Ex-union accountant asks judge to toss suit over secret recording scandal

LOS ANGELES (CN) — A former union accountant wants a judge to dismiss a lawsuit ex-City Councilman Gil Cedillo filed against him and his wife over a surreptitiously recorded meeting in which profane and offensive remarks were made. Audio of the meeting was later released on the internet, causing a firestorm that upended City Hall, leading the City Council president to resign and many to call for sweeping reform to the 15-member legislative body.

The now-infamous meeting occurred in 2021 at the office of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, a powerful union umbrella group, and included Cedillo, federation head Ron Herrera, City Councilman Kevin de León and City Council President Nury Martinez.

The main topic of the discussion was redistricting, the once-a-decade process in which council district lines are drawn. In the 80-minute audio clip, the four Latino politicians can be heard speaking cynically and crassly about defending their political turf from their enemies — namely, from Black and white politicians.

“It’s the white members on this council that will motherfuck you in a heartbeat,” Martinez said.

“The white folks will cut you in a heartbeat,” de León agreed.

Referring to then-District Attorney George Gascón, Martinez said, “Fuck that guy. He’s with the Blacks.”

Martinez called Mike Bonin, then a progressive councilman who is white and gay with an adopted Black son, a “little bitch.” She mocked his parenting style, saying, “They’re raising him like a little white kid,” and referred to the son in Spanish as “parece changuito,” or “like a monkey.”

Cedillo, who was in his final four-year term as a councilman, said nothing offensive on the call.

Nearly a year after the meeting, the audio appeared on Reddit and Twitter, and the ensuing firestorm pressured Martinez and Herrera into resigning. De León and Cedillo resisted, though de León lost his reelection battle.

Police, investigating what appeared to be an illegal recording, traced the posts to the same email account — [email protected] — which was then traced to an IP address at the home of Santos Leon and Karla Vasquez, a married couple who both worked for the LA County Federation of Labor. However, investigators found little evidence linking the two to the actual recording.

“The evidence indicates that a crime was committed by one or both of these individuals,” prosecutors wrote in a memo explaining the decision not to file charges against Leon and Vasquez. “However, it is unclear how the unlawful recordings took place, the device used to do so, or who uploaded the recordings online and created the anonymous accounts on Reddit, Twitter, and Gmail. Neither suspect was willing to provide a statement, and each is represented by separate counsel.”

The case then went to the city attorney, who could have charged the suspects with misdemeanors but also declined.

Leon and Vasquez have denied recording the meeting or posting the audio on Reddit. They say their computer, which they kept at their house, belonged to the County Fed and that other union employees could access it remotely at any time.

Both Cedillo and de León sued Leon and Vasquez, who are now separated. Leon and Vasquez filed anti-SLAPP motions, a legal maneuver to quickly dismiss a lawsuit designed to chill free speech or discourage public participation. Those motions were denied. De León filed an appeal, which is currently pending.

On Thursday, a Superior Court judge heard arguments in Leon’s anti-SLAPP motion in Cedillo’s case. Leon’s attorney, William Bloch, argued that while the recording was illegal, posting the audio to Reddit was First Amendment-protected activity. And while his client didn’t have anything to do with either act, he still deserved anti-SLAPP protection.

If successful, the suit would not only be dismissed, but Cedillo would have to pay for Leon’s attorney’s fees.

Superior Court Judge Virginia Keeny agreed that the Reddit post was “pretty clearly protected activity.” She also cast doubt on the key evidence Cedillo’s claims were based on — the district attorney memo that offered a rough sketch of the police investigation.

“On first blush, it does appear to have hearsay issues,” she told Cedillo’s lawyer, Alexandra Kazarian. “How your evidence is sufficient?”

Kazarian said that was besides the point. The essence of the complaint, she said, was the recording — which was, after all, illegal.

“Illegal conduct, as a matter of law, cannot be protected by anti-SLAPP,” Kazarian said.

Kazarian also pointed out that a different judge had rejected the anti-SLAPP motions filed in de León’s case, but Keeny said that didn’t create precedent and she couldn’t consider it.

The judge took the case under submission. She did not say when she would issue a ruling.

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