California Politician’s BoyFriend Under Cemetery Fraud Investigation
The judgement of an influential California politician is being called into question after it has been revealed he took a boyfriend under a fraud investigation on trips to meet foreign dignitaries and even accepted a donation from him.
John Perez, 44, speaker of the California Assembly, dated Hollywood funeral director Tyler Cassity between 2011 and 2012. During that time he was aware of a $600million fraud investigation into Mr Cassity’s family’s companies, according to the San Diego Union Tribune.
Mr Cassity accompanied his high-profile boyfriend on trips to meet British royalty, the Israeli president and other officials. The speaker also accepted a $1,000 donation from Mr Cassity, despite knowing it might have come from ill-gotten funds.
The politician even convinced state bigwigs to donate to Cassity-favored AIDS/LifeCycle, the paper noted. All this, despite a lawsuit filed in 2009 claiming the Cassity family pillaged trust funds and insurance policies of hundreds of millions of dollars.
The scam may be the largest in U.S. funeral industry history, an industry analyst told the paper.
Filed in St Louis, Missouri, the suit accuses National Prearranged Services Inc collapsed as a result of the family’s pilfering, as detailed by the paper.
Filed in St Louis, Missouri, the suit accuses National Prearranged Services Inc collapsed as a result of the family’s pilfering, as detailed by the paper.
In 2010, both Mr Cassity’s father and brother pleaded guilty to felony charges related to the scam, but he was not charged despite the lawsuit insisting he was guilty of racketeering and fraud.
Hollywood Forever and Fernwood cemetery, both run by Mr Cassity, 43, are accused in the lawsuit of being run with stolen money.
Accused fraudster: Tyler Cassity is accused of being part of a $600million fraud scheme
Despite becoming aware of the lawsuit and fraud investigation after beginning their relationship, Mr Lopez did not ask for details, a spokesperson told the paper, adding that the Speaker decided to let it play out in courts.
In light of these revelations, Kirk Hanson, executive director of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University, told the Union Times that Mr PĂ©rez displayed ‘colossal bad judgment’ for continuing the relationship.
The suit also alleges over $1million was embezzled to pay off Mr Cassity’s personal credit card bills.
Mr Cassity has fought the lawsuit, but has not responded to any interview requests from the paper. His lawyer also declined to comment.
Mr Cassity has fought the lawsuit, but has not responded to any interview requests from the paper. His lawyer also declined to comment.
The ethics expert cited the $1,000 political donation accepted from Mr Cassity by Mr Lopez, and the alleged fraudster’s inclusion among dignitaries, as further proof of his questionable judgement displayed by the politician.
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The duo were seen at events including Prince William and wife Kate Middleton and a trip to Israel where they met Israeli President Shimon Peres and other officials, according to the Union Tribune.
Mr Lopez isn’t the only politician to have received donations from the accused thief. Through a SuperPAC he set up, Mr Cassity has donated about $38,000 to Democratic candidates and causes, records cited by the paper show.
Additionally, of the $53,000 in donations raised by Mr Cassity, for AIDS/LifeCycle, more than $33,000 came from lawmakers, lobbyists and Sacramento political contributors with ties to the speaker,’ the paper reported.
Donors included ‘lobbyists, including two former Assembly speakers, Fabian NĂºĂ±ez and Robert Hertzberg,’ according to the paper.
Another ‘seven have worked for either PĂ©rez’s legislative office or his political operation,’ the paper further revealed.
Mr Lopez has declined comment to the Union Tribune, and could not be reached by MailOnline.
Through a spokesperson, he told the Union TImes he has not seen Mr Cassity for about 18 months.
Daily Mail
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