Four Bell council members must resign after turning city into ‘laughing stock,’ colleague says

Bell City Councilman Lorenzo Velez, the only member of the City Council not under investigation for a high salary or being targeted for recall, is calling for the resignation of his four colleagues.

In a statement released late Sunday, Velez said he is now supporting the recall efforts of the Bell Assn. to Stop the Abuse and believes the city must "clean house." The four other council members -- Oscar Hernandez, Luis Artiga, Teresa Jacobo and George Mirabal –- had been earning $100,000 a year until they announced recently that they would take a 90% pay cut.

"They have no credibility and have made Bell the laughing stock of the nation," Velez said. "If they have any integrity remaining, they would save the city the cost of a recall and resign."

Velez said the city must appoint a new administrative officer, police chief and city attorney to assure residents that the city can heal and move forward.

Velez' statements come after new revelations that the city's former chief administrative officer, Robert Rizzo, was earning a compensation package of $1.5 million annually, nearly double the $787,000 annual salary that The Times' first reported. The councilman said he believes there is a "conscious effort to withhold information" and that officials have "dragged their feet" in releasing documents.

The Los Angeles County district attorney's office and state attorney general's office are investigating the high salaries as well as allegations of voter fraud in Bell.

-- Kimi Yoshino

Comments

[Mike]

If the four council members are willing to take a pay cut of 90%, it must be for a job where no work is required.

[Bob Henning]

Rizzo is scheduled to be in court to face DUI charges in Huntington BVeach,Where he Owns a Home. Look at his Picture pertaining to that Case. By the Way his Blood Alcohol Count was .28 which is more than Tripple the Legal Limit of .08. Look at his Bloated Drunk Face and ask yourself How did this Drunk Corrupt Greedy Clown Fool so many people. What a Disgrace he is as a Man.

[JiveNJingle]

If I were a resident of Bell, I'd stop paying my taxes immediately until this fiasco was sorted out. And I'd encourage all other residents to do the same. How can these people ever be trusted to do their job? That's right, it's time to clean house and stop the corruption, certainly THIS corruption that has been brought to light. There's plenty more corruption around us, however.

[Felix]

Let's talk about credibility and Lorenzo Velez.
When he's the only one "living" among all those bad apples, how could he not knowing about it ? And even if he's not aware of it, that would make him even less credible because how could you appoint and trust someone to do things on your behalf when that someone is just plain...dumb ???
How could Velez talk about credibility when he himself is far from being credible.
The City of Bell should do a COMPLETE housecleaning leaving NOTHING and NO ONE from the old and current team.

[bob]

well how much do the police officers make?