The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office launched a massive public corruption investigation — named “Operation Dirty Pond” — which focused on the alleged misuse of around $14 million in public funds and led to raids of multiple key locations, including the home of Huntington Park Mayor Karina Macias.
For context, the Los Angeles County DA’s Office reportedly launched the investigation in November 2022, after suspicion arose that millions of dollars in public funds were being misused after they were allocated to building an aquatic center at the city’s Salt Lake Park, which was announced by the city in 2018 but was never built.
According to CBS News coverage of the investigation, Mayor Macias’ home was searched for evidence of misuse of funds, along with the homes of several other former Huntington Park city officials. In addition, a press release from the Los Angeles County DA’s Office confirmed that the Huntington Park city hall, public works building, and the proposed site for the aquatic center were also searched, as well as the home of the owners of the construction group that was contracted to build the center.
In addition, the LA County DA’s Office’s press release confirmed that “numerous items were seized from each location,” adding that the evidence included “financial paperwork, computers, tablets, cell phones, and various forms of electronic equipment.” They also urged “any member of the public with information related to the aquatic center” to come forward.
Following the search of her home, Mayor Macias reportedly made a statement at a city meeting, in which she said, “Our hardworking city staff is working diligently with authorities to make sure they received any and all information related to the Salt Lake Park aquatic center.”
Continuing, Macias reportedly defended herself and dismissed the investigation as pointless, saying, “This information could have been easily requested via public records requests and could have prevented all of the politically driven chaos and misinformation.”
After the raids were conducted, several local officials weighed in. statement regarding the raids, Vice Mayor Arturo Flores expressed frustration about there being “nothing to show for those millions of dollars,” saying, “”It’s my understanding that there’s an estimated $14 million, give or take, that has been expended by the city, and that from those funds, the residents of the city have only received an empty lot with dead grass.”
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In addition, District Attorney Nathan Hochman told CBS News that his team was determined to find an answer to the question of where the money went, saying, “My office is committed to ensuring that public officials uphold the highest standards of honesty, integrity, and transparency. When concerns arise about the use of public funds or the actions of those in office, it is our duty to investigate thoroughly and protect the public’s trust.”
Furthermore, when the press spoke to Huntington Park residents, they expressed disappointment in the lack of transparency about the project, with resident Daniel Fierro telling CBS News, “They just didn’t do it. I don’t know what happened to the money but they didn’t do it.” Fierro added, “The playground needs to go up for the kids. The kids are gone. Huntington Park Kids — where are they at? They’re not here.”
Watch press coverage of the investigation:
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video