Jan. 9, 2004

The Un-Democracy of The Irving Moskowitz Business Enterprise:
Effects on Decision Making of the City Council of Hawaiian Gardens

by Sharon Raphael, Ph.D. , Professor of Sociology and Gerontology California State University Dominguez Hills, Carson, Ca.

My name is Dr. Sharon Raphael, Professor at California State University Dominguez Hills and a long-time resident of Long Beach, California.

For a period of approximately six months in 2000-2001 I was an observer at official regularly scheduled meetings of the Hawaiian Gardens City Council, and attending meetings as a member of the Coalition for Justice in Hawaiian Gardens and Jerusalem. I was there to specifically observe business the city council was conducting in relation to Irving Moskowitz 's business enterprises and interests in Hawaiian Gardens (HG).

During those council meetings, I was surprised to discover that Beryl Weiner, Irving Moskowitz's attorney and adviser was not only also in attendance but appeared to be 'running the show'. He was seen meeting with city council persons before the meetings and during the meeting was solicited for his advice as though he was the city attorney. The real city attorney just sat and usually said nothing when affairs of Moskowitz came into discussion. The real city attorney was not asked for advice only Weiner seemed to be consulted.

At many of the meetings which I attended 2-4 sheriffs from LA County stood in the back of meeting hall appearing to be waiting for some kind of action to take place. The sheriff's numerous presence seemed to be overkill considering that only a handful of people normally came to the meetings. On at least one occasion that I witnessed, several persons, including the former Mayor of Hawaiian Gardens, Kathy Navejas, who was in line and beginning her turn to speak was forcibly evicted from the council
meeting by the LA county Sheriffs. When asked why they were evicting her, the sheriffs could give no reason. It is my opinion that the former Mayor was much less
disruptive of the meetings than The Council Members themselves who paid very little attention to rules of common courtesy and respect usually accorded to people
attending council meetings in other venues. Anyone who had an opinion different than HG's council members was cut short, shouted down or called names by
the HG's council members themselves all of whom appeared to be in the Moskowitz camp.

Irving Moskowitz has used his attorney Beryl Weiner to control and run the City in ways that benefit Moskowitz 's interests. Members of the city council clearly
appeared to check with Weiner before stating their views on issues that concern the bingo or casino operation or any city concerns relating to those operations
which seemed numerous. It is a terrible shame that any person should have such incredible control over a poor tiny impoverished city like Hawaiian Gardens.
Whatever gifts or moneys Moskowitz gives to charities in the city cannot ever compensate for the opportunistic and self-serving means to his own ends
that he has imposed on this less than one square mile area, this fiefdom of his, that outsiders dare not tread and in which residents dare not democratically
participate. Let us hope that these hearing can begin to put an end to the autocratic rule and exploitation of the people he employs or manipulates to serve his will.