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Go to PasadenaIndependent.com for Pasadena Specific News M O N D AY, O C T O B E R 5 - O C T O B E R 11, 2020
V O L U M E 24, N O. 40
San Gabriel Woman Faces Federal Charges of Running Sex Trafficking Operation
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federal grand jury today returned a superseding indictment that charges a San Gabriel Valley woman with sex trafficking five immigrant women by hiring them to work at massage parlors and forcing them to engage in commercial sex acts. Mei Xing, 59, a.k.a. “Xing Mei,” “Anna,” and “Boss,” of San Gabriel, is charged with five counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion. Xing previously
- Courtesy FBI
was indicted on June 12 on one count of sex trafficking, and today’s charging document adds four additional victims. According to the superseding indictment, from July 2016 to October 2018, Xing ran a sex trafficking operation that targeted immigrant women. An affidavit previously filed in this case alleges that Xing owned and operated several massage parlors in the San Gabriel Valley cities of El Monte and South El Monte.
The victims reported that Xing pressured them into performing commercial sex acts at the massage parlors, court papers state. Xing allegedly coerced victims by all manner of threats, including threating to report their prostitution to police, threatening to expose their immigration status, and implicitly threatening to have them murdered. Xing allegedly told the victims she could make good on her threats because of her relationships
CITY OF EL MONTE RESTRUCTURES PENSION OBLIGATIONS TO ENHANCE ITS BUDGETARY FLEXIBILITY
California Homeowners Hit by Wildfires Granted Tax Filing Deadline Extension
The City of El Monte closed on its $118 million Pension Obligation Bond (POBs) issue on June 23, 2020 to refinance and restructure its unfunded liability with CalPERS. On June 30, 2020, the City issued Lease Revenue Bonds (LRBs) to refinance and restructure the majority of its outstanding supplemental retirement fund liability with PARS. Both transactions secured interest rates significantly below those that were being previously paid – 3.82% vs. 7.00% on the POBs and 3.99% vs. 6.50% on the LRBs. The transactions were structured with City Council’s directive to increase the City’s funding ratio
State Controller Betty T. Yee announced that applications are being processed for property tax deferment for the 2020-21 tax year, and homeowners living in counties affected by wildfires will have extra time to file. California’s Property Tax Postponement (PTP) Program, administered by Controller Yee, allows homeowners who are seniors, are blind, or have a disability and who meet income, equity, and other requirements to postpone payment of property taxes on their primary residence. In the 2019-2020 tax year, California homeowners were able to postpone more than $4 million in
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with the government, the police, and the criminal underworld, according to court documents. Xing has been in federal custody since her arrest in this matter in April. She is expected to be arraigned on the superseding indictment in the coming weeks. A December 15 trial date previously was
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Man Charged in 2018 Hit-andRun Road Rage in Long Beach A man has been charged with a road rage incident that involved two other vehicles two years ago in Long Beach, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced Friday. Peter Mendoza was charged in case BA490035 with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of hit-and-run driving resulting in an injury to another person. The case was filed for warrant on September 17.Deputy District Attorney Kaveh Faturechi of the Justice System Integrity Division is prosecuting the case. On Oct. 22, 2018, the defendant, a Downey police officer at the time who was off-duty, was driving his truck in the Lakewood area where he allegedly struck a car carrying two people on a freeway onramp.