John Tran

John Tran, the former Rosemead city council member and mayor, has agreed to plead guilty to federal bribery charges, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Tran, 36, was named in a criminal filing Friday and the plea agreement was also filed. This usually happens when the defendant agrees to plead guilty when confronted by the investigators, in this case, the FBI.

Tran pleads guilty to accepting bribes from a developer who invested in $1.8 million plots of land in Rosemead in exchange for helping him/her with a mixed-use building project. His help came to naught, the project was never approved, and Tran was voted out of office in 2009, losing by 1 vote after two rounds of recount.

The maximum sentencing Tran faces is 10 years in prison, restitution, and a fine of $250,000.

The statement of fact accompanying the plea agreement – Tran is agreeing to all the details in it - shows the gall of Tran, who did not seem to even know the developer beforehand.

Identified in the filing only as a confidential informant (“CI”), the developer bought an empty lot in Rosemead in 2005 for $1.1 million. The previous owner had already had a blueprint for an office building, and CI planned to follow through with it.

So CI went to City Hall to apply for a permit. There, CI met Tran who asked what CI was doing there. CI said, to apply for a permit. Tran then took CI and two city employees into a conference room, introduced himself as a member of the city council.

After hearing CI talk about the permit, Tran and the two city employees suggested that it would be better if CI develop a mixed-use building instead.

They also suggested that CI buy the adjacent lot, which CI eventually did, at a price of $700,000.

Next thing CI knew, Tran showed up at CI’s office. Claiming he’s “help”ing with the permit process, Tran asked for money.

Which shows guts, cuz up until seeing CI at City Hall, Tran didn’t know who CI was.

And a good instinct too, because when Tran asked to “borrow” $3,000, CI went to the bank and got the cash. Tran smelled blood and he scored.

Tran would later come back several times for more cash, $2000 here, $2000 there, and another $3,000.

Then in 2005, Tran came to CI’s office again. This time, somehow he got suspicious and searched the place for recording devices. CI wasn’t happy, and asked Tran what had he done for CI after getting all CI’s money. Tran said “this” and handed a stack of paper, showing that CI’s project had been preliminarily approved.

Tran then asked for even more money. CI told Tran to go see CI’s partner. He did, and partner signed him a check made out to “Cash” for $3,200.

So, altogether, Tran got $13,200 from CI.

After that, though, CI refused to give Tran any more money.

In 2009, Tran got voted out of office. CI’s project was never approved by the city.

After losing his election, Tran ran for the El Monte Union High School Board and won.

Right now, he’s running for the newly created 49th Assembly District.

Phu Nguyen's parents (1st and 3rd from left), his brother-in-law (right), and niece and nephew attend the unveiling ceremony of the naming sign in his honor, in this photo proviđe by State Senator Lou Correa's (2nd from left) office.

An interchange on the 22 freeway has been named in honor of late Vietnamese-American student activist Nguyen Ngoc Phu in a ceremony Thursday.

The sign proclaiming the “Nguyen Ngoc Phu Human Rights Memorial Interchange” was unveiled at the Beach Boulevard exit off the 22, in Westminster.

The naming was an act of the California Legislature through a bill sponsored by State Sen. Lou Correa. In an interview on Nguoi Viet, Correa said this was the first freeway or intersection in California that’s named for a Viet. It’s also the first one with the words “human rights” in it.

Phu Nguyen was an activist and officer of the UVSA, often confused with the other Phu Nguyen the former president of the UVSA.

This Phu Nguyen was UVSA vice-president and head of the organizing committee for the Tet Festival of 2005. His father was an officer in the South Vietnamese Army who suffered through the communist reeducation camps.

Phu was graduated from Cal State Fullerton with a biology degree and was due to start medical school at UCLA when he died from a heart condition.

It was right after he came home from attending a meeting of the Orange County Board of Supervisors where the flag of South Vietnam was honored, something Phu had lobbied for.

Dragon Auto Inc., a small used car dealer in Garden Grove, owes $960,564, according to the latest list updated November 30. This Viet dealer buys and sells used car a handful at a time, and last had any significant commerce in 2009.

Even with an unpaid tax bill of almost a million, Dragon is nowhere near the top of the list, not even among other Viets.

