Friday, the Thirteenth of July: Daily Brief

By IHeartSCV

Realtor Celia Gallardo was arrested for orchestrating a real estate Ponzi Scheme in the SCV/SFV and Arizona. The timeline of this story is jarring–news of the scheme came out in 2008 (see vintage KHTS here and here, and informative summaries by J.Wilson.v.2008 here), but she was arrested by the FBI and pleaded “not guilty” just this week. If you don’t have time to read all the old material, Gallardo was a bright young star in town–lauded by Michelle Buttelman for her “philanthropic efforts”, winner of awards, and so on–who made promises of outrageous returns on real estate investments only to allegedly spend clients’ investment dollars on herself and paying off others in the scheme. DAILY NEWS
At Northridge-Chatsworth Patch, a realtor from a prominent local firm (or someone impersonating her) comments: “send this bitch to the gas chamber…. It is way more than 1 million dollarsx10[...]” PATCH It seems a lot of jail time is a more likely fate than the one hoped for in the comment; TMS lays out the charges and says they could add up to 320 years in prison.
Ricardo Sandoval, the man who was shot in the leg as he tried to prevent a robbery and murder last Halloween, talks about the lasting physical and emotional impacts of his actions. This story runs as preliminary hearings continue for the teenagers accused of murdering Alex Sanchez Torres over a gaming system. SIGNAL
In-depth coverage of the military veterans honored at the SCV Chamber of Commerce’s Patriot Luncheon offered at SCVNews. It’s quite a range of stories spanning many decades, nations, and wars.
The obituary for 2011 Santa Clarita Man of the Year Harry Bell is available online, along with an e-guestbook and details on the service tomorrow. ETERNAL VALLEY
An unusual cocktail of heat, humidity, and fire danger made for an unpleasant week of weather. Temperatures should cool to the high 80s through next week. SIGNAL
Accomplished jockeys are scheduled to make an appearance at Saturday’s grand opening of an off-track horse race betting facility at Santa Clarita Lanes. KHTS
Houses don’t sell well today, but you may be able to get a “XIII” tattoo for the bargain price of $13. Consider the implications of Friday the 13th, courtesy BBC

Comments (25)

brickhouseJuly 13, 2012 at 1:30 AM PT

Word on the playground is one of the organizers of yesterdays veterans event Jd Kennedy is out at McKeons office. If thats true that makes staffer number two in as many weeks. Anybody else hear this?

Timothy Myers SRJuly 13, 2012 at 2:56 AM PT

If that is true then Buck is purging everyone that had a fingerprint on Patricia’s humiliating loss, and maybe with some justification. I know for a fact that the day before the primary Buck himself was touting “polls” that showed Patricia would win easily. I think his people were misleading him on polling that either wasn’t really happening or the polling itself was deeply flawed (obviously). I will check the final campaign finance reports when they finally come out to see what kind of money the Patricia McKeon campaign spent (wasted?) on polling.

Phil EllisJuly 13, 2012 at 3:47 AM PT

If he purges EVERYONE that had a hand in it, that would mean that he would have fire. . . . .

Fed Up N SCVJuly 13, 2012 at 4:41 AM PT

I _think_ they misled him on phone-banking and precinct-walking efforts too. No one walking/talking for other candidates saw much evidence of it. The turnout also seems to support the theory that not much effort was put into the TEAM MCKEON campaign.

Timothy Myers SRJuly 13, 2012 at 4:53 AM PT

There are lots of murmurings about things like that, including production of a mailer that came back too late to be mailed before the election. Some (must wait for final reports to confirm) believe that the Patricia McKeon campaign outspent Wilk by about 2 to 1, but for what?

ToddJuly 13, 2012 at 8:00 AM PT

Her own sala… nah, too easy.

Bill ReynoldsJuly 13, 2012 at 3:04 AM PT

JD is a valuable asset to Buck’s office, particularly with Veteran issues. If JD Kennedy is out, then I’m certain that most Veterans here will refuse to support Buck….

Fed Up N SCVJuly 13, 2012 at 4:55 AM PT

Playground update is JD left McKeon’s office to go work under Bob Haueter (who is now working for Abel Maldonado).

Bill ReynoldsJuly 13, 2012 at 5:09 AM PT

I hope that’s a false rumor!

Fed Up N SCVJuly 13, 2012 at 5:54 AM PT

Nope, I am fairly confident its true. Sorry Bill.

Bill ReynoldsJuly 13, 2012 at 6:11 AM PT

Fed-Up, I’m guessing that you are right on the money. The next thing I want to know is whether JD left on his own or was asked to leave.

NateJuly 13, 2012 at 6:24 AM PT

Either way doesn’t look good on Buck…

Fed Up N SCVJuly 13, 2012 at 6:29 AM PT

The playground scuttle is that he left on his own because he LIKES working for Haueter, but that is _just scuttle_ at this point.

