated,” the complaint says.
Even after Perez resigned, he “continued his corrupt practices to profit personally at the expense of the city” and is “currently attempting to regain … control over the city by supporting candidates for City Council over which he exercises … undue influence and control,” the suit alleges.
Perez cited health reasons and a desire to spend more time with his wife when he resigned from the City Council after 11 years in office in June 2012.
— City News Service