Central Basin Municipal Water District’s board has placed General Manager Alex Rojas on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an independent investigation into the legitimacy of contracts tied to a company accused of paying bribes to Rojas at his previous job.
Though the water agency’s board approved the investigation back in September, it could not reach a consensus on what to do with Rojas, who continued to lead the district despite his arrest in 2022 for allegedly accepting bribes while he was the superintendent in the Bassett Unified School District.
A narrow majority wanted to place him on leave over the potential connection to his criminal case, but the district’s general counsel at the time advised that protections in Rojas’ contract required the support of six of seven board members to take any “adverse action” against him.
The board hired a new attorney in December who appears to have a different interpretation. This time, the vote to place Rojas on leave Wednesday, Feb. 7 passed with four votes in favor, one against and two board members absent.
Rojas could not be reached for comment.
The board’s vice president, Juan Garza, said the leave is effective immediately and will last until the investigation into the district’s work with Capstone Partners Group is resolved and a related forensic audit is completed.
The contract with Capstone faced little scrutiny until last year, when a deposition revealed that Capstone owner Manuel Jaramillo secretly worked for the Del Terra Group, a company that county prosecutors allege paid $400,000 in bribes to Rojas while he served as superintendent in Bassett. Capstone, set up with help from Del Terra’s owner, also paid Del Terra directly for the use of at least one other employee, according to Jaramillo’s testimony.
Garza stressed that Rojas would be able to return to duty if the findings determine that Capstone’s hiring was above board.
“We are confident his return would be successful once the results are finalized and their findings demonstrate our agency and its operation have never been compromised under his leadership,” he said.
The district’s newly hired general counsel, Victor Ponto, will serve as acting general manager until the board can find a replacement. Garza said the board intends for Ponto, a lawyer with the firm Burke, Williams & Sorensen, to stay in the role for a short period of time due to the need for someone with more expertise.
The administrative investigation, contracted out to an Alabama-based accounting firm, is expected to review how Capstone was selected and the work it performed.
Central Basin, a water wholesaler that serves 1.6 million people from 24 cities and unincorporated areas in Southeast Los Angeles County, hired Capstone in November 2020 to provide construction and project management services.
Public records show the company was formed just three days before it submitted its bid.
Jaramillo voluntarily terminated Capstone’s contract with Central Basin in August 2022, the same month that the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office charged Rojas and Del Terra’s owner, Luis Rojas, who isn’t related, on 18 counts, including money laundering, bribery, perjury and embezzlement.
That case is still pending. Both Alex Rojas, who has been at the helm of Central Basin since August 2020, and Luis Rojas have denied the allegations.
Related links
Central Basin hired company secretly tied to general manager’s co-defendant in bribery case
Central Basin will investigate contracts tied to accused official’s bribery co-defendant
Central Basin hires forensic auditor, investigator to review contracts tied to bribery case
Central Basin’s general manager allegedly took $400,000 in bribes at his previous job
Who is Del Terra? The controversial history of the City of Industry-based company through the years
In an interview last year, Rojas said he was not aware of Capstone’s close ties with Del Terra prior to the termination of the contract. Though he sat in on interviews, he did not participate in the scoring, he said.
Capstone’s bid rose to the top because its proposed team included water infrastructure experts well-known in the industry, Rojas said at the time. The team members in the proposal provided resumes listing public projects they had worked on without mentioning any current or previous employers.
Garza, the board vice president, said he is hopeful the forensic audit and investigation will clear up any concerns about the contract and ultimately restore trust in the water agency.
“I think this is the first step,” he said.