Our correspondent Andreas Frank reports: The political dynasty of Ron and Tom Calderon took a body blow as U.S. Attorney Andre Birotte Jr. charged the brothers with criminal political corruption and painted a devastating picture of Ron Calderon as a man who drew his own son and daughter into his web.
Ronald S. Calderon, 56, of Montebello, is charged in a 24-count indictment that was returned late the before by a federal grand jury with mail fraud, wire fraud, honest services fraud, bribery, conspiracy to commit money laundering, money laundering and aiding in the filing of false tax returns.
Sen. Ron Calderon, a Democrat from a politically prominent family in Los Angeles’ blue-collar suburbs was charged with accepting $100,000 in bribes, lavish trips and no-show jobs for his children in exchange for pushing legislation to benefit a hospital engaged in billing fraud and participating in a film industry tax scheme that actually was an FBI sting.
The 24-count federal indictment against Sen. Ron Calderon depicts a rogue legislator eager to trade his clout at the state Capitol to enrich himself and his family. His brother Tom, a former state lawmaker-turned-lobbyist, was charged with money-laundering for funneling bribes through a tax-exempt group he controlled, prosecutors said.
State officials called one of the two schemes “the largest insurance fraud in California history” involving former hospital owner Michael Drobot in Long Beach. An IRS executive at the press conference said Drobot bribed Calderon by hiring his son for a phony job paying $10,000 that was solicited by Ron Calderon, and that Calderon knew was fake. Then, authorites allege, Calderon helped to lie about the income on his son’s tax return.
Bribery money flowed to lobbyist Tom Calderon’s entity, Californians for Diversity, officials allege, and that money was ultimately laundered by being deposited in banks in a manner meant to cover up the original bribery, according to Birotte and the IRS.
Investigators explained their actions in a prepared statement that flew through Sacramento legislative offices “like a storm cloud” says one legislator. Calderone Indictment
