Corruption and politics unfortunately go hand-in-hand. Too often America hears of stories of elected officials breaking laws, and sometimes the charges are quite serious.
Perhaps the most common crimes involve bribery and fraud — and that’s precisely what one Democratic Party secretary has been accused of. As a result, her career is now officially on the skids.
This Particular Member Of The Blue Party Has Been Implicated In An Ongoing Investigation.
According to a report in the L.A. Times, Democratic Party secretary Melahat Rafiei has been accused of attempting to bribe public officials. This charge comes after a lengthy federal corruption probe.
She has since admitted that she’s a confidential witness in the FBI investigation, and she has also resigned as a member of the Democratic National Committee.
The scheme allegedly involved a proposed $320 million sale of Angel Stadium land, which apparently didn’t go by the book. In fact, the accusations go beyond simple bribery and extend to fraud.
The court filing involves Rafiei and other examples of corruption in the negotiation process. And it obviously is serious enough to prompt Rafiei’s resignation from the Party.
From the Times report:
Federal investigators said in a court filing that they believe there was fraud, bribery, obstruction of justice, witness tampering and other corruption in the negotiations between Anaheim and the Angels over the proposed sale.
The city’s mayor, Harry Sidhu, is facing mounting calls to resign after he was named by the FBI in an affidavit as the likely perpetrator of numerous crimes during the negotiations.
But the report didn’t end there.
In 2019, Rafiei was arrested on charges of “theft and bribery” involving a cannabis scheme and federal funds (this per the Orange County Register).
This is what led to Rafiei working with the FBI to bring other lawbreakers to justice.
She accepted the request to cooperate, then brought the FBI more corruption evidence by wearing a wire, which also implicated the former Anaheim Chamber of Commerce CEO. But this won’t erase Rafiei’s crime.
That’s likely why she resigned, and it’s not likely she’ll work directly for the Democratic Party again any time soon.
Corruption of this kind isn’t unique to one Party or another, of course. It just seems to be increasing in recent years and many citizens appear to trust their elected officials less and less as time goes on.
