EXCLUSIVE: The Caruso Connection - The LA Fed Tapes and USC's Influence in a Bad City

[ellisonz]

Last edited Wed Jul 12, 2023, 07:37 PM - Edit history (1)

Hello Democratic Underground,

Greetings! It's been far too long, considering how far DU has taken me in life. I've come off the bench though and share the following gem, which provides breakthrough original reporting and analysis on the LA Fed tapes connecting both the redistricting recording, and the written text on Reddit back to the same person within USC. Don't be surprised, it was Rick Caruso!

Cheers,

Zach

November 21, 2022
By Zachary Ellison
Substack
15 hr ago

The recordings leaked on October 9, 2022, from inside the LA Fed, formally known as the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, represent what others have often termed, an apparent October Surprise. In the midst of a contentious election season in the City of Los Angeles, what the late Mike Davis famously titled as a City of Quartz (1990) for its palace intrigues, these recordings have shocked LA and made international headlines for its captured ugliness, exposing hidden pervasive racism.

Substack: https://zacharyellison.substack.com/p/exclusive-the-caruso-connection-the
Twitter:

Link to tweet

?s=20&t=cpHDwtGBScsE0kjWHrNrUg

[DBoon]

1. I suspected tha tapes and their release was a Republican hit job

and it shows Caruso's intent was to destroy the power organized labor has in local politics

[ellisonz]

3. Totally - I'm a former USC employee so I know them very well.

They also know that I'm exposing this scheme. This is the craziest story and I'm just starting to chuckle over here because it's been a crazy last few months. Please share, we are going to start turning the tide back on Rick Caruso, and then hopefully Donald Trump will fall too. I've got him on the tape, I've got him in the writing, and I have strong demonstrable proof of motive. Scoop!

Thanks Dboon! You were right!

[ellisonz]

23. x 1,000,000

Rick Caruso is a real estate developer who only cares about money and power. He spent $100 million dollars on ads to try and buy the election, and when they were afraid that wouldn't work, they deployed the October Surprise. He still lost.

for Caruso!

Anyone who doesn't understand who Rick Caruso is and what he's capable of needs to read the following from former LAPD Chief Bernard Parks and the Daily Trojan from when he lost his temper and said racist shit:

(1) Bernard Parks: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RBKFOpcCqFEf1tjWpktRP6TH-RF5tgoa/view
(2) Ming Hsieh:https://www.uscannenbergmedia.com/2019/01/17/usc-trustee-responds-to-his-removal-from-controversial-board-meeting/

These are the facts about who Rick Caruso is, how he operates, and how he lashes out in racist ways from two other highly credible, totally separate sources.

[ellisonz]

2. Follow-up: This is getting really crazy! RE: JFK

So today is the 59th anniversary and USC's Sam Garrison is one of 5 children of famed JFK writer Jim Garrison:

By J.Y. SmithOctober 22, 1992
Jim Garrison, 71, a former New Orleans district attorney and Louisiana state judge whose theories on the assassination of President Kennedy were the basis of the controversial movie "JFK," died Oct. 21 at his home in New Orleans.

The cause of death was not reported, but news agencies said Mr. Garrison had heart ailments. He had been in declining health for the past year.

Link:https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1992/10/22/la-judge-jim-garrison-dies/77b9c2c4-63d7-453f-9624-84a26bc87427/

[Just A Box Of Rain]

4. Sounds like a lot of speculative conspiracy theorism to me.

And it doesn't help that the author calls the release of this tape--which has been painful to Democrats, but did expose some serious racial animus and bad dealings by sitting LA Councilmembers--"stochastic act of political terrorism."

Better to sweep it under the rug when Martinez, for example refers to Mike Bonin's adopted black son as a "monkey," or when she slurred indigenous Oaxaqueños as short, brown and “tan feos” (or “so ugly”)?

The problem rests in these attitudes and not in their exposure to the light of day.

