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Bell: Appellate court rules city can seek restitution for salaries

By Ruben Vives
 and Corina Knoll
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A California Court of Appeal said Wednesday the state attorney general can seek full restitution against eight former Bell officials in a civil suit.

‘Today marks the beginning of a new dawn for Bell and its residents,’ Mayor Ali Saleh said. ‘We are very pleased with the outcome of today’s court decision.’

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The announcement is more bad news for five of the six former Bell council members who were found guilty Wednesday of misappropriating public funds. It also may pose a problem for Luis Artiga, the only defendant exonerated in the corruption trial, who is seeking payment from the city for his legal fees.

CHEAT SHEET: Bell corruption verdicts

Two years ago, the former officials claimed the city owed them collectively in excess of $4 million in legal defense fees, according to city officials.

Now they face well in excess of that amount in restitution claims, officials say.

That case names ex-City Administrator Robert Rizzo, his assistant Angela Spaccia, former police Chief Randy Adams, and the five former councilmembers who were convicted Wednesday: Victor Bello, George Cole, Oscar Hernandez, Teresa Jacobo and George Mirabal.

FULL COVERAGE: Bell corruption trial

Rizzo and Spaccia will both stand trial later this year.

It was initially tossed out in 2011 by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Ralph W. Dau, who said it was flawed and politically motivated. Dau said that because of legislative immunity, legislators cannot be sued for passing ordinances that award them high salaries. The case, which sought restitution to the city of Bell for the defendants’ salaries, had been filed by then-Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown during his campaign for governor. Dau indicated he believed Brown was overstepping his authority in filing the suit.

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TIMELINE: ‘Corruption on steroids’

Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris later filed an appeal with the California Court of Appeal. Oral arguments were heard Tuesday.

Officials say the thrust of the Court of Appeal’s decision was based on the interpretation of the city of Bell charter that limits compensation of the Bell 8 to amounts of other general law cities, counter to the prior view that the Charter allowed for excessive compensation.

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— Ruben Vives and Corina Knoll

L.A. Now
Ruben Vives

Ruben Vives is a general assignment reporter for the Los Angeles Times. A native of Guatemala, he got his start in journalism by writing for The Times’ Homicide Report in 2007. He helped uncover the financial corruption in the city of Bell that led to criminal charges against eight city officials. The 2010 investigative series won the Pulitzer Prize for public service and other prestigious awards.

Corina Knoll

Corina Knoll is a former reporter for the Metro section of the Los Angeles Times. She was on the team that investigated corruption in Bell — which led to the paper’s 2011 Pulitzer Prize for public service — and went on to cover the trials of the city’s former officials. She later contributed to the paper’s coverage of the San Bernardino terror attack that won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for breaking news. As a regional reporter, she wrote features about the San Gabriel Valley and the Westside. During her courts beat, she covered high-profile criminal cases and civil disputes, including the Jackson family vs AEG and Bryan Stow vs LA Dodgers. She and two colleagues investigated sheriff’s deputies whose histories of misconduct landed them on the department’s top-secret Brady list. She left The Times in January 2019. Raised in the Midwest, she is a graduate of Macalester College.

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