Backstabber Report

Bell, California City Officials Mismanaged $50 Million

In our first story about Bell, CA and the overpaid city officials, we assumed that their only fault was pure and simple greed. From the Mayor, council members, city manager, and down to the Chief of Police, it appeared that they were raping the citizens of this blue collar community for the sole purpose of creating wealth for themselves with a paycheck and retirement benefits.

Apparently, Bell, California has bigger problems with their city officials than just inflated paychecks. Eight current and former city officials were arrested for misappropriation of public funds and other charges stemming from the state investigation into the city’s finances and the audit that ensued.

According to a state audit released on September 22nd, Bell city officials mismanaged more than $50 million in bond money and levied illegal taxes, besides paying the exorbitant salaries.

The eight officials appeared before a judge on the 22nd, but did not enter pleas, as their arraignments were postponed until October 21st. Three of the eight were given permission to post bail, while the remaining five, including Mayor Hernandez and former city manager Robert Rizzo (pictured above) were ordered to appear before a different judge to prove they would not use stolen city money for their bail.

Both Mayor Hernandez and Robert Rizzo received a salary amounting to $800,000 per year, but Rizzo was specifically singled out for criticism in the audit report.

Rizzo was reported to have had total control of city funds and used some of the looted money to inflate his salary and pay off his personal loans. Rizzo resigned earlier this year when news of the inflated salaries first gained national attention.

Assistant city manager Angela Spaccia and Bell’s police chief Randy Adams also resigned after a public outcry over their huge salaries in the largely working-class city of about 40,000 residents southeast of Los Angeles.

According to Josh Pulliam, an interim public information officer for the city, Spaccia’s total annual compensation was $845,000, including her previously reported $376,288 salary, and Adams’ total compensation came to $770,000, including his $457,000 salary.

Rizzo was in line for a $600,000-a-year pension, but the California Public Employees’ Retirement System has ordered a freeze on the benefits for all three officials pending the outcome of the investigations.”

Robert Rizzo’s benefits, which included 20 weeks paid vacation, brought his total annual compensation to more than $1.5 million .

Rizzo was to receive $386,786 in paid vacation and sick benefits this year, in addition to his base salary, and received deposits to his investment accounts and other benefits, Pulliam said.

Rizzo’s pay would have earned him three times more than the President of The United States earns each year.

In a sad way, convictions of these public employees could be a blessing for the mainly Latino residence of Bell, California, of which 25% live below the poverty line. Retirement benefits and the gross amounts these city officials would qualify for would be forfeit, thus saving the residents millions of dollars in compensation for the town official’s “service” to the community.