Timothy Myers SRJuly 13, 2012 at 5:11 AM PT

Maldonado is running for US Congress against Lois Capps in the new 24th district which looks extremely competitive with only a 3 percentage point advantage of registered Dems over Repubs. (The old 23rd district had a 21 percent Dem advantage.) Additionally, Maldonado and another Repub rival got over 50% in the jungle primary against Lois Capps’s 46%. Maldonado is a pretty centrist Repub so he has an excellent chance. Maybe all the Buck people are leaving willingly to hitch to a rising star as opposed to Buck who most likely hit his “sell by” date a couple of terms ago.

BertaJuly 13, 2012 at 5:37 AM PT

I happen to like Abel Madonado so if these rumors are true, I hope he has not hired Buck’s folks to find out he has also gained Buck’s enemies/detractors.

Fed Up N SCVJuly 13, 2012 at 7:00 AM PT

What he has gained is a staff that is not “voter friendly”. I am betting (did not say hoping) Capps wins this race.

NateJuly 13, 2012 at 5:18 AM PT

Mckeon has never really been challenged… losing is a new thing. When people are use to winning they will do desperate things to keep the perception that they are still winners.

PetzJuly 13, 2012 at 1:48 AM PT

Steve Petzold from the Saugus area had a brilliant LTE in TMS recapping the Issa report relative to Buck McKeon’s loan with Countrywide. Feel free to reference it as Buck’s enemies misconstrue the contents as we move to November. http://www.the-signal.com/section/35/article/70035/

Dave PutnamJuly 14, 2012 at 12:11 AM PT

You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig.

4eyedsueJuly 13, 2012 at 1:54 AM PT

FYI- dress up like a cow today for free Chick-fil-A. Also, free “Refreshers”- a new blended drink – at participating Starbucks (no humiliating costume required).

Timothy Myers SRJuly 13, 2012 at 2:39 AM PT

It seems shocking that it has taken four years to get Cecelia Gallardo into a courtroom, but remember that the Jerry Sandusky grand jury investigation took about four years before they lowered the boom, leaving God knows how many more boys anally raped.

NateJuly 13, 2012 at 4:19 AM PT

You had to go there…

Scott BerryJuly 13, 2012 at 2:45 AM PT

Join The Whole Scoop on Sunday from 1-3pm at Valencia Meadows Park for FREE ICE CREAM. All SCV Talkers are invited. Walk or bike the paseo right to the park and enjoy a taste of a treat to come in Downtown Newhall. We just launched both our new website ( http://thewholescoop.com ) and our kickstarter ( http://KickstartTheWholeScoop.com ), community funded, crowd-sourced campaign to open our doors. Born and raised in SCV and having lived here all of my life my partner and I are hoping the community can help us raise some funds to open our doors. Three years in the making and our savings dumped in to making the best, all-natural ice cream you can find. Homemade, daily, on-site will blow your socks off! Give us a shot! http://facebook.com/thewholescoopinc

JaneJuly 13, 2012 at 3:33 AM PT

Con Artists – It seems that the social/fundraising folks in the SCV love themselves a con artist. As long as they have deep pockets for charity events, no one seems to question where the money is coming from.

Timothy Myers SRJuly 13, 2012 at 5:01 AM PT

Jane: Even sadder is that the pockets don’t have to be that deep. Cecelia G. may have splashed out the relatively small amount of $15 to 20K over 12 to 24 months to get all that attention and affinity, which is peanuts when one plans to steal that amount 100 times over. In the modest world of SCV charities, however, a 5K contribution is considered substantial and will be commented on.

