Councilwoman for LA suburb is accused of colluding with lobbyist who gave her $1,100 to help pay for a BOOB JOB
El Monte Councilwoman Victoria Martinez Muela is under fire after she allegedly neglected to report a $1,100 gift from a friend, who was also a lobbyist, that was used to help fund her breast augmentation surgery
A Los Angeles county councilwoman has come under fire after she failed to report a $1,100 gift from a lobbyist that was put towards her breast augmentation surgery.
El Monte Councilwoman Victoria Martinez Muela, 48, received the gift from her longtime friend Sigrid Lopez, 52, in December 2016, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune reported.
Lopez, who at the time was working as lobbyist for a company conducting business with the city, says the money was a gifted out of friendship and was not intended to influence Martinez Muela's vote on matters involving her employer.
Now, El Monte City Council is working to create an ethics commission that will sanction city officials who violate rules regarding gifts and other conflicts of interest.
According to the newspaper, Lopez paid the sum to Pasadena cosmetic surgeon Dr. Daniel Casper on December 29, 2016 to help cover the cost of the councilwoman's procedure. Martinez Muela did not report the gift to officials.
Martinez Muela claims the surgery was needed for a medical condition and that she couldn't afford to pay the full cost of the procedure, thus why Lopez agreed to cover the gap. The full cost of the surgery remains unknown.
Lopez is also credited with driving Martinez Muela to and from the procedure, as well as staying with her during the post-op recovery process.
At the time the gift was issued, Lopez's former employer, Southland Transit, had given the city a $700,000 proposal to expands its public transportation contract.
In May 2021, former El Monte Mayor Andre Quintero submitted an ethics complaint to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office over the gift. Additionally, last week, he submitted a complaint to the state's Fair Political Practices Commission.
The district attorney’s office has confirmed officials are reviewing the complaint.
Sigrid Lopez paid the sum directly to cosmetic surgeon Dr. Daniel Casper on December 29, 2016 to help cover the cost of the councilwoman's procedure
Martinez Muela claims the surgery was needed for a medical condition and that she couldn't afford to pay the full cost of the procedure, thus why Lopez agreed to cover the gap. The full cost of the surgery remains unknown (pictured: Casper MD clinic)
In the complaints, former mayor Andre Quintero alleged that not only was the gift not properly reported, but that it exceeded the dollar amount a local government official is allowed to accept.
'The gift in question exceeded the limit provided by law,' he said, noting that in 2016 the gift limit was $460.
Responding to the allegations against her, Martinez Muela said the complaints are 'nothing more than a blatant bait and switch to divert attention' from the city's real issues, such as its $12million structural deficit.
'As evidenced in my votes, I have always put the community first and do not cower to special interest groups,' she said in a statement to the newspaper. 'Ironically, those that would put this allegation forward omit the fact that this personal loan did not serve any favor at all.'
Lopez and Martinez Muela have a long history of friendship. According to the Los Angeles Times, Lopez attended the councilwoman's wedding in 2017. The pair also took a trip to Cuba together a few years back.
Lopez claims she funded the trip, paying $5,000 to cover the councilwoman's hotel, airfare, rum and cigars. Martinez Muela argues that while the two traveled together, she paid her own way.
The Cuba trip was not included in the ethics complaints.
The councilwoman claims the gift, which allegedly exceeded the dollar amount that local government officials are legally permitted to accept, did not influence any of her votes or political decisions
While the pair are no longer close, allegedly due to a falling out over a cannabis sales proposal that Lopez championed and Martinez Muela voted against, they both assert their friendship, which dates back to 2011, was real.
The two met at a political event in Sacramento and allegedly had a 'special connection'. Lopez told the newspaper at first Martinez Muela was someone she looked up to but 'after a while I didn't look at her as a political official, I looked at her as my best friend'.
FPPC officials have not confirmed if Quintero's most recent ethics complaint is under review, however, local legislators have taken steps to reform government accountability.
At a meeting Thursday, El Monte City Council voted to ask staffers to write proposal for an ethics commission and lobbyist registry.
According to the Los Angeles Times, lawmakers will discuss the proposals at the next council meeting, as well as potential sanctions for Martinez Muela's alleged actions.