The Anaheim Angels stadium saga continues to unravel with allegations of affordable housing law violations now leading to a federal investigation.
According to the O.C. Register, federal investigators are building a case against Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu over public corruption allegations. Officials allege Sidhu tried rushing the sale, violating affordable housing law, so he could get his reelection financed by the Angels
An affidavit filed in federal court says authorities are investigating whether Sidhu “shared privileged and confidential information with the Angels during stadium sale negotiations, actively concealed same from a Grand Jury inquiry, and expects to receive campaign contributions as a result.” According to the affidavit, the FBI also turned those closest to Sidhu into federal informants.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta has requested that an Orange County judge put on hold an the agreement between the city and the state that was intended to settle a dispute over whether Anaheim broke an affordable housing law with the stadium sale deal.
Just a few weeks earlier, the city of Anaheim had agreed to provide Angels owner Arte Moreno and his development company with $124 million in credits to include 466 units of affordable housing within a neighborhood to be built on the Angel Stadium parking lot.
To resolve the city’s violation of the state affordable housing law, the city, state and Moreno agreed to use $96 million of that money toward the construction of about 1,000 units of affordable housing elsewhere in the city of Anaheim.
A hearing is scheduled for Tuesday morning.