Should officials accused of corruption have legal bills covered by Bell?
As Bell teeters on the brink of bankruptcy, three current and former officials accused of public corruption are asking the city to cover their legal costs.
The Times' Richard Winton reports ("3 accused Bell officials want cash-strapped city to pay their legal bills"):
Attorneys for Mayor Oscar Hernandez, Councilwoman Teresa Jacobo and former Councilman George Cole in court filings argue that the city should cover their legal expenses in a suit filed last year by the California attorney general's office.
Jacobo and Cole also want the city to pay their legal bills in a criminal prosecution by the L.A. County district attorney.
In the video above, Times assistant city editor Kimi Yoshino discusses the question. What do you think? Share your views below.
EDITOR'S PICKS:
I know these idiots have there own money , but they are claiming poverty. I have a list of properties that Hernandez owns yet the old switch-a r00 needs to be checked. I also know when the civil suit goes thru hopefully that we will be able to recover some of the cities money, and I hope that all of the race horses Rizzo bought won't be to old to be of any use.
Posted by: donna gannon | January 11, 2011 at 02:38 PM
Lets ship them over to Tehran and let the Iranians decide who pays what..oops, looks like its not an issue anymore. At least the Iranians have courage of their convictions compared to American who are cowards and tripping all over themselves to protect the criminals. Forget the lawyers, just throw them in prison for 20 years.
Posted by: Bob Johnson | January 11, 2011 at 03:30 PM
NO!
Posted by: RabidinL.A. | January 11, 2011 at 03:58 PM
No, No, No
Posted by: Nate | January 11, 2011 at 08:08 PM
See three links below - highlighting almost identical situations in two different countries.
In Brtiain a politician is sent to jail for expense fraud.
In British Columbia, Canada - convicted government officials get all legal fees even though they were found guilty (guilty plea). This has caused public outrage and justly so.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-12127327
http://northerninsights.blogspot.com/2010/10/outrageous-special-deal-for-basi-and.html#comments
http://bctrialofbasi-virk.blogspot.com/
If official are found guilty of frau and corruption then the guilty parties should be paying their own leagl bills and fines out of their own money - not the city's, state or government's money.
Thanks you
Posted by: John Wood | January 12, 2011 at 12:46 PM
Why should we pay for there legal fee's. Why dont they SELL there property. The people of the City of Bell didnt committ any crimes. The city council did. Shame on them. You pay, we dont
Posted by: Olga Bardowell | January 12, 2011 at 11:24 PM
Just a thought........the city of Bell is about broke. City insurance I suspect like most insurance carriers does NOT offer coverage for criminal defense.
let the bozo's pay their own legal bills!
Posted by: vincent | January 16, 2011 at 08:26 AM