3 months ago
SACRAMENTO, CA (AP) -- One of three girls who accused Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson of inappropriately touching her while she attended his St. Hope's Academy Hood Corps program was allegedly offered $1,000 a month to keep quiet, according to a Congressional report made public Friday.
The report was released by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, and Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa. The girl was not named in the 62-page report.
Johnson was in Boston and could not be reached for comment. His spokesman Steve Maviglio denied the girl's claim.
"These are all allegations," Maviglio told News10. "They've been looked at by the Sacramento Police Department, by the U.S. Attorney, by the FBI, by Americorps, and nobody has found any merit in them because there is no merit."
"We've all known about these interviews and these allegations for months and months, more than a year actually. But there's nothing new other than they're coming to light to the public for the first time," Maviglio added.
Issa and Grassley claim federal prosecutors rushed into a settlement with St. Hope. They say the settlement whitewashed a 2008 government investigation into whether the nonprofit misused federal money.
Nearly $850,000 in grants came to Johnson's St. HOPE Foundation in Sacramento through the federal AmeriCorps program. The program's inspector general criticized the deal, which was reached in April, and was fired by the White House shortly thereafter.
The White House said it acted properly in firing Gerald Walpin, citing poor performance.
Benjamin Wagner, the U.S. Attorney from the Eastern District of California, also issued a statement on the report by Issa and Grassley.
In a statement, Wagner said, "In 2008, Inspector General Walpin referred the St. HOPE matter to this office. The referral was thoroughly reviewed by experienced career attorneys in this office, and it was determined that criminal prosecution for violations of federal law was not warranted.
"A civil disposition of the matter was negotiated that required the repayment of substantial funds to the U.S. Government. Nothing in the report issued today effects our view that the matter was handled appropriately by this office."
News10/KXTV and The Associated Press
