Calpeek cannot even finish writing up a peek before the Sacramento Bee unveils more messy information about Sacramento Councilmember Sean Loloee. Maybe it’s time for someone to make a chart that details all the current investigations he is facing. Most elected officials don’t face local, state, and federal investigations all at the same time.
Loloee cannot blame Sacramento’s unrelenting heat since some of his problems go back months, if not well over a decade. As Calpeek has previously discussed, he is currently being investigated by the city of Sacramento for not living where he is registered to vote, which, if true, makes him ineligible to serve on the Council from District 2. The city has also issued code violations at the home in which he claims to live.
Now the California Fair Political Practices Commission has opened an investigation to see if he failed to disclose rental income on his Statement of Economic Interest, which elected officials are required to file yearly. The Sacramento Bee has interviewed individuals who live at the home Loloee claims he also lives in. One of the individuals works for Loloee at one of his supermarkets and says that Loloee allows her and her family to stay in the house.
If the FPPC investigation shows that he has not disclosed the rental income, Calpeek wonders if the Internal Revenue Service and the Franchise Tax Board will investigate whether or not he has reported the income to them.
Despite all that, probably the most damning investigation is by the federal government. In April, the U.S. Department of Labor filed suit against Loloee alleging he threatened to deport his employees who cooperated with the feds. According to the Sacramento Bee, the suit says “…Loloee underpaid employees, employed minors in hazardous occupations, and interfered with multiple federal investigations spanning over a decade.” Federal investigations into Loloee’s business practices go back, at least, 13 years.
Loloee has denied many of the allegations, although he has paid fines and reimbursed his employees. However, the latest suit claims he threatened his employees unless they returned the money he had paid them as part of the settlement agreement with the Department of Labor.
Calpeek is thankful the Sacramento Bee continues to report on the mess and we will provide updates when they do.