A former Baldwin Park City Council member, who was an early champion of legalizing cannabis, pleaded guilty in a separate federal case after admitting to taking tens of thousands of dollars in bribes from a police officer to vote for a police union contract, according to federal court records that were unsealed earlier this year.
And a state audit last year found that the city had been poorly managed and flagged deficiencies in its accounting practices.
FBI agents have asked about cannabis consultants in Baldwin Park who assisted applicants in El Monte and Montebello, according to sources interviewed by federal agents.
In October 2020, FBI agents searched Tafoya’s downtown Los Angeles office, as well as the homes of Isaac Galvan, a member of the Compton City Council, and Gabriel Chavez, who was a San Bernardino County planning commissioner.
Tayofa began working for Baldwin Park under a contract in 2013 and has had a controversial record.
Tafoya drafted and negotiated cannabis development agreements for the city.
The city eventually renegotiated with Rukli by having the firm give up its sole distribution rights in exchange for a free permit for cultivation and manufacturing.
Baldwin Park Mayor Emmanuel Estrada said in a phone interview he was concerned about the agreements Tafoya struck with cannabis businesses.
Estrada said he was unaware of a federal grand jury investigating Baldwin Park’s cannabis licensing and had not heard of any subpoenas being served at City Hall.
Last year, Tafoya hired Anthony Willoughby II to serve as a contracted attorney for Baldwin Park, a role that included handling cannabis-related matters.
The bribes, paid in 2018, included an envelope with $20,000 in cash that the officer gave Pacheco at a Baldwin Park coffee shop, according to a plea agreement with federal prosecutors.
The heavily redacted plea agreement makes reference to $219,755 in illegal proceeds that Pacheco agreed to forfeit — including more than $83,000 in cash found inside his home and buried in his backyard.
Pacheco, who resigned from the City Council, agreed to cooperate with federal authorities 10 months before his plea agreement was made public, court records show.
He helped uncover the financial corruption in the city of Bell that led to criminal charges against eight city officials.
He was part of a team that won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for public service for stories that uncovered alleged corruption in the city of Bell.