How Hermandad changed from an effective champion of immigrant rights to an embattled, feuding group is a tale of fervent idealism hindered by politics, internal and external. They are going to have to show how they spent their money.” “Los Angeles is going to have to be responsible the very same way. “We are going to be responsible for the money we received,” Lopez said. But where once the group put forward a united front, today the two camps fall short of vouching for each other. The state Education Department also is facing potentially costly lawsuits from former and demoted employees who say the agency ignored their warnings about problems in the English and citizenship class programs.įor their part, Casillas and Lopez insist that their respective offices in Los Angeles and Orange County properly accounted for their expenditures. The state Department of Education ceased funding the groups that year, and has been trying to recover the money since then.įederal officials would not comment on the continuing probes. Department of Education’s inspector general in 1998 for their handling of millions in federal grants. Templo and Hermandad were among 10 community organizations that came under scrutiny from the FBI and the U.S. On Friday, the agency sent a letter to Hermandad saying it now will consider legal action against the group, Stone said. “Unless they can prove otherwise, we expect the state to be reimbursed for the money.” ![]() “Until we get complete documentation that corroborates Hermandad’s position, this is still a serious matter,” said Doug Stone, a spokesman for the department, which itself is under investigation by the federal government over the management of the funds. Hermandad officials have long maintained that the funds were properly accounted for. The department claims the group cannot account for how it spent the money, meant for English as a second language and citizenship classes, and wants it back. The internal splintering also comes at a crucial period in its history, as the group continues to be locked in a three-year-old dispute with the state Department of Education over more than $4 million in adult education funds. Two small groups is not as strong as one big one.” And other members may have other ideas, and the family fights,” said Enriqueta Ramos, a Rancho Santiago Community College District board member in Santa Ana, and a friend of Corona. ![]() “When the father dies, the son feels he has the right to the position. Some Latino community leaders in Southern California say Hermandad’s struggle cannot help but erode the organization’s effectiveness. ![]() He wants to be a substitute Bert Corona.” “Nativo has no business saying anything about how we run Los Angeles. “My position is that we should maintain things at the local level. The 1997 tax filing listed Corona, Lopez, Casillas and Corona’s daughter as officers. The organization’s 1998 tax documents, filed in late 1999 or early in 2000 and the latest available, listed Corona and Casillas as the sole officers, which she says was Corona’s choice.
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