Probe into Los Angeles County Assessor's Office Expands [Dem John Noguez]

Los Angeles Times Newspaper ^ | 8-2-12 | By Jack Dolan and Ruben Vives

[joinedafterattack]

For months, prosecutors have been investigating allegations that a former county appraiser lowered tax bills for wealthy Westside property owners in a bid to drum up campaign cash for his boss, Los Angeles County Assessor John Noguez.

Now, that corruption probe has expanded to include tax reductions allegedly made by the appraiser long before Noguez was elected assessor in November 2010. In fact, the appraiser, Scott Schenter, is suspected of engineering improper tax breaks for nearly a decade, according to documents obtained by The Times and interviews with former co-workers.

Retired assessor's office supervisor Dale Edgington said he warned several of his superiors in 2009 that Schenter was inexplicably lowering the assessed values — and by extension, property tax bills — on dozens of properties in Marina del Rey, Torrance and Redondo Beach. There is no indication the department took any action against Schenter based on those allegations.

One of the properties Edgington said he raised concerns about was the Jamaica Bay Inn, a waterfront hotel in Marina del Rey. Records show that it was assessed for $2.8 million in 2004. Then, as real estate prices were rising in the county, Schenter reduced the inn's assessed value to $1.9 million in 2005 and $1.5 million in 2006, county tax bills show.

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This line in the article is telling:

"Schenter's attorney, John Powers, said his client was "a low-level employee acting at the behest of others." He did not elaborate."

Makes you wonder how many Dems got donations because of these lower property values.

[YHAOS]

Lift the rock . . .
Watch 'em scurry.

[Kozy]

Just got a call from an unnamed source in LA, this scandal reaches all the way to the mayor. Now understand this is an unnamed source, can't verify whom it is, the Harry Reid unnamed source.