 |
| Pearl Quinones (L) and Yolanda Salcido (R) / Photo: Christopher Martinez |
Agents of the San Diego County District
Attorney raided the homes of the former Southwestern College governing
board members Yolanda Salcido and Dr. Jorge Dominguez. Tuesday morning,
the latest in a series of law enforcement actions involving SWC and
Sweetwater Union High School District board members and administrators.
In December the DA raided the homes of seven educators and a
construction company executive. Five were charged with multiple felonies
including bribery, influencing public officials and perjury.
Dominguez said his Jamul home was searched at 8 a.m. and insisted he does not know why he was targeted.
“They’re coming to the end of their search
for evidence,” he said. “I think I’m just at the end of that trail. I
can’t blame people because they don’t know I’m innocent. They’re just
doing their job.”
A man who answered the door at Salcido’s
home refused to identify himself and said Salcido had nothing to say.
Salcido was president of the SWC board in 2010 when she lost a
re-election bid to Norma Hernandez.
SWC public relations consultant Sue Giller said the investigation is
in the hands of the District Attorney and is not under the college’s
jurisdiction.“The college has continued and is continuing to work with the District Attorney,” she said.“The governing board and college have cooperated and continue to cooperate with the DA’s office, but today’s actions specifically are under the DA’s office and not under our pervue. Any comments would have to come from the District Attorney.”
Dominguez served on the SWC board for four years before being voted out in 2010. He reported $4,000 from Seville Construction and said he did not believe there was anything sinister in the donation.
“I figured they wanted to support me like some other people in the community,” he said. “I would be stupid to turn down money when I was trying to win.”
Dominguez said he disliked working with Salcido, who was elected to the board in 2002, and that it was a relief when he lost the election to former Chula Vista Mayor Tim Nader.
“Being on that board was a very stressful time for me,” he said. “I had to deal with Yolanda Salcido once a month. I thought I had left all that behind me. I know I did my best as a board member. I just want to be done with this.”
SWC Superintendent Dr. Melinda Nish confirmed that the board is continuing to work wit the DA, but are not responsible for this latest development.
“This is not a result of our internal investigation,” she said.
Contributions by Alexis Dominguez, Thomas Baker, Enrique Leon
Story at the Sun.
No comments:
Post a Comment