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At Least 8 Reportedly Arrested in City of Bell Scandal
AP Photo/Jae C. Hong
You can predict the cheers from residents on this one. Citing an anonymous source, the LA Times says at least eight city of Bell officials and employees have been arrested. Who and what charges will be brought against them will be announced later today at a press conference, but it's likely that among the arrested include City Manager Robert Rizzo and at least four of the five city councilmembers.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office has been investigating the city since March and the LA Times broke the story in July. Originally, the issue was the sky high salaries earned by the city manager -- at first it was nearly $800,000, then it was learned it was more like $1.5 million with compensation -- the part-time city council and other employees. But that wasn't it, there was aggressive towing, loans given out to employees and illegal taxes.
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Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
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