Genocide victims angered by L.A. attorneys

A group of L.A. attorneys mounted class-action lawsuits to collect on life insurance policies for victims of the Armenian genocide. They came away with $37.5 million, but as a new investigation shows, the process of delivering money to Armenian families and charities did not go as planned. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ [Los Angeles Times] [Essential California Newsletter] March 24, 2022 [View in browser]( [Click to view images]( illustration by the Los Angeles Times. Images are from documents submitted by applicants in a class-action lawsuit on behalf of victims of the Armenian genocide. (Los Angeles Times) Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California [newsletter](. It’s Thursday, March 24. I’m Justin Ray. When reporters Harriet Ryan and Matt Hamilton were investigating last year the influence that Los Angeles lawyer and [“Real Housewives” figure Tom Girardi]( at the State Bar of California, they came upon a tantalizing piece of information. An agency investigator had sneaked into the bar’s headquarters on a weekend in 2015 and snapped photos of a confidential case file of a complaint against three L.A. attorneys for “moral turpitude,” according to a draft lawsuit by bar lawyers. Their search to unmask the attorneys’ identities led them to a world far from the boozy lunches and glamorous parties of (now bankrupt) Girardi and his (now estranged) wife, Erika Jayne. The case file concerned the [Armenian]( the slaughter that claimed the lives of an estimated 1 million and scattered hundreds of thousands of refugees across the the globe. A group of L.A. attorneys — all descendants of genocide survivors — mounted class-action lawsuits two decades ago to collect on life insurance policies for victims of the genocide. They came away with settlements totaling $37.5 million, [but as a new Times investigation shows]( the process of delivering money to Armenian families and charities did not go as planned. To get to the bottom of what happened, the Los Angeles Times successfully petitioned a federal judge to unseal dozens of records in the case. Reporters sifted through several of the thousands of applications for settlement money that were stored at the library at Loyola Law School. (The [haunting photos]( that illustrate the investigation are from the archived applications and photographed by our colleague Hamlet Nalbandyan.) The investigation describes how the litigation that carried the hopes of the Armenian community devolved into a corrupted process marked by diverted funds and misconduct. “It makes me sick,” a relative of one genocide victim said. [Read the story: “[A ‘blood money’ betrayal: How corruption spoiled reparations for Armenian genocide victims]( in the Los Angeles Times] And now, here’s what’s happening across California: Note: Some of the sites we link to may limit the number of stories you can access without subscribing. Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday released the long-awaited details of his tax refund plan to send $400 to Californians for each registered vehicle, a move that would put more money in the pockets of families who own more cars — even the state’s wealthiest residents. The Times outlines everything to know about the plan. [Los Angeles Times]( [People line up for discounted gas prices at Costco. ] Motorists in Azusa line up for discounted gas prices Tuesday at Costco. The cost of regular unleaded gas was $5.39 a gallon. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) ADVERTISEMENT L.A. STORIES Is there rain in store for Southern California after this warm week? Spring is off to a warm start in Southern California. But after that, cooler readings and some rain — something that has been scarce since December — are expected soon. [Los Angeles Times]( Metro is helping to plan an aerial gondola system to whisk baseball fans and concertgoers from Union Station to Dodger Stadium in what it says would be a mere seven-minute trip. However, the project has sparked fears of accelerated gentrification, and a lawsuit to stop the “sweetheart deal.” [Los Angeles Times]( Our daily news podcast If you’re a fan of this newsletter, you’ll love our daily podcast “The Times,” hosted every weekday by columnist Gustavo Arellano, along with reporters from across our newsroom. Go beyond the headlines. Download and listen [on our App]( subscribe [on Apple Podcasts]( and follow [on Spotify](. POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT Roughly half of all COVID-19 relief funds sent to the city of Los Angeles last year went to the LAPD. The city was awarded roughly $1.3 billion under the American Rescue Plan Act, an economic stimulus package from the Biden administration. According to city officials, $680 million was transferred to the city last year, with about $317 million going to the