Hawaiian Gardens Employee Uses Ties With Moskowitz Foundation to Influence City Council, Receive Special Treatment

Fred Licon’s profile picture on LinkedIn.

Hawaiian Gardens - Fred Licon, the City’s Senior Community Relations Officer, has for over a decade held both the H.G. City Council and the City’s management in the palm of his hand. As Community Relations Officer, Licon is in charge of the City’s force of Public Safety Officers and the liaison for the Sheriffs Department.

This undue influence stems from donations from the Irving Moskowitz Foundation, which is the foundation behind The Gardens Casino in Hawaiian Gardens. Licon used those donations (which were intended for charity) to fund political campaigns for the majority of the City Council, who in turn has offered him protection and special treatment. The most recent round of news about Licon’s sexual harassment allegations against employee Brianna Gonzalez is a symptom of the special treatment and protection he has been receiving.

Most recently, Licon was the ‘campaign manager’ for three candidates during the November 2020 election - Myra Maravilla, Victor Farfan, and Maria Teresa Del Rio. All three of them won their seats, thanks to Licon’s money and influence. A few weeks prior to the election, the international administration of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) found Licon guilty of misusing funds from the Moskowitz Foundation. While those funds were earmarked for charity, Licon used them to fund political campaigns. Although the international union did not use the words embezzlement or fraud, the actions spelled out in the proceedings clearly demonstrated that Licon’s misappropriation of funds were exactly that: embezzlement and fraud.

Joe Cabrera Zermeno, a City Council candidate in the last election, summed up Licon and his antics like this, “Fred sees himself as the ‘Kingpin’ of Hawaiian Gardens. He’s got the majority of the City Council under his thumb. And why wouldn’t they be under his thumb? He basically purchased them!  It’s the timeless story of American politics: you buy the politicians, and the return on investment is tenfold. Fred’s return on investment is basically a position of power within the City, protection, and immunity. And he gets to bully and harass whoever he wants, with very little repercussion.”

Licon’s corrupt practices, the numerous harassment claims, and multiple grievances from union members has cost H.G. tens of thousands of dollars, if not hundreds of thousands, in legal fees.

Rise to Power, Corruption

Code Enforcement Officer Fred Licon

Fred Licon is a shady and cavalier character, found guilty of embezzling union funds earmarked for charity, and throughout his tenure as an employee stands accused several times of harassment and sexual harassment.

In the 1990s, he worked hard as a low level petitioner to get the Gardens Casino in Hawaiian Gardens on the ballot, helping get signatures from petitions and campaigning for it during elections. This apparently put him in a good light in the eyes of the Moskowitz Foundation.

As his clout with the Foundation grew, and the casino grew, he started getting involved in his union leadership (AFSCME Local 3624), and eventually climbed the ranks to become President. It was in his capacity as union president that he began using his leverage with the Moskowitz Foundation to become what many employees call “The Sixth Councilmember.”

An interesting point to note - it is unclear whether the Moskowitz Foundation knows that the money it gave him through the years was used for political purposes. But seemingly without question, Licon would write a letter as either president of the union, or as a liaison, requesting $10,000 from the Foundation; and the Foundation would award it under the pretense that it would be used for charity. With this annual chunk of change, Licon used it to wield political power.

Licon essentially ‘purchased’ the majority of the City Council, and with the City Council’s gratitude, he received special treatment and protection. All this, even after he was deposed as the union president.

For years, he has gotten away with a myriad of harassment claims, including sexual harassment towards female staff and employees.

The Sixth Councilmember

“The root of my problem is Fred Licon,” said Linda Suniga, an accountant in the City’s Finance Department.

Linda Suniga used to be an Administrative Analyst in the same department that Licon was in - Public Safety. Licon was a supervisor in that department. After turning down numerous sexual advances, Licon allegedly ‘suggested’ to the City Council to eliminate Suniga’s position. In turn, the City made moves to eliminate the Administrative Analyst position.  As a union member, she had the right to ‘bump’ someone in a lower paid job description. ‘Bumping’ means that since her regular job was eliminated from the City, she could choose to fill a different position occupied by someone else. She bumped down to the accountant position, which was effectively a demotion,, and the person who previously occupied that position had to leave.

