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Latino-rights activist Nativo Lopez charged with voter fraud
June 25th, 2009, 10:34 am · 90 Comments · posted by Martin Wisckol, Politics reporter
Click here for fully updated version of the story, including quotes from Nativo Lopez.
Longtime Latino rights activist and former Santa Ana school board chairman Nativo Lopez has been charged with four felony counts of voter fraud and a warrant has been issued for his arrest, according to this announcement by Secretary of State Debra Bowen.
Bowen’s office worked in collaboration with the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office, which has charged Lopez with fraudulent voter registration, fraudulent document filing, perjury and fraudulent voting.
The charges stem from Lopez allegedly registering to vote using an office address in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles although he lived with his family in Orange County, according to Bowen’s office. He also allegedly cast an illegal ballot from Los Angeles in the 2008 presidential primary.
Lopez is national president of Mexican American Political Association and national director of Hermandad Mexican Latinoamericana, both of which are advocates for immigrant rights. In 1996, he attracted controversy for registering new citizens in the congressional district where Democrat Loretta Sanchez upset incumbent Bob Dornan.
A congressional investigation later found that some voters had cast ballots before their citizenship was finalized. The Orange County District Attorney’s Office investigated allegations that Lopez’s primary organization, then known as Hermandad Mexicana Nacional, was responsible for the improper registrations but no charges were filed.
Bail has been set at $10,000 for Lopez. I’ve got calls in to Lopez and will also find out whether he’s been picked up yet. I’ll update this item when I have more information.
UPDATE 1: The Orange County Registrar of Voters office tells me that Lopez was registered to vote in Santa Ana until Jan. 23, 2008, when he asked that his registration be canceled.
UPDATE 2: The Secretary of State’s Office received a tip on this, investigated, then gave its information to the L.A. County DA’s office, which filed charges, according to Nicole Winger of the Secretary of State’s Office. She also said that she’d heard the Lopez had turned himself him. I should be able to confirm that shortly.
UPDATE 3: Lopez served on the Santa Ana Unified School District Board of Trustees from 1997 until 2003, when 69 percent of voters casting ballots agreed that he should be recalled.
UPDATE 4: Lopez surrendered to authorities on Thursday and was released on his own recognizance, according to Sandi Gibbons of the the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. While the secretary of state’s press release said that bail had been set at $10,000 - when in fact Lopez was released without posting any bail - Gibbons said her office had been seeking $55,000 bail. Lopez’s arraignment - when he declares himself guilty or not guilty is set for July 8 in Dept. 30.
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DENA BUNIS, Washington bureau chief, 202-628-6381 or dbunis@ocregister.com
CHRIS KNAP, Politics team leader, 714-796-2240 or cknap@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
MARTIN WISCKOL, Politics reporter, 714-285-2867 or mwisckol@ocregister.com twitter.com/MartinWisckol
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Ahahahaha! Nativo Lopez is a racist. He fights for ILLEGAL immigrant rights and deserves the book thrown at him.
Give me a break. With political correctness running this country ON BOTH SIDES and everyone cuddling up to the hispanic vote. Do you really think anything is going to happen to this guy. Mark my words, small fine and no time in jail. He will be doing it again before the next election. Oh yeah and ACORN and your tax dollars will be funding him. Viva America, just get used to it.
I just seen him grocery shopping this morning! Had I known!!!
as the old saying goes, if you cant win…CHEAT!
“Show me a hero, and I’ll show you a bum.” Pappy Boyington
It is about time. Throw the book at this clown.Ask him if he is legal or illegal and then throw him out of the country.
Yes, throw him out either way…
I agree!
Recalled, Now a fugitive, And a future Federal Prison Inmate!
What a loser! Make sure he does not reverse Border Hop!
I’m glad they caught him. Now I hope they make an example of him. I bet this is the tip of the iceberg as far as voter fraud is concerned.
Oh, what a surprise!
Let’s stop this now. Illegals need to go. No more tolerance. We’ve invited this kind of behavior in tolerating these law breakers!
Once a scoundrel, always a scoundrel.
Anybody who would change their name from Larry to Nativo to try to be more Mexican is a complete LOSER!! Deport now!!!
They can’t win without cheating. But Sanchez thinks it’s ok to cheat for the sake of her racist cause.
I’m sure Sanchez cheated too. She’s another loser….
