As fires rage through Southern California and exacerbate the state’s insurance crisis, the California Senate has no one in charge of its Insurance Committee due to questions surrounding a federal corruption investigation.

Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire said he is waiting to hear from federal prosecutors about Sen. Susan Rubio, who’s been questioned in a federal corruption probe, before making a decision about reappointing her to her previous position as chair of the Senate Insurance Committee.

“We have requested and are awaiting additional information from the U.S. Attorney’s Office before finalizing any decisions,” McGuire’s office told CalMatters in an email.

Rubio, a Democrat from Baldwin Park, said she’s “currently not involved” in the federal corruption investigation that has already ensnared a handful of other officials in San Bernardino County, Compton, Commerce, and Baldwin Park.

Rubio Isn’t Identified by Name

Federal officials have not identified Rubio by name in the case. However, there is nobody else matching the description of “Person 20,” who is accused in recently released federal court documents of asking for $240,000 in bribes from a cannabis company and accepting $30,000 in illegal campaign contributions. The allegations stem from when Rubio was a member of the Baldwin Park City Council.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles is overseeing the case. A spokesperson declined to comment about who Person 20 is or say when – or if – charges would be filed against them.

Experts in federal corruption cases suggest that McGuire is right to be concerned.

At CalMatters’ request, three former federal prosecutors reviewed the court documents.

The prosecutors — one of them a former U.S. Attorney — said there’s no way the U.S. Department of Justice would make public that much identifying information about a suspect in a corruption investigation if they didn’t think they could convince a jury of his or her guilt.

“If federal prosecutors are putting that level of detail — especially in a public corruption matter — into a public-facing document, they are fairly confident that information is 120% correct,” said Carrie H. Cohen, a former assistant U.S. Attorney in New York and former chief of the public integrity bureau at the New York State Attorney General’s Office.

Mark D. Chutkow, the former chief of the U.S. Attorney’s public corruption unit and criminal division in Detroit, said “it would appear that there is more due to drop in this case.”

Chutkow said when it comes to public corruption cases, federal prosecutors typically have their sights on the “highest-ranking public officials and not necessarily on … middle persons and the bribers themselves.”

“This Person No. 20 would be a higher-ranking (official) and the more important target of the federal investigation,” he said. “So one would think that they would want to finish the job.”

Rubio Declines Interview

Last week, Rubio declined to be interviewed by a CalMatters reporter as she departed the Senate after the first floor session of the new year. Instead, her office responded with an emailed statement.

“It’s unfortunate that Senator Rubio continues to receive questions based on a case that she is currently not involved with,” her spokesperson, Matthew Z’berg, said in an email. “Senator Rubio’s focus is on serving the constituents of the 22nd Senate District and addressing important issues affecting California families.”

Rubio did respond to Senate Pro Tem McGuire’s decision not to give her a committee leadership post when he recently announced his assignments for the two-year session that kicked off last Monday.

Last session, Rubio chaired the Senate Insurance Committee. The post was listed as a “vacancy” on McGuire’s list.

Z’berg said that Rubio told McGuire she wasn’t interested in being the insurance committee chair any more. She “encouraged (McGuire) to appoint a new chair to be announced with all other assignments.

“She also conveyed to him that by leaving the position open, he would be feeding into false narratives and speculation,” Z’berg said.

Rubio also took a thinly-veiled shot at McGuire, suggesting that he’s playing politics by leaving the seat vacant due to speculation McGuire is eying a run for California Insurance Commissioner when he terms out in 2026.

“Insurance issues affecting consumers across the state are of particular interest to him,” the statement read. “It is a critical issue that he has been very vocal about in the past, and will likely continue to do so.”

In a statement emailed Friday, McGuire said “we’ve been leading on consumer-focused insurance reform for years — it’s personal for me because of the wildfires that have devastated the communities I represent. And this year will be no different.

“The Southern California fires make it all the more clear how critical this issue is. Any premise that any legislation would be delayed is unequivocally BS,” he said. “A committee has been formed and we will name an insurance chair in the very near future.”

