City Councilman Frank Quesada, 68, was voted out of office this past November along with Mayor Frank Aiello. Both men left under a storm of controversy for their alleged financial connections with Pittsburg developer Albert Seeno Jr., according to Contra Costa District Attorney Jim Sepulveda.
Quesada allegedly rented real estate from Seeno and owed him $10,000. That did not, however, stop Quesada from voting favorably on a series of Seeno projects after being re-elected to the council in 1993, Sepulveda says.
According to Contra Costa officials, Quesada allegedly supported appointment of Seeno allies to the Planning Commission, softening general plan hillside restrictions that affected the developer's land and making changes to the land-use designation of property Seeno wanted near the BART station that reduced its market price.
Quesada has retained Sacramento lawyer Steve Churchill, who met for the first time Wednesday with prosecutors to discuss the investigation.
Sepulveda declined to comment on the case but said it is likely that he will announce either criminal charges against Quesada or the results of a plea arrangement within a few weeks. Quesada, nor his lawyer, could not be reached for comment.
Aiello allegedly received an unusually favorable home mortgage from a Seeno business associate. But Sepulveda decided there was not enough evidence to prosecute Aiello for a felony and passed the case onto the California Fair Political Practices Commission.
"It was my conclusion, based on the investigation, that the failure to report was a lack of understanding and oversight rather than trying to hide something,'' Sepulveda says. "Those forms can be confusion and sometimes people can forget.''
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