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Neon Tommy - Annenberg digital news

Poster Claiming To Be A Grand Jury Member Says L.A. Councilmember Will Be Indicted

Paresh Dave |
July 21, 2010 | 12:03 p.m. PDT

Staff Reporter

If true, a post on Craigslist would confirm that L.A. City  Councilmember Richard Alarcón, top left, could soon face a criminal  charge for lying about where he lived. (Creative Commons)
If true, a post on Craigslist would confirm that L.A. City Councilmember Richard Alarcón, top left, could soon face a criminal charge for lying about where he lived. (Creative Commons)

A poster earlier this month on Craigslist claiming to be a grand juror said that L.A. City Councilmember Richard Alarcón would be indicted by an L.A. County criminal grand jury.

The July 7 post, titled "richard alarcon will be Indicted," on the San Fernando Valley News and Views page of the online classifieds site was deleted a week after the initial post date as are most lisitings on the site. However, a Google search for the post reveals a snippet of the listing that reads "i am currently sitting on the los angeles crimminal (sic) grand jury and we are about to Indict richard alarcon for false residency disclosure. ..."

The listing was published on the same day that six members of Alarcón's staff testified in front of a criminal grand jury.

The L.A. County District Attorney's office has been investigating Alarcón since January because of a complaint that he has been living and has registered to vote in a home outside of the district he represents.

Neon Tommy reported earlier Wednesday that Alarcón has collected $9,000 in donations that can only be used to cover legal fees. Alarcón's communications director said Tuesday that the councilmember had no plans yet to spend any of the funds he had collected.

If the individual who posted the listing is, in fact, found to be a grand jury member, then he or she could be in violation of rules governing the use of social media by jurors. Grand jury proceedings are secret, and leaking information could lead to criminal prosecution.

Neon Tommy has forwarded the expired lisiting to the district attorney's office and is awaiting further comment. An e-mail inquiry Wednesday morning to Craigslist seeking more information about the listing has not been returned.


To reach staff reporter Paresh Dave, click here.



 

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