The Insurance Committee is not scheduled to meet until March. Bills need to be in print for at least 30 days before legislators can act on them, so any new insurance-related legislation introduced this week wouldn’t be heard until at least February.

Is Sen. Rubio ‘Person 20’?

The recently released federal documents are a plea agreement signed by former Baldwin Park City Attorney Robert Tafoya. Federal officials released the agreement late last year. In the agreement, Tafoya says he helped facilitate bribes to local officials from companies seeking marijuana permits.

The Los Angeles Times was the first news outlet to report that Rubio matched the description of “Person 20.” The plea agreement describes Person 20 as a public official, in a position to be able to fire the city attorney, who won a primary for state office in 2018. No other local officials match the description.

The plea agreement says Person 20 sought $240,000 from a marijuana company seeking a city permit, but the company refused to pay that much so the deal fell through. Person 20 also sought and received $30,000 from Tafoya in a scheme to drum up support for Person 20’s 2018 state campaign, the documents say. Tafoya said he agreed to pay Person 20, in exchange for assurance he’d keep his city job and get state work from Person 20 after the election, according to his plea agreement.

Tafoya admitted to federal tax evasion and bribery charges in 2023, but prosecutors kept the plea agreement secret until last month since Tafoya had agreed to participate in the ongoing investigation.

“I have no idea who Person 20 is, but I am completely confident that the U.S. Attorney’s Office would not include these declaratory statements about Person 20’s actions unless they were very confident they could prove the truth of those statements in a court of law,” said McGregor Scott, a twice-appointed former U.S. Attorney based in Sacramento.

Rubio has not directly answered whether she’s “Person 20.” She told the LA Times in a statement that she “volunteered hours of her time” aiding the authorities in their investigation and that she “has no reason to believe that she would be included in any criminal allegations.”

Senate Reviewing Ethics Complaint

Bill Essayli, a Republican Assembly member from Corona, requested the Assembly and Senate ethics committees to take up investigations after the LA Times report last month.

Essayli spent about four years as a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office that unsealed Tafoya’s plea agreement.

Essayli said he has no first-hand knowledge about this case since he left that job in 2018, but he said the allegations outlined in the plea agreement are troubling enough for the Legislature to act on its own without waiting for prosecutors. His ethics complaint also doesn’t identify Rubio by name.

“When the Biden DOJ actually makes specific allegations like that against a sitting legislator, I don’t think we can wait as a public body for that investigation to play out – criminal investigations can take years to develop,” Essayli told CalMatters. “Meanwhile, this individual is still sitting in office. They still wield power in the name of the public, and they could be engaged in the same activity.”

Erin V. Peth, the chief counsel for the Senate Ethics Committee, told CalMatters Essayli’s complaint is under review, but provided no other details.

No woman California legislator has ever been indicted on public corruption charges while in office. Several male Assemblymembers and senators have been charged with such crimes over the years.

Previous State Senate Corruption Scandals

In 2010, state charges were filed against Los Angeles County Democratic Sen. Roderick Wright for voter fraud, perjury and other crimes stemming from him lying about actually living in his district. Then-Gov. Jerry Brown later pardoned Wright.

In 2016, a federal judge sentenced San Francisco’s Democratic Sen. Leland Yee to five years in prison for doing political favors in exchange for campaign cash.

Also in 2016, a federal judge sentenced Sen. Ron Calderon of Montebello to 42 months in federal prison for receiving over $150,000 in bribes. His brother, Assemblymember Tom Calderon, was sentenced to a year in prison for laundering his brother’s bribe money.

Following the Yee and Calderon indictments, voters in 2016 approved Proposition 50, which gives legislators the authority to suspend a disgraced colleague without pay. Doing so requires a two-thirds vote of the lawmaker’s chamber.

About the Author

Ryan Sabalow is a Digital Democracy reporter for CalMatters. A graduate of Chico State University, he began his career covering local news for the Auburn Journal in Placer County and The Record Searchlight in Redding.

About CalMatters

CalMatters is a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom committed to explaining California policy and politics.