Bell trial: Ex-councilwoman says Rizzo offered her pay increase
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Teresa Jacobo, the first defendant to testify in the Bell corruption trial, returned to the witness stand Friday.
The former council member testified earlier that she made just $500 a month when she joined the city in 2001 and continued selling real estate.
Jacobo, along with former council members Luis Artigo, Victor Bello, George Cole, Oscar Hernandez and George Mirabal, is accused of bolstering her nearly $100,000 salary by serving on authorities that rarely met.
FULL COVERAGE: Bell corruption trial
It was then-city manager Robert Rizzo, she testified, who informed her she could quit her real estate job because she would be getting a pay boost and would be working full time for the city.
Questioned Friday by her attorney Shepard Kopp, Jacobo testified that Rizzo never mentioned that a full-time salary required additional work on authorities.
“Did anyone tell you that you needed to devote a certain number of hours per week, per month or per year to work on those authorities?” Kopp asked, referring to the various boards on which council members served.
“No,” Jacobo said.
“Did anyone tell you that you needed to make sure a certain number of meetings of those authorities was conducted at a city council meeting?”
“No.”
“Did anyone tell you that each meeting of those authorities needed to last for a certain amount of time?”
“No.” Jacobo testified that there was often work done on authorities outside of city council meetings.
She described handing out business cards to constituents that included her cellphone and home phone numbers. Residents would often call her at all hours, she testified, for help with city issues.
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