Rizzo faces 53 counts; Bell was 'corruption on steroids,' D.A. Cooley says [Updated]

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, has been 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. At 10 a.m., officials emerged from Rizzo's luxury home in Huntington Beach. Rizzo, handcuffed, was escorted into a black SUV. 

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.

“Given the sheer volume of charges levied against former Bell Chief Administrative Officer Robert Rizzo and former Assistant CAO Angela Spaccia by the district attorney, it is clear that Rizzo and Spaccia were at the root of the cancer that has afflicted the City of Bell. Also, it is a sad day for Bell that four current and two former members of the council also have been arrested. I am prepared to double down our efforts to continue to restore order, establish good government reforms, and to ensure that Bell is providing needed services to its residents,” said Pedro Carrillo, interim city manager.

Outside City Hall, about two dozen residents gathered as news of the arrests spread. One man used a bullhorn to broadcast the Queen song, "Another One Bites the Dust." Members of the crowd laughed and applauded, happy to see arrests in the scandal.

For two months, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office and state and federal authorities have investigated Bell, where high salaries earned by Rizzo and other top officials have sparked widespread outrage. The Times reported last month that Rizzo was set to earn more than $1.5 million in 2010. Additionally, he gave loans totaling $1.6 million to more than 50 city officials, including himself.

-- Jack Leonard, Jeff Gottlieb, Ruben Vives and Richard Winton

Credit: Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley announces the arrests of eight current and former Bell city officials. Credit: Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times

Photos: Arrests in Bell

Comments

[Greg Maragos]

I don't understand why it has to end with these few people. For decades the taxpayers of California have been robbed, not just by those few at the top of the food chain, but by many of those down below, collecting exorbitant pension benefits and receiving inflated salaries that have been shown to be, on average, 35% higher than equivalent workers in the private sector receive.

It is well and good that these thieves are brought to justice, but it does not end here. We need top to bottom civil service reform in order to bring California and its many cities and counties back into solvency.

The party's over.

[JR]

Mr. Rizzo looks a lot like a certain overweight character from the second Austin Power movie.

[Zach]

Good start. Now can the feds arrest Wall Street criminals?

[Bill]

"I note that this story doesn't mention what party the corrupt politicians belonged to"
Posted by Josh

That's because the offices of the city officials are non-partisan. You will notice that in city stories, party affiliation isn't mentioned because it isn't part of the office (unless we're talking about large cities like New York or Chicago).

---

Great job, Los Angeles Times. And congratulations in advance on your Pulitzer.

[joe]

Wait a minute!!!! Why are they all smiling at their booking foto???

[thecanimalshusband]

Rizzo and the others were only selflessly serving the public. All of our public servants need to be enriched with taxpayer money for all their selfless serving of the public.

[Steve H]

Is it just me that noticed that Ed Lee, the contract city attorney was not arrested as well? Now this is the one guy who had to bless the entire mess, and has so far managed to stay out of the line of fire... makes a guy wonder.

[JohnMcCain]

wow. Rizzo looks like a dumpling on toothpics. He's going to have fun in prison.

[Ali Ansari]

Police chief not arrested? Seems like election year arrests. Please city of Bell residents and keep police union on your side too.

Why such drama and publicity? These sweeps resemble the patterns of immigration sweeps. Really wish that someday we could read about drug lords sweeps.

[Bryan W]

Slow down, people. I think the Police Chief was not arrested because he does not determine his own salary. The city councilmembers all take part in setting their own salaries. Investigators will have to determine some type of collusion between the city council and the Police Chief before he is arrested. Otherwise, like it says in the article, it's not a crime to make a big salary.

[JohnMcCain]

Next stop: SACRAMENTO!

Schwartzenegger needs to be arrested for giving his cronies 200k a year jobs when the rest of this state is in financial ruin!

[Dave]

The city manager is an adminstrative/management position, not an elected position, so his political affiliation is not disclosed and, frankly, not a factor. Did anyone care what political party the Enron executives belonged to?

Also, many city council positions are non-party affiliated positions, meaning that the political party of the councilmembers aren't publically disclosed. I'm wondering if that is why the political parties aren't mentioned in the article.

[SHGB]

Well, at least it is obvious that public funds didn't pay for lap band surgery.

[Ali Ansari]

Dang.. just notice everyone has a smile on their booking pics.

[Penquin Rizzo]

Josh,

Since you want the party affiliation of these corrupt criminals, can you also provide the party affiliation of the people who led us into two unnecessary wars, advocate for tax cuts for the wealthy, increased our deficit by 150% (while squandering a surplus) while incomes stagnated from 2000 to 2009? That way informed voters can make the proper choice when going to the polls in November.

[anon]

the police chief sure didn't help in preventing from all this to happen,
he has be let off and he wasn't a whistle blower.They are only in it for themselves? he is suppose to protect the public. He is not doing his duty by ignoring the situation and is actually could be a benefactor. IT'S not fair.. The public will not be so helpful if they know that they won't protect us from fraud.
It just common sense. I would live with myself if i was in that position. He shouldn't hold a public position anymore and his pension has to be in question because of the way it was obtained.

[aycarumba]

Am I just trippin, or are these people Mexicans? I wonder how much of the taxpayer's money was sent to Mexico?

[DG3]

Rizzo's 4 feet tall and 4 feet wide.

[HB in the OC]

Police Chief Randy Adams needs to be investigated. Part of his contract was FREE lifetime medical coverage for himself and his relatives.

Has anyone ever worked at a job for a year or two, and receive FREE lifetime medical coverage for yourself and family???

[db]

They're all smiling in the booking photos because they know they will probably get little, if any, jail time when they plead down. And they will still be getting thousands no matter what.

[jmanja]

keep them in jail and sell their houses to recover the loot

[JAMES FERGUSON]

A Federal RICO investigation is what is really needed.

[Bubblybu]

Yes, thank you Los Angeles Times for your in depth investigation of these white collar criminals. There is nothing worse than the scum of the earth that use public office as a means of enriching themselves, but I would imagine a in depth investigation of any city would dig up corruption similar to Bell. Note to the Times: Investigate what kind of "work" these dirtbags did before taking public office...I bet there are ties to organized crime.

[dan]

According to bank transaction records, Rizzo used approximately 36% of his 1.5 million dollar salary to purchase ice cream and cheeseburgers.

[d]

those aren't booking photos, they're driver's license photos.