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| Lawsuit Mystery Man |
CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL
Pursuant to Calif. Government Code Section 54956.9(a) The City Council/Agency finds, based on advice from legal counsel, that discussion in open session will prejudice the position of the local agency in the litigation. Existing Litigation: Paul Woloski v. City of Sierra Madre - Case No EC061376
(Mod: Of course, that told us very little. It wasn't supposed to be all that revealing, and it fulfilled its promise. Using what little information I had, here is how I wrote about this case a week ago Monday.)
As has been my lot in life for the last 5 or so years of doing this blog, I scoured the Internet in search of any evidence of the existence of a Paul Woloski, and what I found was intriguing. Apparently Paul Francis Woloski resides on Sierra Madre's legendary Orange Grove Avenue, and is the President of something called the Delta Dawgs Foundation, aka "The Dogs of War." You can view what is quite a colorful website by clicking here.
This organization purports to raise money for military veterans and their families, which would be a good thing. I am fairly sure that this has nothing to do with the lawsuit, but who knows? I guess we'll find out someday. Oh, and "Calif. Government Code Section 54956.9(a)" means litigation has been formally initiated.
(Mod: The whole "Dogs of War" thing intrigued me. Here is a guy with a really wild website, plus he claims there that his organization exists to do good things for vets. A very noble thing in my mind. So last night I decided to see if I could find out something else about the Delta Dawg that sued Sierra Madre. I found a lot. First off, Woloski has connections to a certain notorious former police officer law firm. This from the snooper website Inteliuslink):
Search results for Paul Woloski in Arcadia, CA: Worked at Lackie Dammeier LLP Los Angeles County
(Mod: Now as we well-informed Sierra Madreans already know, Lackie, Dammeier, McGill & Ethir was, until recently, the law firm of the Sierra Madre Police Officers Association. Or whatever it is they are calling themselves these days. And this cop law firm, which in its heyday represented around 100 similar small city police departments throughout Southern California, won them a big pay raise back in 2008. Which is the primary reason why our utility taxes are now the highest in the State of California. They really were an intimidating bunch, and while their bullying in your face style certainly cowed Sierra Madre's City Council at that time, in time it also helped to eventually bring this shady law firm down, and in a big ugly heap. The firm's greed apparently far outpacing its need to follow the law. Here is more on Woloski's smokin' hot Lackie Dammeier connection. This from ZoomInfo.com - link):
(Mod: While I am certain it is just mere coincidence, the Monterey Park PD is also where Sierra Madre's current Police Chief, Larry Giannone, worked before he joined us here. That one of his former colleagues should end up not just living here, but also suing City Hall for whatever reasons, is pretty innerestin' stuff. But there are other things that I found as well. This from our friends at the Sierra Madre Weekly a year or so back -link):
$10 Million Suit Against Ex-Rosemead Mayor Alleges Extortion, Death Threats - A developer who exposed ex-Rosemead Mayor John Tran in a bribery scandal is now suing Tran and the City of Rosemead for emotional distress. Seeking $10 million in damages, Tammy Gong filed a complaint in Los Angeles Superior Court on Jul. 6 that claims intentional infliction of emotional distress, fraud, extortion, and even assault and battery.
Tammy Gong is the assumed name behind the FBI informant who told federal investigators in 2009 that she was a victim of Tran’s play-to-pay scheme for her mixed-use development project in Rosemead. In the complaint filed on Jul. 6, Ms. Gong, a.k.a. Tammy Woloski, is listed as a managing member of L&G Rosemead Garden LLC. Gong is noted for having assisted federal authorities in the conviction of Tran, who pleaded guilty to fraud and extortion in U.S. District court on Mar. 20.
(Mod: So who is Tammy Gong a.k.a. Tammy Woloski? This from the Sing Tao Daily (link). Please note, this article is in Chinese, and I had to translate it using Google's at times sketchy translation service. The article details Tammy's inability to acquire the 20 legitimate signatures needed to get on the ballot in a run for Arcadia's City Council. It also shares an important marital detail with us.)
Tammy withdraw from the election, Mr Gong Asian market will be all-male election - Arcadia (Arcadia) Chinese only woman candidate for alderman Gong Tammy (Tammy Gong Woloski), said that due to discrepancies candidacy, you must exit the campaign, so the city council election once again return to the all-male election.