At more than double the tax bill, is D and L Wireless Inc., dba Wireless Citi (not to be confused with Wireless City, still in business), of Garden Grove. This Viet cellular phone business owes a whopping $2,261,377 in sales and use tax.

One business that has been on the list since 2004 is Hollytron Inc. of Westminster. Although targeting the Vietnamese market, this high-flying consumer electronic retailer is actually Korean-owned. It underwent bankruptcy and left dozens of Viet and fellow Korean vendors holding the bag for millions of unpaid invoices. The list shows Hollytron owing the state $1,247,297.

The three pleaded guilty on 11/23 and were sentenced on 11/30.

The rich-but-claiming-to-be-poor woman is Lieu Thi Ha, 38, of Westminster. She was sentenced to 2 years and 8 months in state prison, after pleading guilty to a total of 50 felony counts of perjury, grand theft, and public assistance fraud.

Apparently, she lied and hid her ownership of a Los Angeles nail salon and a Westminster home, and failed to report income received from tenants who rented rooms in her house.

Hiding all these assets and income, Ha applied for and received over $140,000 in various forms of public assistance, including housing, cash, child care services, and food stamps.

Her aunt Hue Thi Chu, 37, and Chu’s ex-husband Hai Dien Luu, 49, both of Garden Grove, helped her by pretending the house was theirs. Chu also pretended to be the caretaker for the children so Ha could get state payments — but at the time Chu was not living in the U.S. The child care assistance amounted to over $7,700.

Ha applied for, and got, Section 8 housing assistance for living in the home that her aunt and uncle fronted for her. For this, Ha received over $88,000 in Section 8 money.

For their part in the fraud – which took place when the two were still married – Chu and Luu each got 2 years in prison.

Anh "Joseph" Cao in Louisiana in 2010. (Photo: Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Back in 2010, Rep. Joseph Cao, the first Vietnamese-American to serve in Congress, bungled his visit to Vietnam and was highly criticized for it.

First, it was a plain bad idea to go to the communist country just when that government increased its persecution of religious groups there, especially the Catholic Church.

Second, Cao was in such a hurry he whisked there without telling anyone and the world ended up learning about it through the (very self-serving) reporting of state-owned media from Vietnam.

Many called him a tool – knowing or otherwise – of the Vietnamese government, or at least of the Vietnamese propaganda machine. Others shook their heads and thought, boy, how naive can Cao get. They were most disappointed that Cao, a former Jesuit seminarian, didn’t even say or do anything to help the oppressed Catholics there.

Now, a diplomatic cable disclosed in the WikiLeaks database finally (but only partially) vindicated Cao.

The note written by the U.S. Ambassador to Hanoi reveals that Cao did speak out for freedom of religion in the country, going so far as a to call for placing Vietnam on the list of Countries of Particular Concern on religious rights.

But that note also reveals Cao as a political lightweight who was no match for the seasoned government officials that he met on his trip, and anything he might have planned to do about human rights in Vietnam was easily neutralized.

For sure, Cao had a good time on his trip, as part of a 3-member delegation with Eni Faleomavaega (a nonvoting Congressman from American Samoa) and Michael Honda (D-San Jose).

Cao and Honda got to Saigon first. Accompanied by consulate officers, they met with the External Relations Office and then, on their own, they visited the largest and best known maternity hospital of Vietnam, the Tu Du (Từ Dũ) Hospital.

Then Cao went to visit his hometown, Trung Chanh, which is in the far end of Ho Chi Minh City.

The next day, Faleomavaega arrived and the three flew to Hanoi, where Ambassador Michael Michalak took them around.

In the evening, the delegation was hosted by the National Assembly Foreign Affairs Vice Chairman, Ngo Quang Xuan.

That was when Cao spoke up. According to the cable,

Congressman Cao offered his personal, frank assessment of the current human rights and religious freedom situations in Vietnam, including a recommendation that Vietnam be returned to the CPC list.

“Not surprisingly,” the note said, “the Congressman’s statements prompted a strong rebuttal from Vice Chairman Xuan, who strongly defended the GVN position on human rights and religious freedom with well-known talking points.”

And … that was it from Cao!

