Assessor, tax consultant plead not guilty

 

Los Angeles County Assessor John Noguez and the tax consultant accused of bribing him, Ramin Salari, both pleaded not guilty to a long list of corruption charges on Thursday afternoon.

The pair were arrested early Wednesday morning and are being held in lieu of more than $1-million bail.

They're scheduled to be in court again Monday to argue for lower bail, and to prove that any money they use to pay it was not acquired through criminal means.

Mark McNeil, one of Noguez's aides who was also arrested Wednesday morning as part of the wide-ranging district attorney's investigation of corruption in the assessor's office, posted his $1.16-million bail early Thursday morning.

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-- Jack Dolan