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Politics

Mexican National Accused In San Diego Campaign Finance Scheme Free On Bail

By Amita Sharma / Investigative Reporter,  Tarryn Mento / Health Reporter
Published February 24, 2014 at 11:42 AM PST
This story was published more than 10 years ago.
José Susumo Azano Matsura speaks to 10News during a 2011 interview.
10News
José Susumo Azano Matsura speaks to 10News during a 2011 interview.
Mexican National Accused In San Diego Campaign Finance Scheme Free On Bail
A Mexican businessman at the center of a federal campaign finance investigation was released from jail in San Diego Monday after posting $5 million worth of real estate as bail.

A Mexican businessman at the center of a federal campaign finance investigation was released from jail in San Diego Monday after posting $5 million worth of real estate as bail.

All of the background information on campaign contributions illegally funneled from a wealthy Mexican businessman to local candidates.
Dirty Money
All of the background information on campaign contributions illegally funneled from a wealthy Mexican businessman to local candidates.

A grand jury indicted Jose Susumo Azano Matsura last week on a single count of illegally contributing to a 2012 mayoral campaign as a foreign national. Federal law prohibits foreign nationals from donating money in U.S. elections.

Azano is accused of using a straw donor to give $120,000 to a political action committee supporting "Candidate 3." News outlets including KPBS have identified the candidate as former San Diego Mayor Bob Filner.

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Azano is one of four men accused in the federal campaign finance probe.

Former police detective Ernesto Encinas, San Diego lobbyist Marco Polo Cortes and campaign consultant Ravneet Singh are accused of conspiring to help Azano funnel more than $500,000 to San Diego municipal and federal elections.

All four have pleaded not guilty.

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Politics San Diego GovernmentWater
Amita Sharma
As an investigative reporter for KPBS, I've helped expose political scandals and dug into intractable issues like sex trafficking. I've raised tough questions about how government treats foster kids. I've spotlighted the problem of pollution in poor neighborhoods. And I've chronicled corporate mistakes and how the public sometimes ends up paying for them.
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What issues need to be exposed in your community? Who should be called to account? When and how will long-festering problems be solved?

Tarryn Mento
Tarryn Mento served as KPBS' health reporter. She had previously worked as the multimedia producer for MetroFocus at WNET in New York City. She was also a Pulliam Fellow at the Arizona Republic. Tarryn has reported from three countries and in two languages. Her work has been published by The Washington Post, the Center for Public Integrity’s iWatch News, and El Nuevo Herald. She completed her master's degree at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University, where she was named a Carnegie-Knight News 21 Fellow. A native of Syracuse, N.Y., Tarryn completed her undergraduate education in journalism at SUNY-Albany.
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