As each candidate must make a recommendation signature 20 sub-city residents, but for the first time Tammy Gong election, the city clerk after an audit of its application data, found that not all the signers to qualify, making it the joint candidacy is canceled.
Is preparing to start the campaign with great fanfare Gong Tammy, this result was quite regrettable, but still discouraged, which means that two years after the election or re-challenge; while she had stepped up enforcement campaign, including political, crime prevention, after-school tutoring and to avoid the creation of false childhood astray into drugs and improve the quality of life for the elderly, and supervise city budget.
Asian city to live 14 years Tammy Gong, in fact, Nikka mestizo, a Japanese father and a Chinese mother, whose Japanese name is Miyamoto Sitsuka, but also with the Chinese surname "Gong" show people; she was young, she inherited her father The real estate business, after marrying Monterey Park (Monterey Park) won the "Bravery" officer Paul Woloski.
(Mod: Paul Woloski's alleged FBI informant (former?) wife became a figure of much speculation in the press a year or two back. Tammy Gong-Woloski was a key player in the arrest and trial of former Rosemead Mayor John Tran on various bribery and corruption charges. Here is a report from The Courthouse News that lays the story out in a factual and rather shocking manner - link.)
FBI Informant Sues Disgraced Mayor - A developer who claims to be the FBI informant who helped convict Rosemead Mayor John Tran of corruption claims in Superior Court that Tran extorted her, made sexual advances and threatened to kill her.
Tammy Gong and L&G Rosemead Garden LLC sued the City of Rosemead and Tran, in Superior Court. Gong seeks $10 million for fraud and extortion, money lent, assault and battery and other charges. She claims Rosemead refused to compensate her for losses tied to the real estate project at the center of Tran's shakedown.
Gong, who claims she was an informant to the FBI and helped the investigation against Tran, says she is managing member of L&G Rosemead Garden.
Tran, 36, pleaded guilty in February to soliciting bribes from a developer while approval for a mixed use office and residential building was pending. In return for his guilty plea, federal prosecutors will not press charges for extortion and obstruction of justice, the Los Angeles Times reported at the time.
Tran, a former Rosemead mayor and councilman, was running for the 49th District Assembly seat when he pleaded guilty. He has since resigned as board member for El Monte Union High School District, and withdrew his candidacy for the Assembly. He was Rosemead's first Asian-American mayor.
Gong claims she partnered with then-Councilman Tran and the city from 2005 to 2007 to build the mixed-use building, spent $780,000 to buy land on Rosemead's Valley Boulevard and another $700,000 to buy an adjoining parcel after the city came on board.
While the application for the project was pending, Gong says, she loaned Tran $38,000 for an "alleged family emergency," and that Tran also approached her to "engage in a romantic relationship."
Gong claims that Tran never repaid the money, and that when she rejected his advances he stalled the development project.
Elsewhere in the complaint, Gong claims that Tran "physically grabbed" her and "attempted to hold and kiss her against her will."
"Plaintiffs allege that Tran continued to pursue Ms. Gong for a romantic relationship and continued to try to contact her. Ms. Gong refused any further financial or personal overtures by Tran and demanded repayment of the money that she had given to him," according to the 15-page complaint.
"Tran refused to return the money and in or about February 2009, Tran overtly threatened to kill Ms. Gong if she ever reported him to any authorities. Ms. Gong felt extremely threatened and fearful for her life and safety and contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation ('FBI') for help. Ms. Gong cooperated with the FBI in its investigation. Pursuant to the FBI's confidential investigative needs, Ms. Gong did not file a claim or civil lawsuit against Tran until completion of the FBI's investigation, which ultimately resulted in Tran's felony conviction," according to the complaint.
In 2009, Tran was voted off the council and the project was never approved, according to the L.A. Times.
Gong claims that city officials told her she would have to file a claim to recover any losses. But after Tran was charged with felony corruption charges, the city rejected her claims "without any explanation," Gong says.
Gong seeks damages for fraud and extortion, money lent, promissory estoppel, assault and battery, and intention infliction of emotional distress.
(Mod: There were other articles as well. This one appeared in the San Gabriel Tribune in February of 2012. You can link to ithere.)
