Our favorite local water official, Xavier Alvarez, has returned to the headlines the past couple weeks. Alvarez, South Pomona's representative to the Three Valleys Municipal Water District board, was back in Pomona Superior Court for a February preliminary hearing on felony insurance fraud, grand theft, and public corruption charges.
Alvarez pleaded guilty last year to a federal misdemeanor for falsely claiming to be a Medal of Honor recipient.
The current local charges stem from Alvarez's use of his Three Valleys health care benefits to cover his ex-wife, Juanita Ruiz, whom Alvarez falsely listed as spouse. The benefits to Ruiz amount to about $4,000, which put it at grand theft level.
The Claremont Courier's Tony Krickl blogged about Alvarez's defense at the February preliminary hearing. According to Krickl, Alvarez's public defender claimed that Alvarez was ignorant of what the health benefits application's definition of "spouse" is. If this line of thinking sounds familiar, you may recall that Alvarez's defense in last year's federal case was that lying was a form of speech protected under the first amendment.
Krickl wrote that Alvarez's defense did not sit well with the judge:
Despite the alleged confusion, Alvarez never bothered to ask the staff at Three Valleys Municipal Water District if Ruiz was a legal spouse or not, according to Three Valleys staffer Kirk Howie, who testified in court. According to testimony from Michael Holguin, a DA investigator working the case, Alvarez no longer lives with his ex-wife but maintains "a friendly relationship" with her, seeing her once or twice a month.
Judge Charles Horan didn't buy into the defense's ignorance argument. "You don't need a legal definition or a bylaw dictionary handed to you to know what a spouse is," he said.
Alvarez doesn't seem to be in any hurry to strike a deal in the current charges. It may be because a felony conviction would result in his automatic removal from the Three Valleys board, a seat he seems to covet above all else. We're not sure what Alvarez has against Three Valleys, but he sure seems intent on showing up his fellow boardmembers.
Another factor in Alvarez's thinking may be the five years in state prison he faces, though dragging the public and the court through the spectacle of a trial in a matter that he's pretty much stipulated to doesn't really set him up for leniency should he be convicted at trial.
Alvarez certainly makes an easy target. He might as well be wearing a "Hit Me" sign on his back. The Courier's publisher, Peter Weinberger, even got into the act, chiming in recently with an opinion piece last Saturday titled, "I don't know why they don't get it."
Weinberger compared Alvarez's refusal to step down from the Three Valleys board to Illinois' ex-Governor Rod Blagojevich hanging on to his office after public sentiment turned against him. Weinberger called on Alvarez to spare himself and everyone else by stepping down from the water board:
We understand people are innocent until proven guilty, but with the case of Water Board Member Xavier Alvarez, his actions not only reflect on him, but the Water Board in general. Unfortunately, all the Board members can do is let this play out before they get rid of him.
Mr. Alvarez, you need to resign. Do taxpayers a favor. You rarely say anything at the board meetings, which makes us think you’re simply there to collect $200. Pay the fine, cut a deal and begin the rest of your life. You’d be surprised at how things can turn around over time.
Alvarez was back in court yesterday for an arraignment hearing, as the Daily Bulletin reported. A trial was set for 8:30am on April 29th.
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