Los Angeles Police Department for “payroll expenditures,” according to city officials. A spokesperson for the city controller did not respond to multiple requests from LA Taco for comment. [LA Taco]( Mayor London Breed is taking on San Francisco’s far left. Can she prevail? Breed is a rising star in California politics because of her stewardship of her city during the pandemic, as well as her efforts to tackle crime, homelessness, addiction and education in a city that is famously — if not always accurately — known for its liberal, live-and-let-live ethos. Breed’s efforts have also been faulted by some Democrats who argue that the mayor, who is up for reelection in 2023, is falling back on failed policies that place the interests of the well-connected above those of the marginalized. [Los Angeles Times]( [London Breed, mayor of San Francisco speaks onstage during a screening of a "Harry Potter" movie.] San Francisco Mayor London Breed speaks during a screening of “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” at the reopened Curran theater in Union Square on Feb. 24. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) CRIME, COURTS AND POLICING A Modesto man has been arrested on suspicion of beating his girlfriend’s dog to death. The woman returned home after a work shift and found blood throughout the apartment she shared with the man, police said. When asked about her pet’s whereabouts, her boyfriend, who was intoxicated, said he couldn’t find the dog. She eventually found the small Schnauzer mix dead, inside of a box by the front door. Her boyfriend was booked on suspicion of animal cruelty. [Modesto Bee]( Support our journalism [Subscribe to the Los Angeles Times.]( ADVERTISEMENT HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani’s Theranos trial began this week. Although Elizabeth Holmes was absent from the San Jose courtroom, she was at the center of the prosecution’s opening argument against her ex. Federal prosecutor Robert Leach told a jury that Holmes and Balwani, “were partners in everything, including their crimes.” Meanwhile, Balwani’s lawyer said, “The headlines and the sensational stories about Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes have no place in this trial.” Balwani is charged with a dozen counts and faces up to 20 years in prison for each count, although legal experts do not expect him to receive the maximum prison terms. He is accused of defrauding investors and patients with false claims about the blood testing start-up. [Mercury News]( L.A. County’s push to hand out 100,000 doses of Narcan to fight surge of opioid overdoses. Deaths from drug overdoses have surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, to roughly 100,000 lives lost across the country over a year, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Los Angeles County decided it needed to expand its reach in creative ways. [Los Angeles Times]( [Manny Placeres hugs registered nurse Linda Leimer.] Manny Placeres, right, is embraced by registered nurse Linda Leimer, part of an L.A. County Department of Health Services medical team. Placeres has repeatedly administered naloxone, a medication that can reverse an opioid overdose. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times) CALIFORNIA CULTURE Hundreds of Chevron workers in the San Francisco Bay Area city of Richmond went on strike this week. The company and the United Steelworkers union have failed to reach a contract agreement. Although refinery operations will continue as normal for now, gas prices could be affected even more if they were to halt. “It would be coming at a very unfortunate time because we already have a shortage of refinery capacity in California right now, and so losing even 1 or 2% of the state’s refinery capacity would probably result in a noticeable increase in gasoline prices,” [an expert]( told KTVU. [The Guardian]( Free online games Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games in our new game center at [latimes.com/games](. CALIFORNIA ALMANAC Los Angeles: Sunny, 86 San Diego: Sunny, 75 San Francisco: Overcast, 59 San Jose: Overcast, 73 Fresno: Sunny, 89 Sacramento: Overcast, 82. This isn’t a California thing, but I want to bring attention to [this death penalty case]( as time is of the essence. AND FINALLY Today’s California memory is from Morton Miller: It was 1945 and I was on furlough to visit my parents who moved to L.A. from Chicago. When I left the train station, they told me to take the Wilshire bus to Westwood. As I boarded the bus, I told the driver to let me off in Westwood. He said, “Sit down soldier, you got a long ride.” How true. If you have a memory or story about the Golden State, [share it with us](. (Please keep your story to 100 words.) Please let us know what we can do to make this newsletter more useful to you. 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