Alma Hernández, executive director of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), California’s largest union, resigned after she and her husband, Jose Moscoso, were indicted by California Attorney General Rob Bonta with numerous charges of embezzlement of funds and tax evasion, the Globe reported. Wednesday.

Hernández reportedly issued two checks valued at $ 11,700 to Moscoso for services not provided to the Working Families for Solorio account for the 2014 Senate, of which Hernández was treasurer at the time.

From 2014 to 2018, Moscoso and Hernández also reportedly filed several joint tax returns in which they underreported their income by $ 1,427,874, owed to the state of $ 143,483 in unpaid income tax.

According to Freedom Foundation attorney Timothy Snowball, Hernandez’s expenses likely lasted a long time and weren’t necessarily a secret.

So why charge it now? Who did Hernández meet?

And why are the rules not applied uniformly? A political friend and I discussed the lavish spending of former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez while leading the Assembly. Nuñez, a Democrat from Los Angeles and also a former union organizer, traveled and dined “much more comfortably with campaign funds than he could with taxpayer dollars,” the Los Angeles Times reported in 2007. “How is Fabian Nuñez not in prison? for his Louis Vuitton purchases if they charge this union leader? My friend asked.

How were Nuñez’s expenses not considered criminal, while those of the head of the SEIU are?

As the California Assembly Leader, President Fabian Nuñez has traveled the world in luxury, paying with campaign funds for visits to some of the best hotels and restaurants and for purchases at top retailers. range such as Louis Vuitton in Paris, ”the Times reported in 2007.

Here are the specifics according to the Times:

Listed in mandatory state documents, Nuñez’s expenses included “$ 47,412 on United Airlines, Lufthansa, and Air France this year; $ 8,745 to the exclusive Hotel Arts in Barcelona, ​​Spain; $ 5,149 for a “meeting” at Cave L’Avant Garde, a wine seller in the Bordeaux region of France; a total of $ 2,562 for two “office expenses” at Vuitton, two years apart; and $ 1,795 for a “meeting” at Grand Colbert, a venerable Parisian restaurant.

Nuñez also spent $ 2,934 at Colosseum Travel in Rome and $ 505 at European airline Spanair.

Other expenses are closer to home: a $ 1,715 meeting at the Asia de Cuba restaurant in West Hollywood; a $ 317 purchase from upscale Pavilion Salon Shoes in Sacramento; a $ 2,428 meeting at 58 Degrees and Holding, a Sacramento wine bar and bistro; and $ 800 spent at Dollar Rent a Car in Kihei, Hawaii.

Asked in an interview about his trips abroad in general, Nuñez said, “For me it’s a question of: is my perspective on the issues broad enough? Do I have enough context when making decisions? It is a great state to manage. You have to know what you are doing.

“These trips,” he said, “at least the ones I have taken – I feel very confident and comfortable that they are not only justified but necessary for the decisions I have to make on a day-to-day basis. . “

There is more.

Some of Nuñez’s travels during his more than three years as a lecturer have included studying high-speed train and preschool education programs in France, studying renewable energy in Germany and Denmark, and visiting the South America with other lawmakers and lobbyists to explore solutions to global warming.

However, some activities, including the visit to Barcelona in 2006 and a $ 3,199 stay at the Parco Hotel in Rome this year, do not appear to be related to any policy-related trips advertised by Nunez’s office.

In the interview, Nuñez said he would not need to use his $ 5.3 million “Friends of Fabian Nunez” campaign account to offset travel costs if he was independently wealthy. .

But Nuñez lived as if he was independently wealthy from his campaign contributions, The Times reported:

He received a total of $ 1.9 million in 2005 and 2006 from unions, businesses and others with a continuing interest in legislative affairs. They include $ 17,300 of AT&T; and Verizon, the phone companies that pushed Nunez legislation allowing them to compete with cable TV companies, and $ 2,500 from a group of drug companies affected by a Nunez bill to create a cash rebate program. prescription drugs.

Comparing the numbers, particularly between 2007 and 2021, President Fabian Nuñez’s campaign fund spending was clearly a violation of the Fair Political Practices Commission rules. The FPPC requires candidates and campaign committees to file campaign statements by specific deadlines, revealing contributions received and expenses incurred. And the FPPC verifies these statements. Occasionally.

The FPPC is made up of five members appointed by the Governor, State Comptroller, Secretary of State and Attorney General. In California, all of these constitutional offices are controlled by the Democrats.

The LA Times editorial board intervened when Nuñez objected to their reporting:

Nuñez spent lavishly as a speaker, indulging in fine dining ($ 1,795 for a particularly enjoyable evening in Paris) and vacations in Europe. He did his shopping at Louis Vuitton ($ 2,562 in “office expenses”) and gorged himself in a French vineyard ($ 5,149 for a “meeting”). Nuñez did all of this for the penny of its contributors; they do not have, he naturally insists, “nothing in return”.

Yet the publication of these facts bothers Nuñez, and last week he seemed to have had enough. Why did he think critics were so fascinated by these details? His response: “Due to the fact that I’m Mexican, they think I should sleep under a cactus and eat at taco stands.”

“What’s wrong with going to Office Max or Staples for ‘office expenses’? A Latino Politics Blog blogger asked in 2008. “For my life, I still can’t imagine what kind of office supplies he needed at Louis Vuitton. “

The editorial board responded to Nuñez:

It’s not entirely clear who “they” are, but for the sake of argument let’s assume it’s white people who work in newspapers, especially this one. Let us specify then that we do not regret the luxury of Nunez, and we would hate to see him stuck under a cactus. By all means, Mr. President Emeritus, eat well, see the world, bring home trinkets and knick-knacks for you and your loved ones. Just do it with your own money.

Nuñez continued with Mercury Public Affairs, “Using Your Influence as a National Politician” to benefit clients’ public policy interests.

As for Alma Hernández, if she is convicted for her alleged expenses, fines and jail time are likely.

Meanwhile, “Fabian Nuñez, Barbara Boxer and Antonio Villaraigosa have spearheaded the massive resignations of one of the state’s most powerful lobbying firms, Mercury Public Affairs,” MSN just reported. They plan to create a new public affairs and consulting firm.