Posted on 05/13/2009 4:31:26 AM PDT by calcowgirl
A San Marino businessman with long-standing connections to Los Angeles City Hall has pleaded guilty to criminal securities fraud as part of a probe of alleged pay-to-play corruption at a New York state government pension fund, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Julio Ramirez Jr., a former employee of Wetherly Capital Group, a Los Angeles investment marketing firm, allegedly gave kickbacks to a top political advisor of former New York Controller Alan Hevesi.
The fees, paid secretly to Henry "Hank" Morris, helped make certain that the New York State Common Retirement Fund would invest with Wetherly clients, New York Atty. Gen. Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday.
Ramirez, 48, entered his plea two months ago, but it remained confidential. He is the latest person to be snagged in an alleged kickback scandal that has spread from New York to New Mexico and California.
... Wetherly founder Dan Weinstein described Ramirez as a former part-time employee who had "dragged the firm into this controversy."
... Ramirez and his wife, Annette Castro, were active in Los Angeles politics ...
Wetherly's Weinstein is also a player in Southern California and statewide politics and has hosted a number of campaign fundraisers for political candidates.
... Ramirez has been heavily involved in Los Angeles politics for years. He worked for the unsuccessful mayoral campaign of Woo, then a city councilman, in 1993. He switched sides four years later, serving as campaign manager to the 1997 reelection campaign of Riordan.
Ramirez, who had worked for Hahn when he was city attorney, volunteered for his mayoral campaign in 2001. Castro, Ramirez's wife, was retained by Hahn as a fundraiser for his 2002 campaign ... and his unsuccessful 2005 reelection bid. Castro also served as chief of staff to then-Los Angeles Councilman Richard Alarcon and earlier as press secretary to Riordan.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
The web of deceit continues to broaden.
(Sob) Let us try to remember: Ramirez was one of God's children. Here only to have a "better life" ------ from coast to coast (sniffle).
REFERENCE Dav-Wetherly Financial, L P
11601 Wilshire Blvd # 300
Los Angeles, CA 90025-0509
Location Type: Single Location
Est. Annual Sales: $68,000
Est.# of Employees: 1
ITEM L/E should checkout Ramirez's connection to infamous Wall Street fraudster Bernard Madoff. Madoff's operation had its filthy hands on many pension funds.
An Israeli company-----Giza Venture Capital----- paid DAV-Wetherly Financial, of Los Angeles, a substantial finder's fee after it got authority to manage $20 million in NY state pension funds in 2005. ... DAV-Wetherly, in turn, secretly gave part of the fee to a Connecticut-based company run by NY political insiders.
The hits keep coming.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.