[ellisonz]

5. I've vetted this with other journalists prior to publication.

What's actually happening is they have succeed in distracting everyone with the shocking contents while trying to make a political move for Latino voters. I didn't quite get into that because of length, but I'll be having follow-up coverage. Appreciate the comment. I actually know these people up close, including Rick and Sam and have personally observed their behavior for years. What's on the tape is ugly, and I don't agree with it, but it's a political hitjob as Dboon above noted. Someone recorded those conversations, someone leaked those tapes right before an election, and the terror, chaos emotional pain they inflicted has in many ways been upon random communities - and has created suspicion forcing one resignation, with two more needed.

Who do you think is behind the recording and the leaks?

[Just A Box Of Rain]

7. Is it a good thing that these rancid comments came to light,

or do you agree with the author that this was a "stochastic act of political terrorism?"

I'm not going to engage in speculation about who released tape, as I don't see any compelling evidence about who released it and I'm not one to engage in baseless speculation.

[ellisonz]

8. Lol. I'm the author!

This is why y'all are getting fooled by Caruso.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

9. I have not "been fooled" by Rick Caruso.

I and everyone in my family voted for Karen Bass.

More baseless speculation on your part.

Listening to that tape (I listened to the whole thing) and then reading the annotated transcript was painful for me as an LA native, but it did expose some serious issues on the City Council.

[ellisonz]

12. You're making me laugh!

The most important section of the tape is minutes 8-15 and the giveaway is 13:44. Take another close listen to just before and after that section when Kevin starts speaking and then Nury responds. It's not baseless when you link someone to a recording in a clearly suspicious way, tie them closely to the written part of the leak, and then have a whole lot corroborating material.

Here's prior reporting on this from Knock LA:

Link to tweet

?s=20&t=IOVuYsHr-8k3IaRmcCPnZQ - I'm the source on that story too.

Again, this is how Rick con's people just as Karen said, over and over, he's a con man. So you're telling me a con-man wouldn't try and have his right-hand man, the son of a JFK conspiracy theorist influence an election, I'd like to hear who you think did it?

[Just A Box Of Rain]

14. You accuse me of "being fooled by Rick Caruso" and I'm the one who is making you laugh?

You need to do better than this.

[ellisonz]

15. He's fooled just about everyone! That's what he does! Have you watched Caruso? He's like Trump.

I'm standing by my piece. LA City Council, LAPD, and the LAT need to do better than this. I've presented an impressive feat of journalism, an original investigation based on sources in collaboration with other journalists. It's written to be compelling reading and because well, it's a very complex story. Who do you think made and leaked the recording?

[Just A Box Of Rain]

17. Caruso has not fooled me, even if you keep trying to imply otherwise.

I'm a strong supporter of Karen Bass.

I've already said that I don't know who leaked the tape--nor do you--and one of us isn't going to engage in baseless speculations w/o evidence.

[ellisonz]

19. Caruso has fooled everyone.

Here's my evidence re-copied from below, that I can share without violating privacy potential or burning sources or potential sources of new information on this case:

(1) - On the tape - you can listen to it here: 13:44 - it's the pivotal moment for Kevin De Leon: [link:&t=478s|
(2) In the Reddit post - you can view it here, this section is the giveaway: "- Martin Ludlow gets multiple contracts with the LA fed. Remember him? He and Miguel Contreras were investigated for fraud and Contreras would have gone to jail if he didn't die first."

[link:https://www.reddit.com/user/Honest-Finding-1581/comments/xirs3o/la_county_federation_of_labor_scam/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3|
(3) His father wrote the book on JFK's assassination and he is Rick Caruso's most trusted associate: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2022/11/21/how-to-observe-the-59th-anniversary-of-jfks-assassination-in-dallas/

I'm not unsupportive of Karen Bass. I just know Rick better than anyone in LA willing to speak out. So we're at that moment and I'm hoping to get this picked-up by other outlets. But I want DU to know the truth about these people!

[Sympthsical]

6. Yeah, this take is completely insane

People are painting the release as a bad thing? It exposed a lot of racist dirty dealing in the council.

I read the annotated transcript with my coffee this morning, and it is breath-taking. Not only how they speak, but what they speak about, and how they regard themselves and power.

It deserved daylight. And now people want to paint it as a bad thing out of pure partisanship?