Hit by a barrage of “well-known talking points,” Cao shut up. The whole religious freedom thing was never brought up again. No more CPC talk.

The next day, meeting with even bigger cheese from the Vietnamese side, Cao became utterly meek. The cable made him out to be close to apologetic. Meeting with the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs committee:

Congressman Cao, speaking in Vietnamese, assured [Nguyen Van] Son that he did not intend to overthrow the Vietnamese Government. All political disagreements should be expressed openly in order to find common ground on issues of concern. “It is important that we continue to talk together and address any differences,” he noted.

Ngo Quang Xuan, Vietnam's former ambassador to the WTO, vice-chair of its National Assembly's foreign affairs committee, and apparently the man who mortally wounded Cao's advocacy.

Meeting with the Chairman of the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese (a position which makes him something of the sworn enemy of Vietnamese-American anti-communist protestors):

Representative Cao stated that many Vietnamese-Americans are vocal about issues facing Vietnam because they want to see the country prosper.

Meeting with the Vice Foreign Minister (who’s now the Foreign Minister):

Cao thanked the GVN for granting him a visa and allowing him to return to his country of birth. Congressman Cao noted that he continues to have a strong affinity for Vietnam even though he left when he was eight years old. Congressman Cao said he would continue to express his personal opinions on issues facing Vietnam, but only with the intent of making Vietnam a stronger, more stable and prosperous country.

Somehow one dress-down from a second-tier official was enough to drain Cao of all advocacy energy.

Khánh Ly (in the back) sings live while dancers perform in Quiet Imprint

A ballet piece set to the music of Trinh Cong Son songs will be performed by Ballet Austin II and the Thang Dao Dance Company at the Rose Center in Westminster in 3 shows this weekend, featuring live voice of the one singer whose career is associated with Trinh’s music – Khánh Ly.

Trinh Cong Son is a social-commentary troubadour often called the Bob Dylan of Vietnam (except that Bob Dylan has never heard of him). He is revered by many and reviled by others as either the voice of peace or the traitor in wartime Vietnam. Some accuse him of Communist leanings, but it doesn’t matter really because he’s been dead for a decade now.

Choreographer Thang Dao, a Vietnam-born New Yorker, set Trinh’s music to ballet and performed it to audience acclaims in Austin and Houston.

He’s bringing his piece, entitled “Quiet Imprint,” to the heart of the Vietnamese-American community in Orange County. It will be playing at the Rose Center in Westminster at 7pm on Saturday 10/8, and at 4pm and 8pm on Sunday 10/9.

Khánh Ly has always been considered something of the yardstick against which all singers of Trinh Cong Son’s several hundred songs is measured. (Except for just a couple songs where other people are the standard.) She will be singing the songs live as the dancers perform.

The name “Quiet Imprint” is a translation of the title of one of Trinh Cong Son’s songs, “Vết Lăn Trầm.”

The Bolsavik exchanged Facebook messages with Thang Dao. A Vietnamese version of the interview appears on Nguoi Viet.

The Bolsavik (NV): What inspires you to use Trinh Cong Son’s music for ballet?

Thang Dao: Khanh Ly’s voice inspired me to use TCS’s music. Her deliverance of the songs are sonic narratives. She is able to convey the the spirit of Trinh’s song and bring life to the lyric within each song.

Thang Dao

NV: Is Vietnamese music something you listen to regularly?

Thang Dao: I have reconnected with Vietnamese music since I started working on Quiet Imprint. The two voices that I listen to frequently are Khánh Ly and Thái Thanh.

NV: People think of ballet as classical and Trinh Cong Son as, well, not classical. Pop. How has the merger worked out?

Thang Dao: Ballet is classical, but Trinh’s music is more rock than pop, at least the genre in which one would describe the sound, melody and rhythm of Trinh’s music. Ballet is a form of communication, at least storytelling from the romantic period and courtly life; Khanh Ly’s voice has nuances and colors in her singing that can reflect the narrative of the songs as opposed to performance pagentries and vocal techniques. Therefore the integration of ballet and Khanh Ly’s performance can carry the narrative proposed in Quiet Imprint. Both are forms of communication that complement each other.

NV: How did the audience react when you previously perform this?

