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Posted on 01/21/2006 11:18:37 AM PST by NormsRevenge
The Santa Clara County civil grand jury and district attorney are investigating whether San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales received any personal or political payments for helping Norcal Waste Systems secure an $11.25 million amendment to a city garbage contract, according to a subpoena obtained by the Mercury News.
District Attorney George Kennedy issued the subpoenas earlier this month to companies at the center of the controversy -- Norcal and its recycling subcontractor California Waste Solutions. Prosecutors requested documents that would show any income or political contributions Gonzales or his campaigns may have received.
Two earlier investigations into the mayor's secret bargaining with Norcal didn't address whether Gonzales had any financial link to the garbage hauler.
``That was not a focus of the investigations to date,'' said Chris Scott Graham, the attorney who investigated the deal for San Jose's city council. ``No one was really focusing on the `why' issue.''
Gonzales' spokesman David Vossbrink said the mayor wouldn't comment on the latest turn in the investigation, but Gonzales has said in past interviews that he received no political or personal gain for his efforts on behalf of Norcal. Campaign finance documents show the mayor has received political contributions in the past from both companies.
The mayor apologized to the public in December for withholding information from the city council about the negotiations in 2000, saying he was simply trying to facilitate a labor contract.
After Graham largely affirmed a June grand jury report that had accused the mayor of ``duping'' his colleagues, the city council censured Gonzales in December for violating San Jose's city charter.
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
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Big-city Dem mayor caught red-handed again.
I think he's going down -- there are actually things happening in that direction rather than a lot of hot air in the local papers -- but it'll be six months at least.
There is a culture of corruption in San Jose!
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