That's what's wrong with our politics right there.

[ellisonz]

10. I didn't paint it as a bad thing exactly. That's not the argument.

I painted it as politically motivated to benefit one person, Rick Caruso to win the election. I'm not for racism, but I'm against election interference too. Is it insane to think the Russian tried to meddle in the 2016 presidential election? Why would it be insane to think this is meddling too? Anyone who understands USC knows how much they like to win and how much influence they exert in the City of LA. I know these people personally, including Rick, how they operate, how to investigate, how to write it up so I don't get sued, and I'm blowing the lid off this conspiracy.

(1) - On the tape - you can listen to it here: 13:44 - it's the pivotal moment for Kevin De Leon: [link:

&t=478s|
(2) In the Reddit post - you can view it here, this section is the giveaway: [link:https://www.reddit.com/user/Honest-Finding-1581/comments/xirs3o/la_county_federation_of_labor_scam/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3|
(3) His father wrote the book on JFK's assassination and he is Rick Caruso's most trusted associate: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2022/11/21/how-to-observe-the-59th-anniversary-of-jfks-assassination-in-dallas/

It's funny because, here I am, someone with tons of post, a legitimate whistleblower, bringing the truth to light, and people still don't believe it. If this isn't true, who do you think is behind the leak or do you not care?

[Sympthsical]

11. I honestly do not care

People are focused on the wrong thing here.

Election interference? We've had October surprises forever.

It's just running partisan cover for what was a really horrific little episode by people entrusted with power. Hell, I want more tapes like these from every city council and backroom legislative meeting. I bet we'd all learn quite a lot.

Trying to paint distraction in shades of nobility is some weak water color, IMO.

[ellisonz]

13. Wait so it's normal for us to have illegal wiretapping as part of an election?

They are playing off the cynicism. I've personally met both Rick Caruso and Sam Garrison, I worked there for 7 years, you can Google my name. No one said the nobles are good. I'm simply casting it to be like the French Revolution if that makes sense, and using the Dicken's quote to illustrate just how the rich and powerful deceive the population with such noise. That's poignant!

[Sympthsical]

16. As a fan of Dickens

A Tale of Two Cities being in my top three books precisely because I read it often when learning to write, this - "stochastic act of political terrorism" is a lot. And it's intended to be a lot and betrays your position and your purpose.

Now, in all fairness, I read through your article twice to ensure I'm giving it a fair shake.

It is highly, highly speculative. You string together some associations, do a lot of scrying into minor mentions or "tone" of what is written and said, and draw lines between dots without any underlying evidence of such.

It is literally almost all speculation, with language slowly reinforcing that said speculation is actually fact as the article reaches the close.

There's a media personality - much loved here, less so by me - who does this frequently. Throw associations into the air, pick a few, connect some dots, and the viewers are intended to take the speculation away as fact-based truth. Even though it is largely fabricated and lives in the implications rather than the facts.

Maybe it was Garrison and Caruso. Maybe not. You haven't done anything to begin proving it. No one who saw a year old recording come out in the October before the election didn't think it was politically-motivated. That much was obvious. If it was Caruso, this will be everyone's surprised face.

But so what if it was? I couldn't possibly care less if it was. Those council members deserved their seats be burned to the ground. Remember, this is just what they said that one time. What else were they saying and doing? One can only imagine given the lackadaisical way they conducted themselves there. They just sat there and assumed everyone else present was as shitty as they were.

And the thing is, they certainly weren't wrong.

[ellisonz]

18. So you're saying they deserved to "have their seats burned to the ground" but that isn't...

a "stochastic act of political terrorism" - really? He set their houses on fire to get them out of political power. That's my point. Classic real estate developer move. Everyone knows Rick has wanted to be Mayor for decades. If you don't think he's capable of something like this I would suggest reading Bernard Parks formal letter against him where he repeatedly describes how he would like to drive Rick Caruso from public life: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RBKFOpcCqFEf1tjWpktRP6TH-RF5tgoa/view

I've spoken with Melina Abdullah about this, with other journalists, with USC, and I worked for them for 7 years, and I know exactly what they do and how they do it. With all due respect, you're making my point. He inflamed tensions to take out his political enemies and capitalize on the moment. I'm giving you the truth, after a month of chaos, or as close as I can get to it without pulling the bug out of Jamie McBride's gym bag. I'm making a really profound argument here about what has happened, you can either argue that I haven't proved it, or you can start reviewing the evidence I provided above that supports my case.