Thang Dao: Quiet Imprint premiered in Austin in March 2010 and October 2010. It came to Houston in April 2011 and now here in Orange County. The audience have been receptive and gracious. Many people found Quiet Imprint cathartic and resonant and are able to identify with the songs, stories, and dance.

NV: Why is it that some Vietnamese may go into classical music but not a lot of Vietnamese go into ballet dancing?

Thang Dao: I don’t think that phenomenon applies solely with just Vietnamese people. Most nations herald classical music, but not ballet because ballet is too close to the body thus too sexually provocative. With an instrument, the body is removed and so do the desires that are associated with the human body.

NV: After Quiet Imprint, any other project for ballet based on Vietnamese music?

Thang Dao: After Quiet Imprint, I hope to create more ballets. I am open to all source of inspirations and if the next one happens to have a Vietnamese identity, I would welcome it with open arms. Maybe something about Saigon, a name that inspired so many and lives quietly in all of us. Saigon was our Vienna. Maybe Truong Tri My Nuong or Chuyen Tinh Lan va Diep ballets.

* * *

Thang Dao was born in Danang, Vietnam. He currently resides in New York City as a free-lance choreographer while directing his own company, the Thang Dao Dance Company. Thang received his formal dance education from the Juilliard School and the Boston Conservatory. He holds a BFA in dance from The Boston Conservatory and an MA from New York University.

Thang danced for the Stephen Petronio Company from 2001-2006, as well as with the Metropolitan Opera and Little Orchestra Society. He has presented his works in Boston, New York City, and Austin, with acclaimed reviews by The Boston Globe, Austin 360 and The New York Times. Most recently, he created Echoes for Ailey II, soon to be presented at the Joyce Theatre in New York.

In 2006, his ballet Stepping Ground, choreographed on Ballet Austin for the 1st Biennial New American Talent/Dance, received the Audience Choice Award on all four nights. Thang is also the recipient of the 2008 Princess Grace Choreography Fellowship and the 2009 Special Project Grant for Quiet Imprint, his latest work for Ballet Austin II.

OK, start over.

Andy Huynh got arrested last week after he and his friends allegedly bungled a robbery and while Huynh got away, he left behind his wallet and ID and ended up surrendering himself.

The trio, all 19, are being held on charges of robbery, assault with a deadly weapon and resisting arrest, according to the L.A. Times here.

The three are accused of attempting to rob a market in Covina, California, on 9/21. Huynh was allegedly the getaway driver and waited in the car while the other two, Nicholas Kalscheuer and Nicholas Fiumetto, entered the Baja Ranch Market at about 3pm.

Inside the store, Fiumetto grabbed a 30-pack of Tecate beer and the two men ran out.

They didn’t get too far. Employees of the market chased them and caught Kalscheuer, holding him until the police came.

Fiumetto, meanwhile, threw the beer in the car and jumped in the car.

Huynh pulled out, but he almost hit an employee so this employee jumped on the hood. Huynh careened through the parking lot, hitting a curb and sending the employee onto the pavement, “scraping his arms in the fall” – said the Times.

Huynh and Fiumetto both ran away on foot. Fiumetto jumped the fence and ran into a car wash next door, with police officers chasing after.

So Fiumetto ran into the car wash tunnel.

The car wash manager was there, saw the whole thing, and he told the paper:

“There were two cars being washed in the tunnel,” Pepe Pinedo said. “He got into the wash and the rollers and got all wet.

“By the time, he came out of the car wash, the officer was already on the other end of the tunnel,” he continued. “It was kind of funny. It was a nice show.”

Huynh, meanwhile, got away. But his wallet and ID were in the car. So police called him and convinced him to turn himself in.

Court records show that Huynh’s bail was initially set at $50,000 but afterwards was upped to $80,000. He’s still in jail, way out in Castaic.

It’s of two Viets from UCLA, Nam Tran and Trang Janie Vu. Nam Tran is the bassist in Thomas’ Apartment, the band that won the 2007 talent search contest. Read more about them here. The video is made by FlashMobAmerica.

Anyway, this is not about the band. It’s about Nam Tran. Years ago he met his girlfriend on campus (looks like upstairs in Kerckhoff Hall based on the video) and last weekend they were back there on a trip down memory lane, and then this happens: