Author: The Fullerton Harpoon

FFFF has been notified that a complaint against serial prevaricator and immigration fraud Ahmad Zahra has been lodged with the California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC).

Although I don’t have a copy of the complaint yet, the gist of it is that for years Zahra has been identifying the Capital One Bank in the City of Industry as a “payee” for all sorts of non-related campaign expenses. These include travel(?), web service and office expenses.

I decided to check out Mr. Zahra’s campaign expenses just for the first half of 2025. He listed only two payees:

Sure enough, there’s Capital One Bank. $2329, under the heading of OFC – Office Expenses. Office expenses? So where, exactly is Zahra’s campaign office? In his little apartment by the freeway? Someplace else? That’s a lot of paper clips and staples.

Comically, Zahra’s campaign “office expenses” brought him in exactly $0 in the first two quarters of this year, a fairly damning indictment of his business acumen, at best. Zero.

So I went back a few years for fun. Here’s an entry from 2020:

Sure enough, here’s Zahra using Capital One, City of Industry as a payee for IT expenses. Here are some more:

The Bank is listed as payee for IT expenses, and meeting attendance? Huh?

When he was running for re-election in 2022 Zahra was really casting his campaign bread on the waters. But a lot of the water was murky. One example listed the bank as payee for civic donations! To whom? What for? Who Knows? Big secret.

All of Zahra’s other Capital One “expenses” in 2022 were split among various FPPC codes, including more expensive travel, hiding the true nature of these expenses, and who he really paid.

A cynical person might conclude that Zahra has been deliberately hiding his real campaign financial activity for almost seven years. But why? Have any of these payments gone to personally support Zahra himself? Maybe the FPPC can find out.

And maybe Young Elijah Manassero, the young ethics crusader will dig deep into this mess.

And by the way, who is “Tammi McIntyre” who is signing off on this as Zahra’s treasurer and why on earth is she submitting this junk to the City Clerk? Is Tammi McIntyre in on something, um, untoward? Could be.

By the way AI coughed up this when I inquired about Capital One Bank, City of Industry:

AI says: Capital One has a presence in the City of Industry, California, specifically for auto loan payments. The address for mailing auto loan payments is: Capital One Auto Finance, P.O. Box 60511, City of Industry, CA 91716.

Why do the Kennedy Sisters feel compelled to create their own news and froth themselves and their handful of followers into self-righteous fury over some made up crisis? The answer isn’t good. It’s political grandstanding and journalistic incompetence.

The latest is their Fullerton Observer article demanding that the Fullerton City Council hold a public hearing on the matter of whether or not Fullerton should join a lawsuit against the the Immigration and Customs Enforcement for their “illegal” activities. The alternative, they suggest is an effort to decide this matter in the Council’s “Closed Session” since it pertains to legal activity and is thus exempted under the Brown Act.

The only trouble is that nobody has proposed discussing this matter behind closed doors. The agenda for the next meeting hasn’t even been created and won’t be published until a week from today. Whether or not the matter will even be on the agenda at all for the August 19th meeting is guesswork. Gee, I wonder who sold them this story.

But that’s not a deterrent to the enterprising sisters who once again are trying to whip up the usual suspects into attacking the council majority. They even created a dopey “open letter” making their speculation about a Closed Session decision look like a real effort that they have somehow uncovered. No sources are described, of course, following the Fullerton Observer’s usual trajectory of absent journalistic integrity.

Naturally, this whole thing is another attempt to go after Mayor Fred Jung in particular who is singled out:

“Event organizers invited Mayor Jung – but he failed to attend.”

Bad Jung. Bad, bad Jung! Looks like no effort was made to talk to Jung, or if it did, it was omitted from the screed.

The result of this will be another conga line of the usual speakers that we already know. And maybe some new faces drawn from the ranks of Fullerton’s liberal churches. This is probably why the ever-pious and election fraudster, Diane Vena, sent an email about this subject to the Servite friar, Dennis Kriz.

