Posted on 09/21/2010 12:47:14 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley filed charges against eight current and former Bell officials Tuesday, alleging that they misappropriated $5.5 million in public funds. Robert Rizzo, Bell's former city manager, .. charged with 53 counts of misappropriation of public funds and conflict of interest.
The charges come after a dramatic morning in which authorities swept through Bell and other cities, arresting former and current Bell officials.
Among those arrested were Rizzo; Angela Spaccia, former assistant city manager; Mayor Oscar Hernandez; councilmembers George Mirabal, Teresa Jacobo and Luis Artiga; and former councilmembers George Cole and Victor Bello.
"This is corruption on steroids," Cooley said.
[Updated at 11:28 a.m.: Cooley said officials used the city's tax dollars "as their own piggy bank that they then looted at will."
He said that councilmembers, who earned salaries of nearly $100,000, received $1.2 million for "phantom meetings" -- many which never occurred or lasted only a minute or two.
Police Chief Randy Adams, who also stepped down after The Times reported he was earning $457,000, was not arrested.
"Being paid excessive amounts is not a crime," Cooley said, noting that the investigation is ongoing.
Bail for Rizzo has been set at $3.2 million. Bail for the others ranges from $130,000 to $377,500.]
Rizzo, whose high salary sparked the outrage that led to the investigations of the city, was among those arrested in the sweep. ..
In Bell, a neighbor of Hernandez said authorities used a battering ram on his front door after he failed to answer the door.
"They broke the door down," said the neighbor, who only gave his name as Jose. "They knocked down the door and they brought him out in cuffs."
The city of Bell released a statement about the arrests, calling it a "sad day" for the city.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimesblogs.latimes.com ...
Bell is predominately Hispanic.
The people there are too busy working for a living to pay close enough attention to politics like this...
We get the government we don’t watch closely.
Hard to believe nobody blew the whistle on what was going on.
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