brickhouseJuly 13, 2012 at 1:30 AM PT
Word on the playground is one of the organizers of yesterdays veterans event Jd Kennedy is out at McKeons office. If thats true that makes staffer number two in as many weeks. Anybody else hear this?
Timothy Myers SRJuly 13, 2012 at 2:56 AM PT
If that is true then Buck is purging everyone that had a fingerprint on Patricia’s humiliating loss, and maybe with some justification. I know for a fact that the day before the primary Buck himself was touting “polls” that showed Patricia would win easily. I think his people were misleading him on polling that either wasn’t really happening or the polling itself was deeply flawed (obviously). I will check the final campaign finance reports when they finally come out to see what kind of money the Patricia McKeon campaign spent (wasted?) on polling.
Phil EllisJuly 13, 2012 at 3:47 AM PT
If he purges EVERYONE that had a hand in it, that would mean that he would have fire. . . . .
Fed Up N SCVJuly 13, 2012 at 4:41 AM PT
I _think_ they misled him on phone-banking and precinct-walking efforts too. No one walking/talking for other candidates saw much evidence of it. The turnout also seems to support the theory that not much effort was put into the TEAM MCKEON campaign.
Timothy Myers SRJuly 13, 2012 at 4:53 AM PT
There are lots of murmurings about things like that, including production of a mailer that came back too late to be mailed before the election. Some (must wait for final reports to confirm) believe that the Patricia McKeon campaign outspent Wilk by about 2 to 1, but for what?
ToddJuly 13, 2012 at 8:00 AM PT
Her own sala… nah, too easy.
Bill ReynoldsJuly 13, 2012 at 3:04 AM PT
JD is a valuable asset to Buck’s office, particularly with Veteran issues. If JD Kennedy is out, then I’m certain that most Veterans here will refuse to support Buck….
Fed Up N SCVJuly 13, 2012 at 4:55 AM PT
Playground update is JD left McKeon’s office to go work under Bob Haueter (who is now working for Abel Maldonado).
Bill ReynoldsJuly 13, 2012 at 5:09 AM PT
I hope that’s a false rumor!
Fed Up N SCVJuly 13, 2012 at 5:54 AM PT
Nope, I am fairly confident its true. Sorry Bill.
Bill ReynoldsJuly 13, 2012 at 6:11 AM PT
Fed-Up, I’m guessing that you are right on the money. The next thing I want to know is whether JD left on his own or was asked to leave.
NateJuly 13, 2012 at 6:24 AM PT
Either way doesn’t look good on Buck…
Fed Up N SCVJuly 13, 2012 at 6:29 AM PT
The playground scuttle is that he left on his own because he LIKES working for Haueter, but that is _just scuttle_ at this point.
Timothy Myers SRJuly 13, 2012 at 5:11 AM PT
Maldonado is running for US Congress against Lois Capps in the new 24th district which looks extremely competitive with only a 3 percentage point advantage of registered Dems over Repubs. (The old 23rd district had a 21 percent Dem advantage.) Additionally, Maldonado and another Repub rival got over 50% in the jungle primary against Lois Capps’s 46%. Maldonado is a pretty centrist Repub so he has an excellent chance. Maybe all the Buck people are leaving willingly to hitch to a rising star as opposed to Buck who most likely hit his “sell by” date a couple of terms ago.
BertaJuly 13, 2012 at 5:37 AM PT
I happen to like Abel Madonado so if these rumors are true, I hope he has not hired Buck’s folks to find out he has also gained Buck’s enemies/detractors.
Fed Up N SCVJuly 13, 2012 at 7:00 AM PT
What he has gained is a staff that is not “voter friendly”. I am betting (did not say hoping) Capps wins this race.
NateJuly 13, 2012 at 5:18 AM PT
Mckeon has never really been challenged… losing is a new thing. When people are use to winning they will do desperate things to keep the perception that they are still winners.
PetzJuly 13, 2012 at 1:48 AM PT
Steve Petzold from the Saugus area had a brilliant LTE in TMS recapping the Issa report relative to Buck McKeon’s loan with Countrywide. Feel free to reference it as Buck’s enemies misconstrue the contents as we move to November. http://www.the-signal.com/section/35/article/70035/
Dave PutnamJuly 14, 2012 at 12:11 AM PT
You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig.
4eyedsueJuly 13, 2012 at 1:54 AM PT
FYI- dress up like a cow today for free Chick-fil-A. Also, free “Refreshers”- a new blended drink – at participating Starbucks (no humiliating costume required).
Timothy Myers SRJuly 13, 2012 at 2:39 AM PT
It seems shocking that it has taken four years to get Cecelia Gallardo into a courtroom, but remember that the Jerry Sandusky grand jury investigation took about four years before they lowered the boom, leaving God knows how many more boys anally raped.
NateJuly 13, 2012 at 4:19 AM PT
You had to go there…
Scott BerryJuly 13, 2012 at 2:45 AM PT
Join The Whole Scoop on Sunday from 1-3pm at Valencia Meadows Park for FREE ICE CREAM. All SCV Talkers are invited. Walk or bike the paseo right to the park and enjoy a taste of a treat to come in Downtown Newhall. We just launched both our new website ( http://thewholescoop.com ) and our kickstarter ( http://KickstartTheWholeScoop.com ), community funded, crowd-sourced campaign to open our doors. Born and raised in SCV and having lived here all of my life my partner and I are hoping the community can help us raise some funds to open our doors. Three years in the making and our savings dumped in to making the best, all-natural ice cream you can find. Homemade, daily, on-site will blow your socks off! Give us a shot! http://facebook.com/thewholescoopinc
JaneJuly 13, 2012 at 3:33 AM PT
Con Artists – It seems that the social/fundraising folks in the SCV love themselves a con artist. As long as they have deep pockets for charity events, no one seems to question where the money is coming from.
Timothy Myers SRJuly 13, 2012 at 5:01 AM PT
Jane: Even sadder is that the pockets don’t have to be that deep. Cecelia G. may have splashed out the relatively small amount of $15 to 20K over 12 to 24 months to get all that attention and affinity, which is peanuts when one plans to steal that amount 100 times over. In the modest world of SCV charities, however, a 5K contribution is considered substantial and will be commented on.