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Former Sanchez aide guilty of stealing office funds
May 18th, 2009, 4:12 pm · 22 Comments · posted by Martin Wisckol, Politics reporter
A former aide to Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Garden Grove, pleaded guilty today to using Sanchez’s House credit card to buy herself airline tickets and to forging Sanchez’s signature to get a $6,000 bonus, according to the Associated Press.
Arlington resident Caroline Valdez, 27, also admitted to using the credit card to get pizza and groceries, and to inflating the cost of taxicab fare she actually paid to get greater reimbursement.
Valdez faces up to six months in prison when she is sentenced on Sept. 25.
Sanchez’s office declined to comment.
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DENA BUNIS, Washington bureau chief, 202-628-6381 or dbunis@ocregister.com
BRIAN JOSEPH, Sacramento correspondent, 916-449-6046 or bjoseph@ocregister.com
JENNIFER MUIR, County government reporter, 714-796-7813 or jmuir@ocregister.com
JOEL WALSH, Washington bureau intern, 202-628-6381 or jwalsh@ocregister.com
MARTIN WISCKOL, Politics reporter, 714-285-2867 or mwisckol@ocregister.com twitter.com/MartinWisckol
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I would have to say both are crooks, if she Loretta can’t keep track of a credit card, how is she suppose to keep track of the House…I think both crooks were in on it!
6 months, not one day less…are you kidding me? Caroline Valdez is a crook & Sanchez may be one also.
Loretta is one of the least respected and ineffective members of congress. Is it any wonder, given the people she represents, that an associate is a criminal?
“…given the people she represents…”? You just smeared about half of the voters in the 47th Congressional District, inferring that they, too, are criminals. It is amazing what courage anonymity brings out in people.
Give me a break you creeps. Loretta caught her and did the right thing in spite of the fact that she knew it would cop her bad stupid postings like these.
Throw them both away.
Too much association, I thought that criminal behavior was for the GOP…
Not in the least surprising! Birds of a feather, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, yadda, yadda, yadda!
Why would sanchez decline to comment? this woman tried to steal $6k in US taxpayer money. I think the voters DESERVE a comment from Sanchez’s office. And it was probably the feds who caught the thief. If Sanchez had her way she would probably still be working for her. What would happen to you folks if robbed a bank of $6k? Maximum of 6 months in the pokie? HA! No, you would be looking at 10 years!
That’s it, 6 months in prison? She stole over 6000 dollars and that’s the absolute MAXIMUM she can get? Boy, sadly crime pays.
That is so wrong. She should have to pay back every penny or even better Sanchez could step up and pay it back to the taxpayers with a promise to keep a tighter reign on the credit cards that are used by “aides”. WHY, WHY, WHY do they need a credit card anyway and what account was she given access to that she could pull $6,000 out of by forgery? Waaaaay too loosey goosey of a way to conduct taxpayer business for my taste.
” Sanchez office declined to comment ” ? Interesting…..she comments about every other damned thing !
Now thats a surprise birds of a feather
Somewhere, Van Tran and the GOP is smiling.
You have to forgive her…. it runs in the party.
“Kevin” wrote… Too much association, I thought that criminal behavior was for the GOP…”
Well, Kevin must not have paying attention to the news lately i.e. (Pelosi, Murtha, Geithner, Daschle, Blogoevich, Burris, Richardson, Killifer, Solis, et. al. Of course being in a moral and ethical wasteland doesn’t always mean “criminal behavior.”
That is nothing comparing to what GOP with the war and greedy bankers. Free entreprise ? kiss my a$$
So, Valdez stole a few thousand bucks. Loretta stole another woman’s husband. The Register thinks one is big news and the other isn’t worthy of a single column. As a society, we obviously care more about a few peices of silver than the sanctity of marriage.
Are you people for real? Sanctity of marriage? OMG..$6k in theft!? Half of the 47th comprised of crooks?
How can all of you get so worked up over $6k, but not bat an eyelash when hundreds of billions of dollars go to two wars, and millions more to prop up corrupt regimes elsewhere? I mean, really…get sensible people.
And as for the sanctity of marriage…you may believe that, and that’s great. But it’s hard for me to consider something sanctimonious when half of all marriages fail.
I can’t believe I walk this Earth among you.
Loretta Sanchez (not her true last name) can write a check from where she lives in Palos Verdes.
“So, Valdez stole a few thousand bucks. Loretta stole another woman’s husband. The Register thinks one is big news and the other isn’t worthy of a single column. As a society, we obviously care more about a few peices of silver than the sanctity of marriage.”
I’m guessing you’re a democrat because 1) You don’t seem to understand that her husband was not tax-payer property and 2) you don’t care about stealing when democrats do it but if somebody stole from you, I bet that you’d be on the phone with police as soon as you found out about it.
Matt, my point is that her Loretta’s adultery is as bad as her staff’s embezzlement. Both are bad. We should care about both kinds of misconduct. Both reflect character flaws. A responsible newspaper would report about both.
NO JAIL TIME! Give me a break. Don’t waste my tax money on her incarceration. It wasn’t a violent crime. Restitution and community service.
Sure seems to me that the “culture of corruption” is alive and well. The Democ rats are knee deep in it now and it will be getting better and better as the months pass.
Christopher Dodd - Look out - your next to make the news!!!!!!