- 1
- 2
- next
- | single page
Oscar Hernandez (Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department) |
-
Robert Rizzo makes court appearance.
-
Former Bell City Manager Robert Rizzo is taken away in handcuffs.
-
Photo Gallery: Bell Officials Booking Photos
-
-
Photos: Arrests in Bell
-
- VIDEO: Bell City Manager's Lawyer Says 'Mob' is Being Unfair
- VIDEO: "Bell 8" Attorneys Work To Post Bail, Dave Mecham reports
- VIDEO: Former Bell Officials Plead Not Guilty To Corruption Charges, Chip Yost Reports
-
See more videos »
- Bell (Los Angeles, California)
- Police Arrests
- Government
-
See more topics »
LOS ANGELES (KTLA) -- Bell Mayor Oscar Hernandez has been released from jail after spending nearly a week behind bars in connection to a corruption scandal that rocked the working-class city. He is the fifth of the so-called "Bell Eight" to be released.
Hernandez posted a $250,000 bond and was freed at 2:15 a.m. Tuesday, according to the L.A. County Sheriff's Department.
He was arrested last Tuesday along with seven other current and former Bell leaders, including former city manager Robert Rizzo. Officials reportedly used a battering ram to break down Hernandez's door when he didn't answer.
Council members Luis Artiga and Teresa Jacobo, former Councilman George Cole and Former Assistant City Administrator Angela Spaccia have also been released on bond. All three were released from jail last Wednesday after posting bond that ranged from $120,000 to $260,000.
Rizzo, Councilman George Mirabal and former Councilman Victor Bello remain jailed.
Rizzo's bail was reduced last week from $3.2 million to $2 million after his attorney argued the amount was unfair and that his client was not a flight risk.
James Spertus also told the court Rizzo "has been in a medical facility," and has not had a chance to review the charges against him. He had asked that bail be reduced to $100,000 for Rizzo.
Mirabel's bail stands at $260,000 and Bello's is set at $190,000.
Arraignment for the so-called "Bell Eight" has been postponed until October 21.
According to Twin Towers Correctional Facility officials, Victor Bello has been on suicide watch as of Friday afternoon.
Rizzo, 56, is charged with 53 counts of misappropriation of public funds, falsification of documents and conflict of interest. He could face up to 58 years in prison if convicted.
Rizzo, who earned a base salary of $800,000, is accused of writing his own employment contracts that were never approved by the City Council beginning in 2008, officials said.
It is also alleged that Rizzo gave nearly $1.9 million in unauthorized loans to himself, Spaccia, Artiga, Hernandez and dozens of others.
"We are alleging they used the tax dollars collected from the hard-working citizens of Bell as their own piggy bank, which they looted at will," Los Angeles District Attorney Steven Cooley said.
Prosecutors have charged Hernandez, Jacobo, Mirabal, Cole, Bello and Artiga with nearly two dozen counts of misappropriating approximately $1.2 million of public funds.
Rizzo's lawyer, James Spertus, told KTLA that he believes politics is the motive in his client's arrest.
"The only thing that justifies an arrest is the fact that elections are coming up in November," he told KTLA.
Visibly absent from the list of Bell officials under arrest was former Chief of Police Randy Adams.
Adams stepped down amid the fallout over his $457,000 salary. D.A. investigators say even though he was not among those arrested in the sweep, they noted that myriad investigations remained ongoing.
Hernandez posted a $250,000 bond and was freed at 2:15 a.m. Tuesday, according to the L.A. County Sheriff's Department.
He was arrested last Tuesday along with seven other current and former Bell leaders, including former city manager Robert Rizzo. Officials reportedly used a battering ram to break down Hernandez's door when he didn't answer.
Council members Luis Artiga and Teresa Jacobo, former Councilman George Cole and Former Assistant City Administrator Angela Spaccia have also been released on bond. All three were released from jail last Wednesday after posting bond that ranged from $120,000 to $260,000.
Rizzo, Councilman George Mirabal and former Councilman Victor Bello remain jailed.
Rizzo's bail was reduced last week from $3.2 million to $2 million after his attorney argued the amount was unfair and that his client was not a flight risk.
James Spertus also told the court Rizzo "has been in a medical facility," and has not had a chance to review the charges against him. He had asked that bail be reduced to $100,000 for Rizzo.
Mirabel's bail stands at $260,000 and Bello's is set at $190,000.
Arraignment for the so-called "Bell Eight" has been postponed until October 21.
According to Twin Towers Correctional Facility officials, Victor Bello has been on suicide watch as of Friday afternoon.
Rizzo, 56, is charged with 53 counts of misappropriation of public funds, falsification of documents and conflict of interest. He could face up to 58 years in prison if convicted.
Rizzo, who earned a base salary of $800,000, is accused of writing his own employment contracts that were never approved by the City Council beginning in 2008, officials said.
It is also alleged that Rizzo gave nearly $1.9 million in unauthorized loans to himself, Spaccia, Artiga, Hernandez and dozens of others.
"We are alleging they used the tax dollars collected from the hard-working citizens of Bell as their own piggy bank, which they looted at will," Los Angeles District Attorney Steven Cooley said.
Prosecutors have charged Hernandez, Jacobo, Mirabal, Cole, Bello and Artiga with nearly two dozen counts of misappropriating approximately $1.2 million of public funds.
Rizzo's lawyer, James Spertus, told KTLA that he believes politics is the motive in his client's arrest.
"The only thing that justifies an arrest is the fact that elections are coming up in November," he told KTLA.
Visibly absent from the list of Bell officials under arrest was former Chief of Police Randy Adams.
Adams stepped down amid the fallout over his $457,000 salary. D.A. investigators say even though he was not among those arrested in the sweep, they noted that myriad investigations remained ongoing.
