The four San Jacinto City Council Members Facing Corruption Charges (City of San Jacinto Web Site, http://www.ci.san-jacinto.ca.us/ / November 12, 2009) |
SAN JACINTO-- The mayor of San Jacinto and three city council members have been charged with offering bribes and conspiring to launder hundreds of thousands of dollars of campaign funds, authorities said.
Four of the five city council members of the growing Inland Empire city, including Mayor Dale Stubblefield, Vice Mayor John Mansperger, and Councilman James Potts, were indicted with the the crimes Thursday, and could face prison sentences of between 7 and 28 years, Riverside County prosecutors said.
The scheme was centered on Councilman James Ayres' attempts to avoid political contribution limits and mandatory disclosure requirements during his unsuccessful campaign for state Assembly in 2006, said District Attorney Rod Pacheco.
"The bribery amounted to hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, gifts and real estate," Pacheco said. "I've never seen anything with this breadth or depth in political corruption in our county or the state."
The investigation began more than a year ago in April of 2008 and includes some of Ayre's family members and business associates whom were charged in a 155-count grand jury indictment last week.
Pacheco said Ayres and his co-defendants were motivated by "greed and unchecked ambition" and found a "whole host of ways" to indirectly route the funds to Ayres, his campaign committee, and his wife Nancy Jo Ayres' campaign for a seat on the local school board.
According to records, the nine defendants either pleaded not guilty or deferred entering a plea at an arraignment hearing Thursday in Riverside County criminal court.
Four of the five city council members of the growing Inland Empire city, including Mayor Dale Stubblefield, Vice Mayor John Mansperger, and Councilman James Potts, were indicted with the the crimes Thursday, and could face prison sentences of between 7 and 28 years, Riverside County prosecutors said.
The scheme was centered on Councilman James Ayres' attempts to avoid political contribution limits and mandatory disclosure requirements during his unsuccessful campaign for state Assembly in 2006, said District Attorney Rod Pacheco.
"The bribery amounted to hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, gifts and real estate," Pacheco said. "I've never seen anything with this breadth or depth in political corruption in our county or the state."
The investigation began more than a year ago in April of 2008 and includes some of Ayre's family members and business associates whom were charged in a 155-count grand jury indictment last week.
Pacheco said Ayres and his co-defendants were motivated by "greed and unchecked ambition" and found a "whole host of ways" to indirectly route the funds to Ayres, his campaign committee, and his wife Nancy Jo Ayres' campaign for a seat on the local school board.
According to records, the nine defendants either pleaded not guilty or deferred entering a plea at an arraignment hearing Thursday in Riverside County criminal court.