"If it was Caruso, this will be everyone's surprised face." - Surprise - if you can't tell, I've been working this for a month +.

Welcome to the Truth or as close as they're gonna let you get to it. Cheers, Zach.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

21. A month+ of work and all you have to offer is speculation that you can't back up with evidence.

And when questioned, you suggest that supporters of Bass are somehow dupes of Rick Caruso.

Altogether, not a good look.

[ellisonz]

22. I didn't say that "supporters of Bass are somehow dupes of Rick Caruso"

Show me where said that? This is why I miss DU. I said that Rick Caruso duped almost everyone. He did not dupe me, because well I know him, and I know the people I'm writing about, personally. You are taking this out of context, ignoring my writing, the evidence posted above from the tape and writing w/notes, and the strong personal motive established. This is actually helpful!

[Just A Box Of Rain]

24. You said: "Caruso has fooled everyone."

See Post #19 above for self-verification purposes.

You may wish to review what you write and what you claim to have stated or not stated.

I'd rank the article as unproven conjecture and speculations, which actually isn't helpful.

[ellisonz]

25. You're taking me totally out of context there!

It's true, did you know any of the material in my article, particularly about Garrison/Ludlow until you read my piece or no?

No right? Because no one else has reported these facts, except for the audio ID which was reported by Jonny Peltz of Knock LA who has a lot more bylines than I do, I was his source:

Link to tweet

?s=20&t=cpHDwtGBScsE0kjWHrNrUg

I know it's a crazy story, that's why I wrote it in literary terms, to make more sense to the average reader, plus we're gonna need more investigation. There's quite a lot more I need to write-up. It's gonna be funny if this blows up on the news soon, I'm working to place the story, but because our City Hall has descended into chaos. Trust me the Los Angeles Police Protective League who have the capacity to do this, made their voice loud and clear during the election with millions of dollars in hateful ads.

I'm a real whistleblower, an activist, and a journalist. I'm good at investigations! Google me! My name is Zachary Ellison, I was Barack Obama's one-millionth donor. Listen to the tape, 13:44 again and two minutes before and after is my suggestion. I note that I have more than 27,000 posts on DU and have been a member since 2005, so I'm not some troll. You're getting the truth!

Sam is on the tape speaking with Kevin De Leon beforehand, that means he's one of the few people who would have had any idea the meeting was taking place, set to start at the right moment:

&t=823s

It's like, you mean to tell me, the son of the most famous conspiracy theorist on JFK, who is closely associated with Rick Caruso, wouldn't cook something up like this? I even tied it to a grudge against his former employer for getting convicted of a crime. I'm not going to get the LAPPL to hand over the bug, but I just read the fingerprints on the actual evidence. It's like bomb-making as a reference, think about how they analyze for clues that show who, how, and sometimes even why someone made it that way.

That's all I've done. That I'm not a media mogul, or a talking head seems to throw people off. But trust me, when this goes inside USC no one there is going to doubt it all. We've known Rick was like this for years! I'm just the only one to connect the dots yet. So consider yourself honored to not only get the story, but to have me going back and forth with you over the facts of the case.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

26. Not out of context in the slightest.

It was the second time you made the accusation, the first being when you said. "This is why y'all are getting fooled by Caruso," when questioned about your lack of evidence.

You insult people and then expect them to "feel honored?"

[ellisonz]

27. OMG just admit it - you took it the wrong way.

I provided 3 solid pieces of evidence. The recording at 13:44, the reference to Ludlow in the Reddit post, "remember him", and Garrison's close association with Caruso/the timing of the piece and his background in politics. So???

[Just A Box Of Rain]

28. The only evidence here is that you've falsely claimed "everyone" has been fooled by Caruso

and instead of owning up to it, you double-down with insults.

