AP JOHN ROGERS Wednesday, April 16, 2014
LOS ANGELES -- The former city manager of Bell was sentenced Wednesday to 12 years in prison and ordered to make restitution of $8.8 million in a corruption scheme that nearly bankrupted the small, blue-collar city. Robert Rizzo apologized during sentencing in Los Angeles County Superior Court, telling the judge he breached the public's confidence. Rizzo previously pleaded no contest to 69 counts including conspiracy, misappropriation of public funds and falsification of public records. It was revealed in 2010 that Rizzo was giving himself an annual salary and benefits package of $1.5 million in the city where a quarter of the population lives below the federal poverty line. His $800,000 in wages alone was double that of the president of the United States. On Monday, Rizzo was sentenced separately to 33 months in federal prison for income tax evasion after he acknowledged reporting more than $700,000 in phony deductions to reduce tax liability on money authorities say he stole from Bell. The sentence in the corruption case will run concurrently with the federal term. Rizzo will serve the first 33 months in federal prison then go to state prison. He will be on parole for three years after he serves his time. At the time of his plea in the corruption case, Rizzo had offered to help prosecutors convict his chief assistant, Angela Spaccia, who was later sentenced to nearly 12 years in prison. (more)

An audit by the state controller's office found Bell illegally raised property taxes, business license fees, sewage fees and trash collection fees; illegally diverted gas taxes and other state and federal funds; and issued $50 million in voter-approved municipal bonds for a public park that was never built. A good portion of that money, auditors found, went into the lucrative salaries and pensions that Rizzo, Spaccia and other top officials collected."The city of Bell's internal control system was virtually non-existent," state Controller John Chiang said when the audit was issued. "All of the city's financial activities and transactions evolved around one individual - the former chief administrative officer."
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Also see: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/04/16/bell-california-corruption-robert-rizzo-sentenced/7788143/

excerpt:
Under a deal with prosecutors, five former City Council members pleaded no contest to misappropriating city funds, and Kennedy will begin sentencing them in June. Punishments range from probation to four years in prison, and all must make restitution and never again seek public office. One council member, a preacher, was acquitted. Last week, Rizzo's deputy, Angela Spaccia, was sentenced to 11 years and eight months in state prison for misappropriating public funds by giving herself enormous raises. When a jury found her guilty in December, her salary was $564,000. On the witness stand, Spaccia acknowledged that she felt she was earning too much when her salary passed $340,000, but argued that it was not criminal.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_Bell_scandal