Two former city officials from Commerce and Baldwin Park have admitted guilt in a bribery scheme involving cannabis permits, according to the Justice Department. Edgar Pascual Cisneros, aged 42 from Montebello and former city manager of Commerce, pleaded guilty to federal bribery on November 6, 2023. Robert Manuel Nacionales Tafoya, aged 62 from Redondo Beach and ex-city attorney of Baldwin Park, entered a guilty plea on December 5, 2023, for federal bribery and tax evasion charges.
Federal prosecutors have unsealed the criminal charges and plea agreements for both individuals. The agreements include cooperation in ongoing public corruption investigations.
The plea documents reveal that after Baldwin Park started issuing marijuana permits in June 2017, then-City Councilmember Ricardo Pacheco solicited bribes from companies seeking permits. Cisneros assisted a company in obtaining a permit through approximately $45,000 in bribes and was promised at least $235,000 more to secure it. Tafoya was involved in a scheme with former Compton City Councilmember Isaac Galvan to obtain a permit for Galvan's consulting client by bribing Pacheco. Tafoya also confessed to evading about $650,000 in federal taxes.
Pacheco had already pleaded guilty to an unrelated federal bribery charge in June 2020. He admitted orchestrating schemes involving Tafoya and Gabriel Chavez, a former San Bernardino County planning commissioner who pleaded guilty to federal bribery in November 2022. Sentencing hearings for Pacheco and Chavez are set for February and April 2025 respectively.
In September 2023, Galvan and his consulting client Yichang Bai were arrested following allegations of paying $70,000 in bribes to Pacheco for support on marijuana permits for Bai’s company W&F International Corp. Both men have denied the charges with their trial slated for June 10, 2025.
The FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation are handling these cases. Prosecutors include Assistant United States Attorneys Thomas F. Rybarczyk, Michael J. Morse, and Lindsey Greer Dotson from the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section.
The public is urged to provide any related information via the FBI tip line at tips.fbi.gov or by contacting the Los Angeles Field Office at (310) 477-6565.