It's altogether another world for the vast majority of Los Angelenos; the world of the rich and privileged who clubbed together on Monday, April 27, 2009, to pay money to Jack Weiss.
Unbeknownst to most of them, they were participating in a crime - violating campaign finance law for the benefit of a corrupt politician; Jack Weiss.
An apparently small group of Beverly Hills super-rich elitists gathered at the Ziman home; a 10,311 square foot, 7 bed, 7 bath $16,000,000 (yes, that's $16M) Mega-Mansion that hides behind dense manicured foliage and a matched pair of wrought iron gates that costs more than the average Angeleno earns in a year.
The price of admission? A check for $1,000 to Weiss and no questions asked, thank you.
The gated compound that is 1006 N. Rexford Drive, Beverly Hills, 90210 is home to the super-rich celebrity couple Daphna and Richard Ziman. But on Monday night it was nothing more than a sordid crime scene.
The multi-millionaires, philanthropist Daphna (pictured above with American Idol winner Ruben Studdard) and her husband, former lawyer Richard, were probably unwitting accomplices to the filthy world of Jack Weiss politics that the LA Times bravely uncovered in their recent article.
The aerial photographs above show what is invisible to the majority of Los Angelenos; a secluded multi-million dollar home that offers a lavish lifestyle that few can achieve, let alone aspire to.
Welcome to the world of Jack Weiss, where hard work is a dirty word, and deceit and dishonesty are simply the incidences of admission.
Jack Weiss is engaged in a desperate battle to salvage his failing political career, and chose to ignore the law and shake down as many of his wealthy 'friends' as possible to finance his filthy, negative and untruthful campaign to buy the City Attorney's Office.
Co-host to the illegal fundraiser was Kelly Candaele (pictured above), a self-proclaimed "writer, filmmaker, teacher and elected official in Los Angeles."
In 2005 Candaele was appointed by Mayor Villaraigosa to the Los Angeles City Employees' Retirement System Board of Directors. In one of his rare appearances at City Hall proceedings, Jack Weiss as Councilmember for Council District 5, unquestioningly voted for the Mayor's appointee.
Equally unquestioningly, in 2004 Weiss also voted for a law that prohibits City appointed officials such as Candaele from engaging in campaign fundraising activities. Doubtless, Weiss relished basking in the illusion of being an "ethically correct politician."
However, at the same time that Weiss voted for the law, he was under investigation for being the recipient of thousands of dollars of money laundered illegal campaign contributions from property developer Alan Casden's corporate connections.
Ever the master of deceit and deception, Weiss evaded prosecution claiming that "He did not know" that the contributions he received were illegal. However, despite Weiss's ignorance he has has steadfastly refused to return the illegal campaign contributions as required by the Los Angeles City Charter and demanded by the Fair Political Practices Committee.
Given Weiss's apparent comfort level with accepting illegal campaign contributions, it cannot have bothered Weiss one iota that the Ziman's home was to be a crime scene on the night of Monday, April 27, 2009.
On that fateful night Weiss was unquestioningly admitted behind the wrought iron gates to the mansion where he doubtless obsequiously greeted co-host Kelly Candaele - the man he voted to appoint as a commissioner to the Pensions Board. Weiss cannot possibly have not known that Candaele was breaking the law in fundraising for him - he voted for Candaele and he voted for the law prohibiting Candaele from doing what he was doing; fundraising for Weiss.
But Weiss's desperation to finance his acquisition of the City Attorney's Office was more important than the law he's supposed to follow. Weiss needs that money to finance his hate-filled campaign airing glitzy misleading television advertisements proclaiming himself as some sort of super crime fighter. The law seemingly only applies to ordinary people, not the elite who worship at the feet of Jack Weiss.
Weiss apparently scooped up about $20,000 in donations on the night of the crime. You may well think that $20,000 is far less than the Mayor's 'Golden Boy' should have been able to extort from the Beverly Hills elite, but the reality is that Jack's arrogance and lack of people skills has finally caught up with him, and the donations are far and few between.
Big Union money now holds the key to Weiss's future, but as the sordid details of the 'Kellygate" scandal now unravel the incredibly arrogant and facile deceit Weiss practiced on his wealthy 'friends,' perhaps organized labor will chose to distance themeless from the slow motion train wreck that is the Weiss campaign.
Weiss's campaign manager s currently Mayor Villaraigosa and his campaign strategist is San Francisco based Ace Smith who masterminded Hillary Clinton's failed Presidential campaign.
Both Villaraigosa and Smith are probably wondering how they could have been so inept as to hitch their wagons to Weiss, and both are probably looking for a convenient bus under which to throw Jack Weiss.
While Jack Weiss was busy raking in illegal campaign donations on Monday night, Carmen Trutanich was hosted at a legal fundraiser at the Sheraton Hotel in Universal City.
Carmen Trutanich has been endorsed by the LA Times, the LA Daily News, the Metropolitan News and every single law enforcement agency in Los Angeles County including District Attorney Steve Cooley, Sheriff Lee Baca and the LAPD Union. Now you know why.
In the face of overwhelming evidence of either ineptitude or arrogance, or both, anyone who stands by Jack Weiss is condemned to be tarred with the same brush of cynical derision for the laws of mankind.
Jack Weiss's illegal conduct has gone unchallenged for too long. The very thought that this sort of elitist scum has any place in civilized society is an affront to basic notions of decency, and it's time to let criminal prosecution determine Jack's future.
It's time to elect decent and honest City Attorney, and Carmen Trutanich's appellation as the 'People's Lawyer' is perhaps the most fitting description of who we need to look after our interests.
As for Weiss, the "Elitist's Lacky" - as long as the super-rich continue to thrown their money like confetti at Weiss, they risk being sucked down into the dirty world of unethical conduct that is Jack Weiss; Los Angeles' version of Rod Blagojevich.
While Jack Weiss was busy raking in illegal campaign donations on Monday night, Carmen Trutanich was hosted at a legal fundraiser at the Sheraton Hotel in Universal City.
Carmen Trutanich has been endorsed by the LA Times, the LA Daily News, the Metropolitan News and every single law enforcement agency in Los Angeles County including District Attorney Steve Cooley, Sheriff Lee Baca and the LAPD Union. Now you know why.
In the face of overwhelming evidence of either ineptitude or arrogance, or both, anyone who stands by Jack Weiss is condemned to be tarred with the same brush of cynical derision for the laws of mankind.
Jack Weiss's illegal conduct has gone unchallenged for too long. The very thought that this sort of elitist scum has any place in civilized society is an affront to basic notions of decency, and it's time to let criminal prosecution determine Jack's future.
It's time to elect decent and honest City Attorney, and Carmen Trutanich's appellation as the 'People's Lawyer' is perhaps the most fitting description of who we need to look after our interests.
As for Weiss, the "Elitist's Lacky" - as long as the super-rich continue to thrown their money like confetti at Weiss, they risk being sucked down into the dirty world of unethical conduct that is Jack Weiss; Los Angeles' version of Rod Blagojevich.
1 comment:
I cannot believe that Weiss would be so stupid as to break a law he voted for, but that's the arrogance of power. I do hope that the police are involved in this and Weiss ends up in jail for this and for everything he's done over the past 8 years.
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