Developer involved in John Tran bribery scandal files $1.5 million claim against Rosemead - A developer who was solicited for bribes by former Mayor John Tran has filed a $1.5 million claim against the city, saying staff and elected officials convinced her to pursue a project that was left high and dry after Tran lost his re-election bid in 2009.
Tran, a candidate for the 49th Assembly District, agreed Friday to plead guilty to accepting more than $10,000 in bribes from the property developer while on the City Council, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
In the claim the developer filed in December, she wrote that city officials forced her to buy an extra piece of property so she could build a mixed-use project they pressured her to pursue.
The city rejected the claim last month.
"The notion that they can force her to buy a property is interesting," said City Manager Jeff Allred. "That's not how it usually works. Cities don't have the authority to make someone buy something."
Prosecutors have declined to identify the developer, but records at the County Assessor's office and the claim filed with the city indicate that the developer is Tammy Gong, an Arcadia resident. In her claim, Gong lists her company as L & G Rosemead Garden LLC, which is listed at the owner of the properties at the southeast corner of Valley Boulevard and Rio Hondo Avenue.
According to Tran's plea agreement, the developer purchased a vacant lot in Rosemead for an office-building project. It says that after Tran and staff suggested a mixed-use property, the developer in 2007 purchased an adjacent lot for about $700,000. County records show that a piece of property next to the vacant lot owned by L & G is a smaller lot that was purchased by L & G for $700,000 in 2007.
And the claim filed with the city by Arcadia resident Tammy Gong suggests it was her.
In response to a question asking about the basis for claiming injury, damages or loss, Gong wrote "Crime cases ... going on by other departments against John Tran from government."
According to federal prosecutors, the developer visited City Hall in 2005, hoping to obtain permits for an office building on a vacant lot.
While there, the developer was approached by Tran, who suggested a mixed-use project would be better for the site. Prosecutors said Tran and two other city employees convinced the developer to purchase an adjacent property as part of the expanded project.
Prosecutors said that Tran later began seeking bribes from the developer and reminded the individual that he had "assisted" with the project.
Between 2005 and 2007, Tran approached the developer and a business partner several more times, eventually soliciting more than $10,000 in bribes.
In August 2007, the developer refused to hand over any more money to Tran. In 2009, Tran lost his re-election bid by one vote and left office before the developer's project was approved.
The developer then tipped off the FBI to Tran's scheme. Last week, Tran agreed to plead guilty to bribery in exchange for not being prosecuted on charges of extortion and obstruction of justice.
After Tran left city government, Gong's project languished. Part of her property remains a vacant lot surrounded by chain-link fencing and barbed wire. The extra piece of property she bought after encouragement by city officials is still a beauty salon.
"Now the city told me that I cannot build it anymore because City Council changed and Policy changed too," Gong wrote in her claim.
The project, dubbed Rosemead Garden, would have been at the corner of Valley Boulevard and Rio Hondo Avenue and would have consisted of 38 residential units and 10,586 square feet of retail space, according to a Community Development Commission staff report from April 10, 2007. The original plan was for a smaller office building.
City Manager Allred said after Tran lost his re-election, the new council made updates to the city's general plan that restricted areas where mixed-use projects like Gong's could be built. Previously, mixed-use developments were allowed along major thoroughfares in the city.
"It is true that the city approved a general plan amendment for mixed use in certain nodes," Allred said. "I believe the property in question is not in one of the nodes."
Gong was not available for comment. A phone number listed on the claim and the one she used when she ran for Arcadia City Council as Tammy Woloski in 2010 was answered by a woman who first responded as Tammy, but when questioned about Tran, she said her name was Jennifer.
Gong's business partner, Jay Jason Lai, and an individual to whom their company is registered, Jing Gong, were both in China on business, the woman said. She did not know when they would return.
Gong's company, L & G Rosemead Garden, LLC, lists its address in El Monte at a location shared by at least nine companies, many registered to Tammy Woloski, Jing Gong or Jay Jason Lai.
(Mod: A follow-up article appeared in the Whittier Daily News in November of 2012. The link to this one is found here.)
Court documents outline intimate relationship between Tran, developer in bribery case - Days before a federal judge is scheduled to decide if former Rosemead Mayor John Tran can withdraw his guilty plea in his bribery case, the defense in court documents this week said that Tran had "some limited intimate contact" with the FBI's main informant in the case.