“This has been going on for several years,” said Suniga, “since the City Manager [Ernesto ‘Ernie’ Hernandez] came around.”

According to the Cerritos Community News, Hernandez has recently left Hawaiian Gardens for a City Manager position in Lynwood. H.G. is currently without this position filled and is currently under the direction of an Interim City Manager.

According to Suniga, when Ernie Hernandez first started his position a few years ago, he noticed the ‘sixth councilmember’ and was concerned about Licon’s influence over the Council. But one thing is true of all City Managers - if the majority of the City Council wants something, the City Manager better make sure it gets done their way. In the case of Hawaiian Gardens, the majority of the City Council was on the side of Licon. It didn’t take long until Hernandez too was giving Licon ‘special treatment’.

Under Hernandez, the special treatment became so blatant that Licon even had a taxpayer funded vehicle designated for his personal use to drive around, before and after working hours, and not just necessarily in the City of Hawaiian Gardens.  

This treatment is what gave rise to the nickname - The Sixth Councilmember.

Sexual Harassment Claims

Suniga is one of several Hawaiian Gardens employees who have alleged that Licon has sexually harassed them. For instance, when she came to work Licon would park and just stare at her as she walked into the building.  

Suniga explained that this information is now all public record, including her full name, and at this point she doesn’t mind her name being used.

Suniga used to work as an Administrative Analyst in the same department that Licon was in, the Public Safety Department. She worked closely with the LASD, and was essentially the City’s liaison to the sheriffs.

In the Public Safety Department on Carson Street, the married Licon would pressure women into going to lunch. If they refused, and rejected his advances, he would attempt to belittle the women and hurt their feelings. Suniga expounded, when she rejected his advances and said something critical about AFSCME Local 3624’s labor negotiations, he got mad at her. “He didn’t like being called out.” According to her, he got extremely upset and ‘visually’ angry at her.  Licon didn’t like being called out by a female employee.

Within that department alone, there were at least two other sexual harassment claims. According to Suniga, when the third person filed claims of sexual harassment against Licon, the investigators let him off without even interviewing the two others who had filed a claim previously.

Because of Suniga being outspoken against Licon, she alleged that Licon went to the City Council to remove her. Shortly afterwards, the City decided to add another sheriff deputy, and reduce her hours by 50 percent. Suniga went to the City Manager and asked if there was something she can do. The City Manager told her to contact the County for additional funding. She did so, and to her credit, she actually found the additional funding to keep her position.

“The next thing I know,” said Suniga, “the Council eliminated my position at 100 percent.”

“I believe it was punitive and retaliatory in nature,” said Suniga.

The Union Defends Its Own

Francisco Noyola is a former employee, former shop steward for the union, and a City Council candidate from the November 2020 election. Noyola said, “Licon thinks he’s untouchable because he’s never had any repercussions. His actions always benefited him and his allies on the City Council.”

In the beginning of 2019, the AFSCME International Union first suspended Licon and his loyalist cabinet members.  As the investigation began, he was eventually removed by AFSCME, and was forced from the presidency and informed he could never hold office in the AFSCME again.

“Even now, when he has no power in the union, he still is omnipresent and still involved in city politics,” said Noyola.

But Noyola interjected that he doesn’t think Licon’s influence can last much longer. “These most recent allegations and focus on Fred Licon might actually be the straw that broke the camel’s back,” said Noyola.

A lot of the media outlets have recently and incorrectly portrayed Licon’s power and immunity as coming from his role as union president. But the union stripped him of the title of union president years ago because of his embezzlement of union funds. Getting away from the various harassment claims, the special treatment he’s received, the vehicle that was designated for him and him alone to drive around as he pleases - those are the direct result of purchasing City Councilmembers, and using their influence to benefit himself.