All this, and you have nothing but unsubstantiated accusations.

Good luck with this nonsense.

[ellisonz]

29. One question:

If you're gonna misquote me, doubt me, and say it's nonsense then answer that one question. Did you listen to the part of the recording? Yes, or no? If not, how would you know that I'm incorrect?

Here's the tape again:

&t=823s

[Just A Box Of Rain]

20. Well said and well-reasoned.

Thank you.

[ellisonz]

30. Kicking this back up

There seem to be some skeptics here, but I expected that, so I've posted my notes on the investigation and additional sourcing on my Twitter for open public viewing: https://twitter.com/ZacharyObama

If you don't believe billionaire Rick Caruso, you might want to take a look at this!

[ellisonz]

31. Good morning DU! Kicking this exclusive story back up!

I am working diligently with other reporters to bring you additional details and reporting in the LA area. This is the story though that has not been reported and if you find any unfactual statements other than commentary that frames the story I welcome you to it. In fact, until Monday the LA Times had not reported a single thing on USC being involved in the tape despite nearly 8 minutes of recording directly relating to USC. The LAT is under the ownership of Patrick Soon-Shiong who is associated with with Rick Caruso, former Chair of the USC Board of Trustees, and failed October Surprised backed LA Mayoral candidate.

Please enjoy! Story:https://open.substack.com/pub/zacharyellison/p/exclusive-the-caruso-connection-the?r=1symt8&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Continuing coverage on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ZacharyObama

[Just A Box Of Rain]

32. The LA Times endorsed Karen Bass.

Nothing you are writing is supported by the evidence.

[ellisonz]

33. Lol what? - I tied him directly to the tape and to the written statement?

That's the whole point. I've posted this repeatedly including the specific time 13:44 at which Sam Garrison appears right after Kevin De Leon says he knows how the LA Times is when they get a "bug up their ass." And you still doubt my story. OMG who do you think I am? To be honest, it's almost funny because I've risked my career at great personal expense and cost to get this type of information out into the public and you still doubt me! Do you really think Rick Caruso's campaign can't pull off a psy-op?

Before you reply again, I'll kindly ask you to listen to 13:44 on tape before and after otherwise you are totally being dismissive:

&t=589s

Kevin de León
They really went after it. I was with Gene Block yesterday from UCLA and we’re at this event for the Chinese massacre, at UCLA. They’re really combative. … When the L.A. Times gets a bug up their ass, you know, they just like… So I talked to Sam Garrison the other day, who is the GR [government representative], he reports directly to Carol Folt.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-11-21/la-city-council-racist-audio-leak-transcription-annotation

[Just A Box Of Rain]

34. "LOL what?"

You attempt to insinuate that the owner of the LA Time Patrick Soon-Shiong is part of a conspiracy to elect Rick Caruso, but his paper endorsed Karen Bass.

So what if De Leon mentions Sam Garrison? Proves absolutely nothing.

[ellisonz]

35. The endorsement doesn't mean anything much.

Last edited Sat Nov 26, 2022, 01:58 AM - Edit history (2)

It's a one type of deal - in fact if they didn't endorse her that would look weird. But consider these two pieces they ran on Caruso at just the right time that were total friendly puff pieces:

"USC was in a free fall. Then it turned to Rick Caruso"
BY MATT HAMILTON, HARRIET RYAN
MARCH 20, 2022 5 AM PT
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-03-20/usc-freefall-la-mayoral-candidate-rick-caruso

"Rick Caruso’s dad made two fortunes, did jail time. How he shaped his son’s ambitions"
BY MATT HAMILTON, BENJAMIN ORESKES
NOV. 3, 2022 5 AM PT
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-11-03/rick-caruso-father-car-dealer-dollar-rent-a-car

Or how about this from Politico in September that says just about the exact same thing I'm asserting:

Tensions rise between the LA Times and its billionaire owner
The ownership family faces accusations of meddling in coverage and endorsements, along with intense turmoil within the ranks.
By DANIEL LIPPMAN, CHRISTOPHER CADELAGO and MAX TANI

