Brawl Began Over Political Boss Charged with Rape Threats

Assemblyman Mervyn Dymally's fight with his fellow lawmaker, Assemblyman Hector De La Torre, is rooted in a longstanding feud over a South Gate political boss now in jail for embezzling millions. Four years ago, Dymally intervened to defend the corrupt official while De La Torre was trying to clean up South Gate's political cesspool.

This month, De La Torre is leading an Assembly Rules Committee investigation into whether Dymally improperly ordered and distributed fake official-looking badges to relatives and campaign contributors. In turn, Dymally has called De La Torre "the most racist legislator I have encountered in over 40 years."

In 2002, Dymally and De La Torre took separate sides when then-South Gate treasurer Albert Robles, in photo, was charged with threatening to rape then-state Sen. Martha Escutia (D-Whittier) and shoot her husband, political consultant Leo Briones. Robles, the self-described "King of South Gate," also allegedly threatened to kidnap then-Assemblyman Marco Firebaugh (D-Los Angeles), drive him to Tijuana and shoot him in the head. Firebaugh died in March 2006 of liver failure.

Dymally testified on behalf of Robles, in an attempt by the defense to portray southeast Los Angeles County as a down-and-dirty place where profane language and threats are part of the everyday conversation. "You keep on trucking," Dymally told the L.A. Times during the trial, shrugging off the outrageous language. A judge dismissed the seven felony charges against Robles after a jury deadlocked on all counts.

In an interview, De La Torre said he holds no animosity toward Dymally. "I don't think I ever met Merv before I came to Sacramento," he said. "I've always been respectful of him. We're not buddies, but I've never been hostile to him." As for the 2002 trial where Dymally defended Robles, De La Torre said: "My whole community was upset. That trial was very closely watched."

De La Torre, a former South Gate city councilman, had frequent fights with Robles, however. He organized opposition against Robles among recent Latino immigrants, off-duty cops and white senior citizens. In one meeting, Robles called De La Torre a "narizon," Spanish slang for someone with a big nose. And so on. When city clerk Carmen Avalos complained about the astonishing corruption in South Gate - such as lucrative city contracts handed out to friends and relatives - the city council cut her pay to $600 a month and took away her staff.

In 2003, South Gate residents voted overwhelmingly to oust Robles and his political allies, Mayor Xochitl Ruvalcaba, Vice Mayor Raul Moriel, and city councilmember Maria Benavides. De La Torre backed the effort. This year, a judge sentenced Robles to a decade in federal prison for plundering more than $20 million from the city. De La Torre told the Times that Robles "brought the city to its knees," but the sentencing "stopped the car just before it headed over the cliff."

(Photo: Wally Skalij / AP)