After years of delays, the charges against the owners, employees, and contractors of Del Terra are moving forward, with three of the defendants set to appear at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center on the morning of June 30, 2023, in adjoining court rooms (Department 50, 51).

The highest profile defendant is Gustavo Camacho, an elected City Council Member in Pico Rivera. He previously worked as a consultant with Del Terra, and is currently facing counts of conspiracy to launder money for a political campaign.

Specifically, Camacho is charged by the District Attorney of recruiting his family members and friends to make campaign contributions to Montebello School District Board candidate Joanna Flores, and of reimbursing them for those contributions. The alleged justification for these actions was to ensure that Del Terra would continue to receive lucrative contracts from Montebello Unified.

In the adjoining court room to Camacho, Alejandro “Alex” Rojas, is defending against 18 counts, including embezzlement, money laundering, and perjury, in relation to his previous work as Superintendent of Bassett Unified School District. These charges stem from Rojas’ funneling of almost two million dollars to Del Terra.

Rojas is currently General Manager of the Central Basin Municipal Water District, where he has worked to selloff public property to unknown buyers and silence members of the public. He has been accused during public comment sessions of using the same tactics at Central Basin as he did at Bassett, in order to funnel unknown amounts of money to Del Terra.

The third defendant of the morning is the owner of Del Terra, Luis Diaz Rojas. In his filed declaration, he details that his home was raided by law enforcement on June 2, 2021, that many electronic devices with Del Terra content were seized, and that he has “spent hundreds of hours, if not more, conferring and working with my attorneys on my defense.”

The firm defending Rojas is Zweiback, Fiset & Coleman, with noted Attorney Michael Zweiback taking the lead. Zweiback is widely known for his defense of former L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca, and highlights on this biography that he is “currently listed in The Best Lawyers in America in the area of Criminal Defense: White-Collar.”

In response to learning about Zweiback’s involvement, Jorge Torres, a resident of Montebello who has been investigating Del Terra, said “So not only did Del Terra steal taxpayer money intended for students, they are now using that money to buy the best criminal defense attorneys that money can buy!”

Although the full scope of Del Terra’s operation is currently unknown, residents from around the region are rallying against the company. In early June 2023, despite a public protest by community members, the Rio Hondo College Board is continuing their contract with Del Terra, apparently because Del Terra “controls” three of the seats on the Board.

Residents of the region are expected to attend the simultaneous court dates of Gustavo Camacho, Alex Rojas, and Luis Rojas, at 8:30AM on June 30, 2023.