Law enforcement officials searched Huntington Park City Hall and the homes of local leaders Wednesday morning as part of a corruption investigation involving the alleged misuse of public funds, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney.
Warrants were served at 11 locations, including the homes of Mayor Karina Macias and City Councilmember Eddie Martinez, who is also the executive director of Latino Equality Alliance (LEA), a Boyle Heights-based LGBTQ+ community organization. Boyle Heights Beat reached out to LEA for comment but did not hear back in time of publication.
L.A. County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman said in a press release that the investigation, dubbed “Operation Dirty Pond,” began in November 2022 and “focuses on the potential misuse of millions of dollars in public funds allocated for the construction of an aquatic center” in Huntington Park’s Salt Lake Park.
“My office is committed to ensuring that public officials uphold the highest standards of honesty, integrity, and transparency,” Hochman said. “When concerns arise about the use of public funds or the actions of those in office, it is our duty to investigate thoroughly and protect the public’s trust.”
Video feeds from local news stations showed yellow police tape cordoning off parts of city hall with county DA vehicles in the parking lot on Wednesday morning.
According to the news release, numerous items were seized from each location including public records maintained by the city of Huntington Park, financial paperwork, computers, tablets, cell phones and various forms of electronic equipment.
No arrests have been made, a spokesperson for the district attorney’s office confirmed.
Warrants were served at the following locations:
- City of Huntington Park, City Hall, 6550 Miles Ave., Huntington Park, CA
- City of Huntington Park Public Works (City Yard located east of Salt Lake Park), 6900 Bissell St., Huntington Park, CA
- Salt Lake Park (Proposed site for aquatic center), 3401 E. Florence Ave., Huntington Park, CA
- Residence of Edvin Tsaturyan and Sona Vardikyan (Owners of JT Construction Group, Inc.), Glendale, CA
- Residence of Efren Martinez (former Huntington Park City Official), Los Angeles, CA
- Business Office of Unified Consulting Services, LLC, Huntington Park, CA
- Residence of Ricardo Reyes (current Huntington Park City Manager), Downey, CA
- Residence of Graciela Ortiz (former Huntington Park City Councilmember), Huntington Park, CA
- Residence of Marilyn Sanabria (former Huntington Park City Councilmember), Huntington Park, CA
- Residence of Karina Macias (current Huntington Park Mayor and City Councilmember), Huntington Park, CA
- Residence of Eddie Martinez (current Huntington Park City Councilmember), Huntington Park, CA
“The City of Huntington Park acknowledges that the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office has made visits to current and former city officials,” the city said in a statement to NBC LA. “The city is committed to cooperating fully with the District Attorney’s office throughout this process and remains dedicated to resolving the matter promptly and transparently.”
Huntington Park, a city of more than 50,000 people, sits just a few miles south of Boyle Heights.
Any member of the public with information related to the aquatic center at Salt Lake Park in Huntington Park is urged to call Sgt. Robert L. Jackson of the District Attorney’s Office Bureau of Investigation at 213-257-2511.
