A company that purchased a cannabis license connected to a bribery scheme set up by Baldwin Park officials has won a $1.9 million verdict against the city, its former city attorney, a City Council member and a former councilmember.
Following a five-day trial in the civil case, a jury determined that former City Attorney Robert Tafoya, Councilmember Manny Lozano and former Councilmember Ricardo Pacheco committed fraud and are personally liable for $1.6 million of the total. Compton Councilman Isaac Galvan, who served as an intermediary in the sale of the license, failed to appear and a judge entered a default judgment against him, records showed.
The city of Baldwin Park is on the hook for an additional $290,000 for "negligence," according to the jury's verdict.
Attorney David Torres-Siegrist, who filed the federal lawsuit on behalf of DJCBP Corp., said the city's agreement with DJCBP is the first of several agreements he hopes to unravel as a result of the corruption discovered by federal investigators during Baldwin Park's initial rollout of cannabis licenses in 2018.
"This ruling not only provides justice for my client but also voids a key contract tied to the City's cannabis licensing program, opening the door for other owner-operators to challenge similarly tainted agreements," Torres-Siegrist said. "This case is among the first in California to expose and penalize municipal corruption in the commercial cannabis industry, setting a precedent for accountability across the state for local jurisdictions."
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