Actually, she won. Bob Dornan was the loser
HAHAHAHAHAH It is about time–this guy is a no good low down lying cheating, backstabbing, two-timing dirty rotten scoundrel.
As my friend Mcgarret would say “BOOK’EM DANO!”
Who the heck uses Hawaii Five-O references in a blog? This is 2009. At least use something from the ’90’s as not to sound toooooooo old.
If you admitted in this blog that you knew that was a Hawaii Five-O reference, you aren’t exactly a spring chicken yourself.
His reputation is tarmished but they still need to convict.
Is anybody really surprised by this?
I agree…….
Check his papers.
Maybe that’s how Sanchez got into office. anyway he has really hurt their crooked agenda. A 10,000 fine? that’s not nearly enough.
Where is MENSARINO to defend him ????
Would a felony conviction prevent Lopez from running for public office?
That would be nice if it did; it’s great that they caught him, but it would be even nicer if this keeps him out of politics for the rest of his life.
Unfortunately he will always be in the background, someone else as the front man if he is not thrown in jail. These guys always find a way to turn the system to suit their agenda.
I am sure his attorney will tell us how greatful we should be that he was helping the illegal immigrants.
Can we deport him now?
I would bet there are many more like him.
Why do you think some made such a big stink about having to show a picture ID when voting. Imagine, a government wanting to ensure that you only voted once, and that you only cast your own ballot. The nerve.
Throw the book at him.
If there where any truth in journalism it would clearly state as is fact, Larry Lopez (His true and non-ethnocentric name) is a illegal alien supporter, and a latino supremacist who believes the southwest U.S. belongs to Mexico which he outright and openly preaches.
Larry is a reconquista and a proud member of La Raza. He is just one criminal among many who support, work towards, and preaches the establishment of Aztlan. This man is not only a criminal, he is the enemy of every patritotic American.
What a racist crook.
This story doesn’t surprise me at all….I’m only surprised that it took this long!
This group and ACORN always try to find ways to cheat our invaluable voting system. Whatever it takes to get as many illegals to vote for Sanchez or the next pro-border politician, they will do what it takes, even if it means breaking the law. So much for any sympathy for the downtrodden illegal alien. No sympathy for those who come here illegally, steal someone else’s social security # to get a job and leech off the taxpayers from all of the government services they use. I’ve only been to the ER once in my whole life and even then I paid the deductible out of my HMO insurance coverage. My neighbor works at our nearest ER and constantly takes in illegals who don’t speak a lick of English and don’t have any coverage whatsoever. Many come in for sore throats and the flu. The cost to treat the common cold at an ER is prohibitively higher than an HMO office. No wonder our state is in the dumps.
So true! We need to stop the insanity. And stop trying to apologize for being a great country. All these people need to read the “Grapes of Wrath” so they know what REAL discrimination is.
Wow, comments coming in so fast that in the time it took me to type my short comment, 4 or 5 others got in also! You think this means something?
NOW, let’s go after ACORN like they did this guy!! Voter fraud is voter fraud regardless of race or creed. If they had agressivley sought voter fraud, we may have a better p[residnt and stae of the nation!
I wonder if the news, channel 2, 4, 7, 11, 9 will report this. The are all so liberal.
Fran, I hope you are not holding your breathe.
Watched Channel 9 news at noon - not a word spoken about this story….
That`s not a good look!
CHAUNCY…..SBPD?
Hey Vicky, no maybe about it… that is how Sanchez got into office. She also dropped her “anglo” name when she ran for office, as she lost the first time with the “anglo” name.
Is this guy a citizen or a green card holder? Convicted felons lose green card privileges and get deported (unless they live in San Francisco), right? Nativo seemed to walk that fine line forever. His luck finally ran out, even with his protected status. He’s come to the end of the line. Now it’s time to deboard the open border’s train. His work’s cut out for him. What’s the maximum time that he’s looking at with 4 felony counts of voter’s fraud? 20 years? Maybe they could bunk him with Carona. That would be a good match.
If the guy’s guilty, then prosecute and throw the book at him; time will tell. But don’t talk about deporting, calling him an illegal, etc. just because he is an American who is Latino. That makes as much sense as calling for deporting an Irish American, Italian American or anyone else who is accused of breaking the law. I may not agree with his views, but Lopez is an American citizen.
Do y ou know that for sure?
Voter fraud is a very serious crime. If not investigated and prosecuted then voting means absolutely nothing.
The fraud for the 1996 election should have been fully prosecuted. What, now we turn into a voting system like Mexico?