In July, former La Habra councilman Tim Shaw announced he was running for the OC 4th District Supervisor job. Again.

Way back in 2018, Shaw ran for this seat and lost in a close election to the miserable, corrupt, and now ostensibly senile octogenarian, Doug “Bud” Chaffee. Chafee is termed out in 2026.

But 2026 is not 2018. North Orange County is more demonstrably Democrat, and other than getting into, and losing a General Election to a Democrat, I can’t see much hope for Shaw. In the past he has run for things as an allegedly moderate Republican, but even that seems like a lost cause. This is particularly true since he resigned his La Habra gig so he could stay on the OC Board of Education that has recently become the playground of Trumpy lunatics. That association and his voting record there might help fundraising from a far-right corner – such as $2000 he already got from Howard Ahmanson, but it’s going to make his candidacy a tough sell to the general public.

Right now Fullerton’s Fred Jung and Connor Traut have a lot of cash on hand, where as Shaw has comparatively – under $20,000, but it’s still very early with the primary almost a year away.

I think Shaw’s candidacy is bad news for Fred Jung who, as a pragmatic centrist, needs conservative support. Traut is running as the inevitable leftist Democrat with all the usual institutional support. But that means very little, to which Vivian Jaramillo can attest.

Tomorrow’s Fullerton City Council meeting has been cancelled. How come? I don’t know why.

I do know that the first meeting in July was cancelled, and the first meeting in September, the day after Labor Day holiday, is often cancelled in that circumstance.

Even if the agenda were light it seems like a better strategy to have meetings so as to reduce the length of other meetings, which can be excruciatingly long.

At least some of Fullerton Boohoo isn’t happy about the cancellation. One of them emailed to alert Fr. Dennis Kriz, who seems to have forwarded her message to the City Council. This was intercepted by the Boys in the White van and is faithfully reported below.

Aha. Our old friend Diane Vena. The woman who nominated phony MAGA candidate Scott Markowitz in last year’s 4th District election. She did this while still endorsing Vivian Jaramillo on the latter’s website. Why Vena contacted his holiness is unknown but she seems to be upset. Somebody rattled her cage about the ICE lawsuit issue. That must have been “Dr.” Ahmad Zahra and/or Shana Charles.

Somebody told Vena that “the council” didn’t cancel the meeting, but that “someone” cancelled it to attend something called the National Night Out, whatever that is. Council meetings are often cancelled without the whole council deciding. In fact a special meeting would have to be called to do that, so that’s just dumb.

What’s really interesting is how Vena got her information, and who gave it to her.

Damn City Hall is leaking like a sieve.

There is something entertaining when a professional know-it-all runs into somebody who isn’t going to accept her bullshit.

And so we have the hilarious spectacle of Shana Charles – cloistered, third-rate academic – confronting and over-talking George Bushala, Jr. because she doesn’t like his answers about how come he hasn’t built a restaurant on the Bushala Brothers, Inc., portion of the Santa Fe Depot loading dock. Enjoy the video:

Somehow Shana, who has never ventured a nickle into anything, thinks BBI should have built a fancy restaurant (like Trevor’s at the Tracks!) despite the stonewalling of staff, and the animosity of Jennifer Fitzgerald, Jan Flory, and Ahmad Zahra. Then there’s the little problem of economic recessions in the early 2000s and 2008-2012, the real estate crash in 2007, and the COVID disaster in 2020-2002.

It has also escaped poor Shana’s feeble intellectual grasp that the City’s portion of the loading dock – east of the centerline of Pomona Avenue, is structurally connected to the Bushala leasehold, an awkward situation that is obviously an impediment to development. It’s going to take a million bucks to build out – something no one would do under the present situation.

Shana actually believes there is a “structure” suitable for a restaurant – instead of an unenclosed, unsound, ramshackle frame on a concrete bulkhead with no utilities.

When you know what you’re talking about, the whole cooked-up lease “controversy” is ridiculous.