The defense filing also claims the informant continued to pursue Tran for two years after he cut off the relationship.
The witness has been identified in court filings as Tammy Gong, the developer who provided Tran with more than $10,000 in exchange for City Council approval of mixed-use development project in Rosemead between 2007 and 2009.
The information on the pair's relationship comes as both sides grapple over whether or not Tran should be allowed to withdraw his plea amid new information the defense says it has uncovered on Gong. The defense says Gong has been involved in dozens of lawsuits, including some that accuse her of fraud, and that she uses multiple aliases.
The government had an obligation to reveal the information regarding its central witness in the case before Tran entered his plea, said Tran's attorney Michael Zweiback.
"The government's reluctance to simply acknowledge its mistakes in this case is truly troubling," according to Tran's reply this week to prosecutors' recent opposition to his client's motion to withdraw his guilty plea.
Government prosecutors say the defense isn't entitled to the identities and backgrounds of government witnesses in the plea bargaining process and if Tran were to be allowed to withdraw his plea, it would jeopardize the government's case. In addition, Tran in March swore under oath that he was guilty of the crimes.
A judge on Monday morning is scheduled to evaluate the motion.
As part of its court filing opposing the withdrawal of Tran's guilty plea, prosecutors alleged that in initial meetings with the government, Tran admitted to soliciting and accepting sexual favors from Gong.
The defense maintains that Gong initiated the advances and was persistent in her pursuit of the relationship.
Zweiback says the relationship shows Gong's motives for cooperating with the government in the bribery case.
"(The relationship) demonstrates (Gong's) bias and the fact that she's motivated by not only her civil suit, but also upon the fact that she was rebuffed in the relationship and willing to use whatever means possible to get what she wants," Zweiback said Wednesday.
Gong in July filed a $10 million civil lawsuit against the city of Rosemead and Tran, alleging that she suffered financial repercussions and emotional distress stemming from fraud, extortion and unpaid personal loans at the hands of Tran and other Rosemead staff and elected officials, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also alleges that "Tran physically grabbed Ms. Gong and attempted to hold and kiss her against her will."
Her attorney, Mohammed Ghods, says it is Tran who pursued the relationship and the defense is trying to "character assassinate her" in an attempt to divert attention from the real issues. The allegations Tran is making against Gong don't absolve him of the crimes he's committed, Ghods said.
"At least in my view, what Mr. Tran has done is indefensible," Ghods said.
Her alleged "aliases" are due to name changes from multiple marriages and because of varying familial names stemming from her Japanese and Chinese background, Ghods said.
In addition, Gong is involved in a fraction of the lawsuits the defense alleges and they stem from her business as a developer, Ghods said.
"If Ms. Gong was a man, and he was a real estate developer and had been Donald Trump involved in 5,000 lawsuits, they wouldn't bring up any of these things," Ghods said. "When you're in business, you're going to end up in lawsuits sometimes."
(Mod: One more, this time from the Pasadena Star News - link.)
Tran could face 115 years in federal prison - A Federal Grand Jury has issued additional charges of extortion and witness tampering against a former Rosemead City Councilman accused of accepting bribes in a federal corruption case.
John Tran, who in December withdrew his promise of a guilty plea in the case, faces a 115-year federal prison sentence if convicted. He had been looking at a 10-year sentence, Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Akrotirianakis said Wednesday.
"Extortion is a powerful word," Akrotirianakis said. "But this is a case about extortion, witness tampering and obstruction of justice. It is much more serious. "
When they withdrew Tran's guilty plea, his attorneys said it was only after they had uncovered information that damaged the credibility of the FBI's main informant in the case.
Although prosecutors have declined to identify the confidential informant in their case against Tran, she has been identified in court and Rosemead city filings as Tammy Gong, a developer who provided Tran with more than $10,000 in exchange for City Council approval of her project on Valley Boulevard and Rio Hondo Avenue in Rosemead. When Tran failed to deliver, she went to the FBI, according to court documents.
(Mod: What any of this has to do with Paul Woloski's lawsuit against the City of Sierra Madre is beyond me. While certainly amusing and colorful information, I honestly don't know how it would relate to that matter. However, I thought these discoveries should be shared with you today. After all, we are The Tattler.)
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