Take Two translates the day’s headlines for Southern California, making sense of the news and cultural events that affect our lives. Produced by Southern California Public Radio and broadcast from October 2012 – June 2021. Hosted by A Martinez.
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.