South Gate, CALIFORNIA

Albert Robles, former South Gate treasurer, has been convicted of corruption. Recalled in an election two years ago, he had served 11 years as a South Gate official.

South Gate has a reputation as a barrio. (American Conservative article, "How an All-American Town Became a Barrio") "As South Gate resident Julia Barraza said, “It’s like I never left Mexico." Primarily due to politicians like Albert Robles.

In the spring of 2002, just when Robles was on the verge of turning South Gate into his personal fiefdom, he was arrested on felony threat charges. Astonishingly, after his arrest his cronies on the city council appointed him deputy city manager at $110,000 a year and ordered the city to pay his legal bills.

The bill turned out to be a million dollars. Robles was eventually recalled, along with Mayor Ruvalcaba, Vice Mayor Raul Moriel, and Councilwoman Maria Benavides, who left office two weeks later, but not without looting the city coffers.