09/18/2022 06:00 PM EDT
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/18/la-times-tension-patrick-soon-shiong-00056601

Did you see that? Politico writers, professional journalists have whole piece with "meddling in coverage in endorsements" in the story-line. The only problem here is that it's not Nika Soon-Shiong that's the problem. The one time she's accused of having any influence over coverage was during George Floyd. Did you know that Patrick Soon-Shiong is a USC donor, has spoken at USC sponsored ceremonies and has even been pictured with Rick Caruso? I believe Nika, I don't believe what I'm reading out of the LA Times about the LA Fed tapes because they avoid covering USC almost completely. So do you believe me now, or this that not enough to wonder about what they're really pitching? I haven't written that up, to capture this entire story at once I would need to write a whole book at once and that would take months at least to begin to roll out for public dissemination.

No joke, here they are together on camera: https://www.chrispatey.com/galleries/groups/images/los-angeles-business-journal-from-left-patrick-soon-shiong-ed-roski-andrew-and-peggy-cherng-eli-broad-richard-riordan-dominic-ng-and-rick-caruso

[Just A Box Of Rain]

36. Like hell an endorsement by the LA Times doesn't mean much in a mayoral race in LA.

Please be serious. An endorsement by the LA Times is critical to local races.

And so what if someone donated to USC or participated in events there? That proves absolutely nothing.

Both Bass and Caruso have links to USC. Utterly meaningless.

[ellisonz]

37. Yeah but Caruso named dropped the exact "How he saved the LA Times" in the debate.

I just offered you two puff pieces and a Politico article suggesting there is meddling and turmoil going on inside the LA Times. You're gonna ignore that whole article? You mean to tell me you don't take that source seriously?

Bass and Caruso have very different links to USC - Bass was a recipient of a politically motivated scholarship from a Dean that's plead guilty to bribery. Rick Caruso is a Trustee still, and the former Chair of the Board of Trustees. You mean to tell me that's utterly meaningless? I suggest you read my next piece that I just posted because I have a deep dive into that from an insider perspective. You're just going to have to wait for my detailed write-up on the LAT. Otherwise you're gonna just keep having to wait for me to get to a big enough platform willing to run the true story. Listen to the tape, it's really obvious what's happening.

I think you're projecting some kind of bias against William Pitt on to me, but I'm not Will Pitt. I'm Zachary Ellison

[Just A Box Of Rain]

38. Weird accusations man.

Nothing you suggest here--especially the invention that I'm biased against someone else and therefore projecting it on you--is remotely true.

[ellisonz]

40. LOL! I'm gonna take that as your concession.

Trust me I've played this game before on DU. Have a good weekend!

[Just A Box Of Rain]

42. I feel sorry those those you've subjected to your "games."

Very strange behavior, dude.

[ellisonz]

43. Naw you conceeded!

You literally refused to answer a single question asked, just on and on, dismiss, argue, disclaim. Dude.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

44. I don't want any further dealings with you.

Take your "games" elsewhere.

[ellisonz]

45. LOL you're commenting on my post!

You're just upset I called you out on the behavior. I've been here since 2003, 2005 on record.

[H2O Man]

39. Recommended.

Great work! Thank you for this!

[ellisonz]

41. Thanks H20 Man!

It's wild isn't it, there's literally a whole section of tape the LA media is ignoring! I have tons more material, you'll probably end up seeing a book from me about all this when I'm done writing my "USC Papers" and breaking this mess up. We literally are not able to have a normal city government right now in the City of Los Angeles because of this; Kevin De Leon just won't resign.

It's been way too long, old friend! I hope all is well!

[Raine]

46. Interesting ... Thanks for posting this

quite a bit to unpack here and absorb 🤔 but the info is much appreciated.

[ellisonz]

47. You're welcome!

It's a hugely complicated matter. I'm probably one of the few people willing and close enough to this to crack it open. The evidence I posted up-thread is really interesting so take a listen to minutes 8-14 if you haven't. It's the part the LAT in particular doesn't seem to want you to know much about, but it's pretty compelling!

&t=813s

Cheers,

Zach