Cries increase for criminal investigation over City’s mismanagement of 8M
Calexico businessman Guillermo Hermosillo showed us the letter he sent to the state controller four years ago. He believes it prompted the audit which revealed serious financial mismanagement in the city.
“Somebody should be accountable for all the misspending or stealing but somebody should be held accountable for it,” Hermosillo said.
He added that residents are the victims of what he calls a scam that took place within City Hall walls.
“Everything that happens in the administration where they take money or they misspend money, the resident pays for it,” Hermosillo said.
Businessman Alex Perrone said he has faith in the current city administration to take appropriate action and take a hard look into the matter.
“The citizens of Calexico deserve answers. This is very concerning. It’s a lot of money. The city needs to take action. An investigation needs to start,” Perrone said.
Businessman Joong Kim accuses city management of lying to council to justify excessive spending.
“They got the false financial report to make it look like we have the money and then we spending money, money,” Kim said.
They all point fingers at then City Manager Richard Werne and City Financial Director John Quinn- one of whom is reportedly living in the Philippines.
“I hope that some law enforcement agency will pick this up and really go through everything through the last five years,” Hermosillo said.
Former City Council Member Mandy Real said he was escorted out of Quinn’s office by police one time for demanding accurate financial records.
“There should be a forensic audit, an investigation, and if there’s any wrongdoing somebody should be prosecuted,” Hermosillo said.
They said there were frivolous lawsuits and out-of-town purchases with inflated prices costing the city millions during the time of the audit. Now they want justice for the community.
Former councilmembers Maritza Hurtado and John Moreno, office holders at the time of the alleged mismanagement, declined to comment. Former councilmember Luis Castro could not be reached.