Shana has the ignorant audacity to mention people who ran COVID businesses out of their kitchen, a comment so fucking stupid that it doesn’t even need repudiation.

The final sentence from Bushala is classic: “that’s why you don’t do what I do.”

What Dr. Charles does is talk self-important ideological blather to vacant-faced students looking for an easy elective, and whose multiple choice tests are graded by a computer.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DMshHfUxD6W/?igsh=Mzc3ZTVlOWMwZA%3D%3D

This guy was riding his bike westbound in the 100 block of West Orangethorpe a week or so ago, when blammo, a man driving the wrong way in the northernmost lane wipes him out. The injured man was hospitalized with unknown injuries and later released. The driver who sped off (somehow still in the wrong lane?) was later apprehended by the cops. His name is Christian Diaz and lives in West Covina.

Mr. Diaz has been charged with attempted murder.

The cause and the duration of Diaz’s wrong way journey remains a mystery, but boy is he in Big Trouble.

By now we are all familiar with the sudden emergence of the innocent flower Elijah Manassero, who shot up out of nowhere into Fullerton’s political garden. He’s filed numerous false FPPC complaints against Fred Jung and Nick Dunlap; and he’s written pompous, erroneous and baselessly accusatory articles for the Kennedy Sisters. We are to believe, I guess, that young Elijah is just a civic-minded, well-intentioned young boyo whose interest in community betterment is a credit to him. Sharon Kennedy gushes with admiration:

Sharon K

July 25, 2025 at 6:42 am

Matt – I am so impressed by young people, like Elijah, who have a lively vision for our town. 

Lively. That’s a good one. But Lively Elijah is not a happy young camper. He and his pals washed out badly at the Santa Fe Depot lease hearing on the night of July 15th; and Elijah, in a fit of pique, sent a threatening missive to the City Attorney as soon as he got home that night.

Dear Mr. Jones,

I am writing to formally demand immediate enforcement of the lease default provisions applicable to Bushala Brothers, Inc., the tenant of 120–140 E. Santa Fe Avenue.

At the July 15 City Council meeting, George Bushala openly admitted to subleasing the premises; a clear violation of the lease’s subletting provision. This admission came after staff publicly stated they had no record or knowledge of any such sublease. That alone constitutes a default under the lease agreement. In addition, the City’s own expenditures on building repairs and ADA improvements inside the tenant’s leased space, obligations explicitly assigned to the tenant under the lease, further constitute material breaches.

Despite these unresolved and ongoing defaults, Council voted to approve an amended lease that:

• Extends the term through 2060,

• Grants the tenant expanded rights and rent credits,

• Reduces enforcement mechanisms, and

• Softens penalties for failure to build out improvements.

All of this violates Section 6(e) of the lease amendment, which plainly states that:

“If Tenant is in default (beyond applicable notice and cure periods)… the Third Extension Term or Fourth Extension Term shall not commence.”

Your office is well aware of this language. And yet the lease was approved anyway.

This is not a close call. This is not a matter of interpretation. This is blatant cronyism and gross irresponsibility, putting the City of Fullerton in legal and financial jeopardy for the sake of political convenience. The lease should never have been brought forward in this condition, and certainly should not have been approved. If your office advised otherwise, that itself raises serious concerns.

You are now on formal notice that I intend to pursue all available legal remedies:

• I will submit public records requests for all closed session negotiations and communications related to the lease amendment.

• I am evaluating a Brown Act “Cure and Correct” demand under Government Code §54960.1, which may invalidate the Council’s vote.

• I am exploring a taxpayer lawsuit under Code of Civil Procedure §526a for waste and unlawful gifting of public funds, especially in light of the Council’s knowledge of these defaults at the time of approval.

This lease is not just bad policy. It is legally unsound, ethically indefensible, and politically corrosive. If the City’s legal department cannot uphold the basic enforcement provisions of a lease it approved, then perhaps the public should question whether your office is acting in the interest of the people, or in the interest of donors and insiders.