There is a difference between RIGHTS and transfer of wealth.
Immigrants (legal or illegal) have rights but NOT entitlement.
Hurry, become a citizen and vote for Sanchez. She will GIVE you money!
Bribery just with a different name.
Hey Mike, DEPORT,DEPORT,DEPORT,DEPORT,DEPORT,DEPORT,DEPORT,DEPORT,DEPORT,DEPORT,DEPORT,DEPORT,DEPORT,DEPORT,DEPORT,DEPORT,DEPORT,DEPORT,DEPORT,DEPORT,DEPORT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I used to live next door to Nativo, and he is a eally cool guy. He used to have bar b ques and invite all the neighbors. One time after a barbq, he pointed at the stars and said “see all those stars..thats how many votes I can arrange”.
How about now looking into Loretta Sanchaz.she is another american hater and lover of law breakers.
I second that motion - AND her sister too!!
EXCELLENT, don’t let him go. Cheater, theft, liar, he just work in his convinience. Hermandad Mexicana (is just one more company) it doesn’t help anybody but himself.
LIFE IN PRISION. OR BETTER YET DEATH SENTENCE
finally
No way, guay!
Viva messico! The best place in the world with the most unethical, blinded-religious puppets on earth.
2012 can’t get here soon enough.
Lopez was born in Los Angeles, that makes him an American.
How can we be sure he was born in LA. He could have a forged birth certificate.
Then there is the problem the US Supreme Court has not addressed. How can someone without legal status confer legal status on another by virtue of where they gave birth?
“Ann Coulter appears to have voted twice in the state of Connecticut while living in the state of New York.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lee-stranahan/new-coulter-voter-fraud-i_b_156972.html
Oh, wait, she’s white, so I guess it’s ok.
No it is not and if it is true then it needs to be addressed.
Oh my gosh, I just noticed that the web site is the huffingtonpost hate line… can’t believe what they say…
now you bunch of racist are happy. but guess what… Nativo will get back and we’ll see who laughs at the end.
For the ones that do not know… Nativo has been accused for so many things and never proved. I thing his enemies do not like that he is a good organizer and helps latinos to become citizens and VOTE!!! Do not give up Nativo, we need you. today we vote… and tomorrow we vote… that’s our power.
You need to be deported also Alex.
“Our Power” not the American way… sure showed your colors in that sentence. If you don’t like America you may move anytime… that is “our way” in America. Love it or leave it.
The Sanchez Sisters (Ugly & Uglier) could be next!
When it comes to building Aztlan, there is no such thing as ethics.
I expect MALDEF to supply his legal aid and MEChA and LaRaza crying it was a racist conspiracy to entrap him.
Nice work to the LA DA and the Secretary of State on this. Let’s hope they can get the charges embellished so this scumbag gets moved from county up to CDC. Can’t wait until the AB gets their hands on this kingpin loser.
hes a bad man, a very very bad man!
I’m not at all surprised. He’s just another scumbag who, like most of the other radical immigrants - whether legal or illegal - come to this great country and try to make it into what they want! What’s so freakin’ frustrating to me is that THEY KNOW they could NEVER get away w/that crap in their own country!!!
People……WAKE UP!!! As another poster said on this page…….the political correctness in this country has permeated so thoroughly through everyone that it will cause our own downfall and we will lose America for ever!!!
For the record his name is LARRY LOPEZ. Hi is not an emigrant. Hi was born in the USA. Hi is a parasite on emigrant community living of any controversy. He was recalled from Santa Ana school board by Latino voters for preventing children from learning English, by forcing bi-lingual education against parents wishes.
Sadly if this is true he has done a lot of damage to the very people he allegedly champions, the undocumented immigrant. The proponents of the Dream Act may want to strongly consider disavowing any relationship with this man.
The only person he was looking out for was himself. He is power hungry - he could care less about the people he is saying he is helping. It is all about him… power, ego and money.
Alex-You need your ID checked. You don’t sound like a real American to me.
For God’s sake, how shocking is this story that a Hispanic with a little authority would abuse it.
It’s about time LARRY was arrested.
After he and his cronies ruined the Santa Ana School District, they were all recalled. RECALLED BY HISPANICS!
This guy is a fraud and a bum.
After being kicked off the Santa Ana school board, democrats wouldn’t touch him. He showed up at a republican caucus saying he could deliver the hispanic vote. THEY THREW HIM OUT!
