COMPTON (2UG) – Another Compton official is charged in connection with weed which has been a growing problem in the City since 2013.
In 2015, Compton Unified School District filed a lawsuit against the City alleging they were allowing illegal weed dispensary’s to operate by schools. The lawsuit was ultimately withdrawn because the City presented a plan to address the issue.
During the same time, a former Congressional staffer was charged with extorting Compton businesses that were running illegal dispensary’s in the City.
Federal authorities alleged Michael Kimbrew was “shaking down” businesses and accepted a bribe from a dispensary owner to prevent them from being shut down.
On tape, Kimbrew told an undercover FBI agent he worked in conjunction with Code Enforcement and the City Attorney’s office to keep certain operators open. Of the 14 they were aware of, only 5 would be allowed to remain open.
At the time the City Attorney’s office was led by Craig Cornwell.
Dispensary owners testified during Kimbrew’s 2018 trial that they met with him in Congresswoman Hahn’s office, located inside of Compton City Hall. One remarked they noticed a picture in Kimbrew’s office of a woman he identified as his “sister”. The woman was later identified as Compton Mayor Aja Brown. She was not called as a witness to testify in his trial.
Related: When Cannabis Lobbyists Courted 2017 Compton Candidates
Kimbrew was ultimately convicted and sentenced to 18 months in federal prison.
In 2017, JCJ Corporation filed a lawsuit against the City for serving an improper search warrant at their business where weed and other paraphernalia were confiscated.
The lawsuit described that prior to the residents voting in 2018 to ban dispensaries, the city was aggressively “raiding” dispensaries where code enforcement employees, who reported directly to the City Attorney [Cornwell], would show up unannounced and begin emptying out the locations. During this time the cities chief building inspector was David Dent.
“There were a number of raids taking place where vans would show up, come in and take your weed and money with no legal authority to do so,” said Michael Fletcher, co-owner of JCJ Corporation. “During this same time Michael Kimbrew got arrested for trying to extort money from dispensaries from his office in City Hall. We had no choice but to go to the FBI with our concerns.”
The case continues to be adjudicated in the court system.
Former Compton Councilman Isaac Galvan is facing charges related to bribing an elected official in Baldwin Park, on behalf of his client, who was seeking a cannabis permit.
In 2020, Galvan’s home was raided by the FBI in connection with an investigation into Baldwin Park. The following year, Brown announced she wouldn’t be running for a third term in office despite being popular enough to handily beat any opponent who challenged her.
During that time the Compton City Council was meeting remotely over Zoom due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On multiple occasions, Galvan would participate in both closed session and the public portion of the meeting with his camera turned off. It enraged Brown, and some residents, who regularly demanded he have his cameras on because she wanted to make sure he was alone during closed session. Their bickering lasted over several meetings with Galvan alluding to their being more to their arguments than just his camera being off.
When Galvan refused to turn his cameras on, she had then City Attorney Damon Brown bring in a stenographer to take minutes during closed session which was unheard of.
Compton Councilman Jonathan Bowers cited a July 2021 meeting where the stenographer was present and alleged the City Attorney was using “possible unethical and questionable” tactics providing information to the Mayor and Council that wasn’t true. This information was disclosed in a letter to the City’s attorneys in the JCJ Corporation matter.
It was also during those same meetings Aja Brown was vocal about being against the idea of shutting down illegal dispensaries saying the “costs to do so outweighed the City’s return”.
After both Galvan and Damon Brown were reelected in the 2021 General Election, Galvan was removed from his seat in 2022 on voter fraud related charges, and Brown resigned and went to work with the office of Attorney General Rob Bonta.
Galvan was arrested by federal authorities Sept. 18 and was out hours later. He is facing a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for the conspiracy count, up to 10 years in federal prison for the bribery count and up to 20 years in federal prison for each honest services wire fraud count.
“This case is yet another example of my office’s determination to root out public corruption and backroom deals that corrode our political system. We will continue to pursue politicians who violate their sacred oaths by placing their own desires ahead of their constituents’ needs,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada.
