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A Scoop for the MabuhayRadio.com
Today, Ben Menor pleaded guilty (no contest) to one count of felony (False Statement
of Operations- Fraud) and accepted to pay restitution of $32,000 for using City
of San Jose funds to pay a full-time worker to take care of his mom and dad at his
home. He also agreed to pay another restitution of $16,000 for using agency
funds to bankroll the National Federation of Filipino-American Associations
(NaFFAA) convention in San
Jose, California,
in August 2002. (Editor's Note: The MabuhayRadio.com beats the San Jose Mercury News by one hour and 23 minutes in reporting the Menor "no-contest" plea.)
The sentencing
will be on July 24, 2008. A "no contest" plea is the same as a "guilty plea" for all intents and purposes.
On November 16, 2006, Ben Menor was arraigned in Santa Clara County Superior
Court on one felony count of violating the California Corporation Code Section 6812 (False
Statement of Operations) and two felony counts of violating the California Penal Code 487
(Grand Theft/Embezzlement).
Bobby Reyes is working with the CRABS (Citizens Rebelling
Against Bogus Spending). He says that his group and the CRABS needed a conviction of, or a
guilty plea, from Mr. Menor to bolster their case against the NaFFAA NEOS for violation of the RICO Act.This coming Monday, May 12, 2008, would have been the first day of Ben
Menor's trial. Five days before his trial, he pleaded "no contest" to
charges against him. The move was apparently arrived at as a result of a
plea-bargain deal with the prosecutors.
Now that Ben Menor has pleaded guilty, the civil case filed by the City of San Jose, a municipal corporation, (Plaintiff)
against the Filipino-American Senior Opportunities Development Council, Inc.,
to which Ben Menor was the president/CEO, can now follow its due course. On August
1, 2006, the
City of San
Jose
filed a civil lawsuit against the Board of Directors and others with Breach of
Written Contract, Negligence, Fraud, Conversion, Imposition of
Constructive Trust, Accounting and Violation of the False Claims Act.
Filipino Americans in San Jose and in Northern California anxiously wait for the start of this
trial. When the trial starts, they will find out the identities of the
1-100 Does (Defendants) included in the lawsuit.
Bobby Reyes has
been running after what he calls the “NaFFAA crooks” since May 2000. He
says that he and the CRABS will now proceed with the filing of a class-action suit against
some NaFFAA national executive officers (NEOs) for turning the federation into
a milking cow.
On June 16, 2005, the City of San Jose Auditor performed an audit with the Filipino-American Senior Opportunities Development Council, Inc. and found that the
agency and Mr. Menor, its president/CEO, misused over $219,000 of city funds.
The County of Santa Clara District Attorney office will issue its own news
release. This report is relayed to the www.mabuhayradio.com as a scoop and as
an exclusive.
In the meantime,
Bobby M. Reyes, who has been running after what he calls the “NaFFAA crooks,”
since May 2000 (2-0-0-0), says that he and other community leaders will now proceed with the filing of a
class-action suit against some NaFFAA national executive officers (NEOs) for
turning the federation into a milking cow. Reyes is working together with the
CRABS (Citizens Rebelling Against Bogus Spending), of the City of San Jose and Silicon Valley, California. Reyes says that his group and the CRABS
needed a conviction of, or a guilty plea from, Mr. Menor to bolster their case
against the NaFFAA NEOs. They are also now studying the feasibility of
endorsing their dossier about the NaFFAA “crooks” to the federal authorities
for violation of the “Racketeer-Influenced and Corrupt-Organizations (RICO)
Act.” Reyes and the CRABS may also petition authorities to put the NaFFAA under
receivership, so as to protect the interest of its members and the
Filipino-American community. # # #
The MabuhayRadio.com Beats the San Jose Mercury News in Reporting the Menor Guilty Plea:Here are excerpts from the San Jose Mercury News report: Please note that
the San Jose Mercury News posted it today at 6:21 p.m. while the
MabuhayRadio.com posted the Ben Menor story at 4:58 p.m. Yes, the
MabuhayRadio.com was one-hour and 23-minutes AHEAD.
Former head of Northside Community Center
pleads no contest to filing false financial reports
Jessie Mangaliman
Mercury News
Article Launched: 05/07/2008 06:21:13 PM
PDT
Ben Menor, the Filipino community leader
ousted in 2005 amid allegations of misuse of city funds at a multi-cultural
senior center that he helped built and ran, pleaded no contest today to a felony
charge of filing a false financial statement.
Menor, 57, entered the plea before Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge
Ray Cunningham. He is scheduled to be sentenced July 24, and faces three years
in jail or three years probation.
Two grand theft felony charges against Menor were dismissed after he agreed
to pay restitution totaling $51,000 to the city, said Deputy District Attorney
Stephen Lowney. He had faced a maximum of four years, four months in prison if
he were convicted on all charges.
Menor pleaded no contest to the charge that he overstated by 24,000 hours the
amount of time he and his agency worked under contract with the city to run the
Northside Community Center, a senior housing and community center on North Sixth
Street in San Jose. A no contest plea has the same legal effect as a guilty
plea.
The 92-unit senior housing and community center used by Filipinos, Sikhs and
Indo-Americans was considered a model of multi-cultural cooperation and
partnership when it opened in 2003. The center was Menor's longtime dream and
pursuit, one he shared with many Filipino-American leaders who once held him in
high regard. His non-profit group, the Filipino-American Senior Opportunities
Development Council, was under contract with the city to operate
<<Snipped>>
The hyperlink: http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_9186176?nclick_check=1
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