Joseph Bernardino Montoya Jr. (April 30, 1939 – June 21, 2022) was an American politician who served in the

California State Legislature The California State Legislature is the bicameral state legislature of the U.S. state of California, consisting of the California State Assembly (lower house with 80 members) and the California State Senate (upper house with 40 members). ...

from 1973 to 1990. He served in the State Assembly from 1973 to 1978 from 50th and 60th districts, and in the

California State Senate The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature (the lower house being the California State Assembly). The state senate convenes, along with the state assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. ...

from the 26th district from 1978 until his resignation in 1990. Prior to that, he was a member of the La Puente City Council and served as Mayor of

La Puente La Puente (Spanish for "The Bridge") is a city in east Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city had a population of 39,816 at the 2010 census and is approximately east of downtown Los Angeles. History The original inhabitants ...

. His political career was cut short due to Montoya being indicted on the BRISPEC sting operation, and he was convicted of extortion, money laundering, and racketeering. He was imprisoned for five years, being released in 1995.

Early life and career

Montoya was born on April 30, 1939, in Rocky Ford, Colorado to Joseph and Rosalia Maria Montoya. When he was a teenager, his family moved to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, where he attended and graduated from La Puente High School and later the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

after serving four years in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

Political career

In 1968, he was elected to the La Puente City Council, serving until his election to the State Assembly. In 1970, Montoya ran for

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Califor ...

for the 50th district against incumbent William Campbell, and was endorsed by the Congress of Mexican American Unity. He lost the election, but two years later due to redistricting, the seat was now vacant. He won the election narrowly against his opponent, Kieth W. Miller, in 1972. In 1978, Montoya announced that he would be challenging incumbent Alfred H. Song for the Democratic nomination for

State Senate In the United States, the state legislature is the legislative branch in each of the 50 U.S. states. A legislature generally performs state duties for a state in the same way that the United States Congress performs national duties at ...

, using an investigation into Song by the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

for political corruption. Running as a "good government" candidate, Montoya defeated Song and won the Democratic nomination for State Senate in the 26th district. Montoya was convicted of all but three counts, with other Senators calling on him to resign before he would be expelled from the Senate. On February 5, 1990, the Senate Rules Committee stripped Montoya of his committee memberships and gave him the deadline of February 8 to resign or he would face expulsion; he resigned on February 9, saying in a speech that he would be cleared of the charges. He was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison. In 1991, the

Court of Appeals An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear a case upon appeal from a trial court or other lower tribunal. Appellat ...

reversed the conviction of Montoya on five of the seven counts. The Court did not ask for Montoya to be released, but instead asked to reduce his sentence. He was released from prison in 1995.

Personal life

Montoya was married to Pilar Gonzalez in 1960, with the couple living in

. Sometime afterwards, he married Rita Stephenson. Montoya had four children and one stepchild. He died in

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

, California on June 21, 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Montoya, Joseph B. 1939 births 2022 deaths California state senators Members of the California State Assembly Democratic Party California state senators Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly California politicians convicted of crimes People from Rocky Ford, Colorado 20th-century members of the California State Legislature