Suspected Los Angeles Racist Recording Leaker Questioned By LAPD

The leaker behind last year’s major racist recording scandal in Los Angeles, that resulted in several LA City Councilmember resignations, has been found according to new reports from several publications.

The recording, which also featured a conversation on how they could manipulate City Council boundaries and help reconfigure power, made national and international news in October of last year following being leaked, largely due to the racist language in the recording. The leak itself sparked widespread protests in the city, with the outcry from the scandal causing both Los Angeles County Federation of Labor President Ron Herrera and Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez to resign in disgrace. In addition, Councilman Gil Cedillo left office a few months later in disgrace, while Councilman Kevin de Leon managed to barely avoid resignation and a recall attempt due to lingering support from the Latino community in his district.

While the scandal has cost many lawmakers their positions and, likely, has ended the careers of all involved from moving upwards, there has remained an open question: Who leaked the recording in the first place? The audio is known to have been recorded in October 2021, with the four discussing council redistricting and Councilman Mike Bonin, a white and openly gay Councilman, and his young black son.

“Bonin thinks he’s f—ing black,” said Martinez in the audio. “He handled his young Black son as though he were an accessory. They’re raising him like a little White kid. I was like, this kid needs a beatdown. Let me take him around the corner and then I’ll bring him back.”

Martinez then proceeded to use slurs against the eight-year-old child, saying in Spanish “Parece changuito” or in English, “He’s like a monkey.” Other slurs and derogatory comments followed, with Martinez proceeding to disparage whites, blacks, and indigenous members of the Latino community.

Possible leaker questioned by LAPD

Following the two resignations, the LAPD opened up an investigation in late October into who leaked the recording. As the recording broke California’s law stating that all parties need to consent to being recorded, both civil and criminal penalties are possible for the leaker. For the last nine months, an investigation has been ongoing within the LAPD, with no major updates having been made.

On Thursday, new reports found that Santos Leon, the former Director of Finance for the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, has been questioned by the LAPD over recording software that was on his work computer. It has been alleged that he used this software to use on Herrera’s meeting.

The LAPD has remained silent on the issue, largely due to it still being an open investigation. Leon has also remained silent on the issue.

“We are unable to comment on it because it’s an open investigation,” said LAPD spokesman Officer J Chavez on Thursday.

Legal experts noted that the leaker would likely face charges, but due to the effects of the leak, would face a an unknown fate in the courts.

“There are many in Los Angeles who would buy that guy a beer for what he did,” explained Ron Stern, a lawyer who has been a part of multiple suits involving illegal recordings, to the Globe on Thursday. “But, if it is Leon or someone else, nothing is firm at this point. We need to have a formal charge. But we also need to see what laws were actually broken. Right now its looking like some consent issues, and those are notoriously iffy. Let’s wait and see if there is a charge and there are listed laws broken before we speculate first. There’s a lot going on here.”

More on the suspected leaker is expected soon.