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OC DA charges Westminster councilmember with trying to bribe parking officer
Traffic on Bolsa Avenue in Westminster, where a city councilmember has been charged with one misdemeanor count of bribery.
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Matt Gush
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Getty Images / iStock Editorial
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Topline:
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office announced Thursday that it was charging Westminster councilmember Amy Phan West with trying to bribe her way out of her husband’s Jeep getting towed.
About the charge: In 2023, parking control officers called for a tow truck to remove the Jeep registered to Phan West’s husband that was left abandoned on the street, prosecutors say.
The DA’s office alleges that she identified herself and said she would move the vehicle instead of having it towed. She also allegedly told the parking enforcement officers “how much she loves the Westminster Police Department, that she is close friends with the Westminster police chief, and that she is in the process of getting raises for police department personnel,” according to the announcement.
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At the time, city leaders were negotiating with the police union. The parking enforcement officers eventually canceled the tow truck.
The response: Phan West did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
DA's statement: “Holding elective office does not entitle anyone to a separate set of rules, and any attempt to engage in corruption, bribery or any other crime under the shroud of elective office will be thoroughly investigated, and any and all crimes that have been committed will be prosecuted by my office to the fullest extent of the law,” District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a statement.
Background: Last year, Westminster sued Phan West and another councilmember, NamQuan Nguyen, for repeatedly disrupting meetings and creating a “dysfunctional and raucous” atmosphere. At the time, Phan West said the lawsuit was an attempt “to silence dissenting voices.”
What’s next: Phan West is scheduled to be arraigned on one misdemeanor count of bribery on Feb. 24.
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