I expect a formal response addressing the City’s intended enforcement action within ten (10) calendar days.

Sincerely,

Elijah Manassero

Fullerton Resident

Uh, oh. Callow young Elijah intends to pursue all legal remedies! He demands! He notifies! He will submit! He will evaluate! He will explore! He expects a response! What a lively young chap is Elijah.

This is funny. Are we to believe that fragile Elijah tricycled home right after the meeting to tap out this nonsense? Of course we don’t. This was written beforehand, and not by Elijah – of that we may be certain. And the whole Manaserro schtick is now coming into focus a deliberate political maneuver to attack Fred Jung in future campaigns by creating phony “controversial” votes. He isn’t acting alone. Here’s the elder member of the Kennedy Sister Coven, once more, with the rest of her comment:

Sharon K

July 25, 2025 at 6:42 am

Matt – I am so impressed by young people, like Elijah, who have a lively vision for our town.

Unfortunately Jung has been a sad disaster for Fullerton but this article is not about that. There was plenty of criticism of the actions of “Mayor” Jung – long before Connor Traut came into the picture. Jung’s own actions are his worse enemy. We do need someone good to fill the 4th district OC Supervisor position – Jung would fit right in with the majority there who just upped their own salary to more than the governor of California makes per year. I am sick of tricky, self serving, arrogant little politicians. I don’t know Connor Traut but will look into him and hope he is a more fit candidate than Jung –
But – getting rid of him in our town by electing him onto the Board of Supervisors is not a good reason to vote for him.

The comment here is complete with the usual Observer misdirection – “criticism existed long before,” etc.; Jung is “little” and he doesn’t deserve the title Mayor without quotation marks. Kennedy will “look into” Connor Traut because she is sick of tricky, self-serving, arrogant little politicians like “Mayor” Jung. Obviously, the Fullerton Observer is already all in for Traut and is providing a vehicle, even if a lame one, to hurt Fred Jung’s politcal aspirations.

FFFF has introduced the Friends to a tender stripling political wannabe named Elijah Manaserro, a recently flowering bud who seems willing to do anything for some politician or other. His quest has seen him file phony complaints to the FPPC and to write nastigrams to Fullerton Councilmembers Jung, Dunlap, and Valencia. He has hitherto restrained himself to writing nonfactual and ignorance based articles in the Fullerton Observer. His calling card says “transparency.”

Elijah’s most recent drum beat is the same as before: the Santa Fe Depot lease to Bushala Brothers, Inc. is fraught with danger due to a massive lawsuit filed by Albert Bushala against all of his siblings and his parents. This non-issue has been the hobby horse of the Observer’s Kennedy Sisters, too, who can’t quite seem to grasp the irrelevance with regard to the City of Fullerton. As long as BBI pays its rent, who cares about the lawsuit, right?

But sweet young Elijah says otherwise. He writes: One of the assets at the heart of the dispute is the lease to the Fullerton Train Station. This is a lie.

Here is the older Kennedy sister playing the same tune in a comment: Plus this property is embroiled in the $400 million Bushala family lawsuit.

George Bushala Jr. addressed this before the council at its hearing last week: Bushala Brothers, Inc. lease is not named in the lawsuit is not in any sort of jeopardy. Apparently the delicate fleur Elijah was not paying attention, and neither was Sharon Kennedy, both of whom believe they have a live issue. They don’t.

Well, there’s more, Friends, information the Observer and sweet Elijah could have obtained by contacting George or Tony Bushala like a real news source would have. It turns out that Tony and George Bushala bought out Albert Bushala’s position in the business in 2004 – 21 long years ago. And guess what? Albert sold his piece of the company’s Santa Fe Depot business by name.

Here’s the document, signed by the brothers:

Uh, oh. There goes that already slim argument. Albert Bushala relinquished any claim to the depot lease for ample consideration, pure and simple.

