Support for LAist comes from
Become a sponsor
Local and national news, NPR, things to do, food recommendations and guides to Los Angeles, Orange County and the Inland Empire
Donate
Stay Connected

LAist is part of Southern California Public Radio, a member-supported public media network.

Listen
Donate
Podcasts Take Two
Bell administrator Robert Rizzo sentenced on federal tax charges
solid orange rectangular banner
()
Take Two Logo
Apr 15, 2014
Listen • 5:43
Bell administrator Robert Rizzo sentenced on federal tax charges
Robert Rizzo, the man who became infamous in the City of Bell corruption scandal, was sentenced yesterday to 33 months in federal prison on tax fraud charges.
FILE - This March 9, 2011 file image shows former Bell City Administrator Robert Rizzo listens in court in Los Angeles. Rizzo, who masterminded a corruption scheme that paid exorbitant salaries to city officials, pleaded no contest, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2013, to all 69 charges brought against him.
FILE - This March 9, 2011 file image shows former Bell City Administrator Robert Rizzo listens in court in Los Angeles.
(
Irfan Khan/AP
)

Robert Rizzo, the man who became infamous in the City of Bell corruption scandal, was sentenced yesterday to 33 months in federal prison on tax fraud charges.

Robert Rizzo, the man who became infamous in the City of Bell corruption scandal, was sentenced yesterday to 33 months in federal prison on tax fraud charges.

Earlier, Rizzo, a former Bell city administrator, pleaded no contest to state charges stemming from a scheme that took millions of dollars from the small blue-collar city and used it to boost his salary.

But the federal sentence isn't the end of the line for him. On Wednesday, he faces sentencing related to the corruption-related charges. He could spent 10 years behind bars.

Take Two speaks to L.A. Times reporter Jeff Gottlieb, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of the Bell scandal and is credited as one half of the reporting team that broke the story.