Sen. Calderon Has Been Investigated Previously Over Campaign Funds

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — State Sen. Ron Calderon has been under investigation in the past for his financial dealings, though no enforcement action was taken at the time.

Phillip Ung of the nonpartisan watchdog group Common Cause says it's not just gifts that can benefit politicians—it's also massive campaign contributions like the nearly $2 million Calderon has raised in the past five years.

In fact, CBS13 has learned the state opened an investigation into Calderon in 2004 over whether his campaign funds were "impermissibly used for personal purposes" and warned "failure to comply … in the future could result in enforcement action."

Ultimately no enforcement action was taken in the matter.

It's not the only time Calderon has been at the center of a financial controversy.

In 2011, CBS caught a group of lawmakers going on a five-day Hawaiian retreat while thousands of Californians protested college-tuition hikes and corporate welfare.

Sen. Calderon was there, and his brother, Assemblyman Charles Calderon, greeted our cameras.

That whole trip was paid for by special interests.

In addition, he has reported receiving gifts from lobbyists and corporations such as Toyota, State Farm and AT&T.

Calderon is also an avid golfer who has been given thousands of dollars in golf equipment and rounds of golf. He was also given a ticket to the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

He's also been wined and dined with hundreds of dollars in dinners and drinks. He's been entertained with tickets to concerts, Los Angeles Lakers basketball games and the Emmy's.

Adding in three trips worth more than $2,000 each, that adds up to more than $46,000 in gifts in just the past four years.

Ung says that's common for a lawmaker with as high a profile as Calderon, but that legislators and voters need to remember public officials should serve the public and do so honorably.