Can we expect the Observers to quit pulling this frayed rope to their alarm bell? After all they read this blog. Probably not, since in small minds obsessions are a hard thing to eliminate.

One of the curiosities that emerged from the Bushala depot lease hearing at Tuesday’s Fullerton City Council meeting was a letter from the Bushalas’ lawyer demanding Councilman Ahmad Zahra to recuse himself. Why? Because he is biased against them, as indicated by numerous derogatory comments about their supposed negative influence on the Council majority. Here’s the letter, sent to Zahra on Tuesday afternoon.

At the outset of the meeting Zahra innocently claimed his impartiality and lack of animosity to the Bushalas, a claim that his past behavior has shown to be false, and that his behavior that very night was to belie. Anyone watching the charter city hearing, and watching Zahra’s ten minute meltdown, knows this.

Zahra began to question staff about all sorts of details in the existing and proposed lease amendment; about staff’s procedures in negotiating, etc. a strategy never before displayed by Zahra when it came to dozens and dozens of previous lease agreements he approved on the nod.

Zahra’s behavior didn’t escape the notice of two public commenters who took him to task for his blatant bias, observing that he never before showed much, if any interest in the details of lease agreements set before him, most of which were passed on the consent calendar.

Later, Zahra felt the need to defend himself. The subsequent speech explained his constant attention to details and outlined his incredible diligence looking out for the welfare of the “people.” Mayor Jung felt constrained to point out the disastrous “boutique hotel” vote of Zahra and Charles, in which conmen were essentially the beneficiaries of a massive gift of public funds – obviously no due diligence had been performed by either Charles or Zahra before they voted for the boondoggle.

My own favorite Zahra dereliction was the proposed “fish farm” in which a closed public park was to be illegally converted into a private event center with a fish tank in the middle. Remember? The unsolicited proposer had no money to pay rent or even possessory interest tax, and no collateral to get a loan; there was no parking; instead of thinking about the impact on the neighbors, Zahra even dragged up some of his toadies to gargle about trees and green space, not noise and lack of parking. All the details would be figured out later, said Zahra. The Big Idea, not the details were what was important.

At Tuesday’s Fullerton City Council meeting both Ahmad Zahra and Shanna Charles went to great lengths to decry the current rampage of ICE goons in our community. While there should be no support for the current administration’s unconstitutional activities anyplace, Zahra’s oratory struck me as ironic.

How come? Because we know that the openly gay, Zahra came to America from somewhere in the mid 1990s and immediately hoofed it on down to Arkansas where he married an American female, a woman named Michelle Salmon. Zahra told Vern Nelson of the Orange Juice blog that they liked each other but it didn’t work out.

That was a Zahra lie.

The illegal marriage fraud scam did work out, just as planned.

Just contemplate the ridiculousness: here’s a new, gay immigrant without his own address and with no work permit. What a catch for the young Arkansan woman.

Very soon after Zahra’s nuptials, he lit out for California to pursue his dream of becoming a filmmaker, abandoning his new bride in Little Rock. Five years or so later Zahra divorced Salmon, and with the help of a green card, no doubt, stayed in the country paving the way for ultimate citizenship.

Most immigrants that come here are damn hard working people doing jobs that Americans have become unwilling to do. Zahra, on the other hand appears to be virtually unemployed. Check out his 2023 economic interest Form 700, for example.

It looks as if Ahmad is doing a lot more political schmoozing and manipulating than he has been actively engaged in gainful employment. For a while he was collecting four grand a month going to Orange County Water District meetings, but that gravy train came to a screeching halt four years ago. It’s anybody’s guess how he pays his rent. A real audit of his campaign finances might be useful.

Then there’s the problem of Zahra’s assault and battery case against a Fullerton woman, a case that disappeared. Zahra says he was exonerated, but that’s was a lie, too.

US Immigration policy should be focused on keeping out deadbeats and bums and assaulters, not harassing people who want to work, and who do.