Ted Moreno, former city councilman of Santa Ana, California, was convicted of extortion and money laundering in a scheme to take over the town’s city council. He was sentenced to five years in federal prison after being found guilty of extorting $31,000 from a gas station owner seking approval for a beer-and-wine permit.
Moreno said he did it because he needed the money to fund the campaigns of his allies.
What do gays have to do with it? Santa Ana had a plan to transform its struggling downtown into an arts district. Moreno opposed this because, he says, arts districts attract gays and lesbians.
Moreno even claimed he was entrapped in receiving the money from the gas-station owner even though he was seen in a video tape giving the owner a high five after receiving $2,500.
Read the whole story in the LAWeekly. (You have to scroll down about half-way to read this particular story, though the other stories are also amusing and/or interesting.)