Not because they didn’t want the hispanic vote, because LARRY LOPEZ IS A FRAUD AND OPPORTUNIST!
He was never prosecuted for the millions in government grants to Hermandad Mexican Latinoamericana which he runs. He never could produce documents to prove how the money was used. It just disappeared into thin air.
You need to make stickers that say “No Beans”, great username.
I don’t think the money just disappeared in thin air - where does he live, what cars are in his driveway, where does he dine out, where does he shop for clothes… just look around and you will see where the money went.
Lindav123 - I COULDN’T AGREE W/YOU MORE!!!!
Heavy Sigh: “… undocumented immigrant …”
Surely you meant “criminal invader”, right? Stop using euphemisms and call a spade a spade.
I think what Tri Lateral Commission wrote is very scary, that he knows Mr. Lopez personally and during a social event (BQ) Mr. Lopez actually bragged about fixing votes. The authorities would have to have evidence to actually arrest him and charge him, but the law’s hands are so often tied by technicalities I always wonder what’s true. But what a man says to a neighbor candidly is something else. And apparently Tri Lateral likes him, so isn’t’ criticizing, just mentioning it. WOWOWOW. II have a good friend who was born in the US of Mexican-heritage US-citizen parents who’s always romanticizing Mexico and doesn’t appreciate the US or the life he has here at all. After I knew him several years I found out he’d never even visited Mexico, even though it’s only a few hours drive! Youthful hubris and ignorance expresses itself in many ways.
Lindav123. where are you from? are you real american? in my dictionary, America= Immigrants, Freedom, power of voting, leadership and initiative. am I right? I am a real American, most likely better American than you. The latino community must have more Nativos so we can increase our precense in the real stage. and guess what… thanks to people like Nativo there are 15000 new citizens every month “”ready to vote”" that is to be a real American….. how to do help America? you probably don’t have an answer.
Ready to vote how they are told to vote, not because they understand the issues.
“Ann Coulter appears to have voted twice in the state of Connecticut while living in the state of New York.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lee-stranahan/new-coulter-voter-fraud-i_b_156972.html
Oh, wait, she’s white, so I guess it’s ok.
Alex-If you have a dictionary, it’s a shame that there was no instructions regarding English grammar and punctuation.
As to the question” how do I help America?” I go to WORK every day and I pay my taxes so your buddies, the ILLEGAL immigrants, can get Section 8 housing, food stamps, free school lunches, welfare, no cost health care in the local emergency rooms etc. I could answer that dumb question for about a month straight.
Whoops, I meant there WERE no instrucions…….
Lindav123. come on!!! let’s face it. you need to tell us the truth. are you receiving foods stamps, and housing help section 8? did you attend to a public school? did you graduate? come on…. tell me the truth….. you do not sound like a working person.
I love you Lindav123 !!!
Throw the bum in jail.
He’s been charged with a crime and is entitled to the presumption of innocence, so I’ll grant him that, but this guy has been a blight on So. California. He is one of the major players in efforts to permanently infest our corner of the country with illegal aliens and their offspring.
If Larry wants to be of some help, he needs to go to Mexico and help stamp out the drug lords. Be a man Larry, go where you are needed. The voting system in Mexico is so corrupt you can fit right in.
Mexagain,
Think again (that rhyms!). I personally witnessed the rampant voter fraud in the first Dornan vs. Sanchez Brixey campaign. The only reason Dornan did not carry the election, notice I did not say “lost”, was that his Republican conferes had no guts.
Kenneth Manuel Valenzuela Fisher (I did not change my name when I later ran against her)
Wow. I’d forgotten what a scary place OC could be. I guess some of us would like to forget “the other side” of what happened during the Dornan-Sanchez debacle — namely, that people were accused of aiding voter fraud but never allowed to speak in their own defense at public hearings, that Catholic convents were initially called out as teeming hotbeds of illegal voters because of multiple people with Latino surnames were registered to vote at a single address, that people *born* in the United States were threatened with deportation if they did not give false evidence against Nativo, that the California Secretary of State’s office had to use GOP clout to have a House member slip him federal data in contravention of federal privacy laws which require that certain processes be observed in the sharing and comparison of privacy-related governmental databases…
With respect to his tenure on the Santa Ana school board — tell me this: how much worse off is the district now minus Nativo than it was with him?
I wonder how much this little act of payback is costing the taxpayers?