L.A. Now Live: Discuss the Bell corruption trial

Jurors in the trial of six ex-Bell council members will resume deliberations Tuesday to determine whether the former city officials should be convicted of misusing public funds.

Times Staff Writer Jeff Gottlieb will join L.A. Now Live at 9 a.m. to discuss the trial.

The case against Luis Artiga, Victor Bello, George Cole, Teresa Jacobo, Oscar Hernandez and George Mirabal went to the jury shortly before noon Friday after four weeks of testimony.

Jurors are deciding whether it was legal for the defendants to receive salaries as high as $100,000 annually, boosted by pay for serving on city boards that did little, if any, work.

The case is the first chapter in a broader alleged municipal corruption case in which authorities contend that the city's then-chief executive -- Robert Rizzo -- dipped into the city treasury by paying huge salaries, loaning city money and padding retirement accounts, at a time when the city's finances were starting to crumble.