Noguez Acknowledges District Attorney Probe in Memo to Employees

Original post Feb 22, 2012

Noguez “I have made myself available to cooperate with any inquires.”

LCCN has obtained video showing Noguez denying to comment on the inquiry. See below.

Los Angeles County Assessor John R. Noguez has launched a full-scale campaign against recent newspaper coverage that has linked his office to at least two criminal probes by members of the District Attorney’s Office.

Los Cerritos Community Newspaper (LCCN) was the first newspaper to break the news of the probe nearly four weeks ago. Since then LCCN has been reporting exclusively on the activities of Noguez and now several other news agencies have begun reporting on the ever-fluid developments.{{more}}

On Wednesday, February 22, Noguez sent out a memo to staff members about the recent coverage: “….reassure you (his staff) that I have made myself available to cooperate with any inquires, and I look forward to sharing the results with you at the appropriate time.”

Watch Video of Noguez here decline to answer questions:

“Recent newspaper articles claim there is a ‘pay to pay’ atmosphere in the Assessor’s Department. My campaign reports are public record for anyone to review. The claim of my involvement in lowering property values during a market downturn, in exchange for campaign contributions, is absolutely false. These claims were made by individuals who are engaged in lawsuits over private business disputes,” Noguez writes in the seven paragraph statement.

“As an elected official, I understand and accept the fact that I have to take a few political hits, no matter how unfair. However, the dedicated men and women of the Assessor’s Department do not deserve to have the reputation of this Department and their years of commitment to public service disparaged by my political opponents,” the Assessor states in the document.

“I am proud of the men and women of the Assessor’s Department and they exemplary work you do each day to serve the people of Los Angeles County. I thank you for your commitment to this profession and vow to vigorously defend the honor and integrity of this Department.”

The memo was sent out to employees late last Wednesday night and was given to LCCN by employees inside the Noguez administrative office.
LCCN has formally requested numerous internal documents regarding the activities of Noguez under the “Freedom of Information Act” to the Los Angeles County Registrar Recorders office.

LCCN attempted to contact Noguez Thusday for comment, but was told that he was not available.

Copyright. 2012 Los Cerritos Community News. Hews Media Group. All Rights Reserved. Attribution required for republishing.