| Jan. 1, 1988 |
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The desert town of Hesperia incorporates and Robert Rizzo (right) becomes the town’s first city manager, earning a salary of $76,000. Rizzo drums up new revenue and flips pancakes at city functions. "None of us had ever started a city before, and he seemed to know what he was talking about," Councilman Howard Roth recalls. |
 Courtesy of attorney James W. Spertus |
| April 1, 1992 |
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Hesperia city leaders sour on Rizzo, whose pay has climbed to at least $95,000 a year, suspecting him of funneling city improvement funds to staff salary increases. The local newspaper reports that Rizzo might have abused his city-issued credit card. He leaves after signing an agreement that pays him more than $108,000 over nine months for consulting services and requires him, his wife and the City Council to keep the terms confidential, according city records later obtained by The Times. |
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| Jan. 1, 1993 |
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Trailing a whiff of scandal, Rizzo is hired in Bell after agreeing to take the city’s top administrative job for $78,000, $7,000 less than his predecessor. "He was willing to work for the least amount of money," then Councilman Rolf Janssen recalls years later. "That was what attracted me and several other council members."
Rizzo helps get the small town back on stable footing and as the town’s fortunes improve, so do Rizzo's. |
 Liz O. Baylen / Los Angeles Times |
| Jan. 1, 2004 |
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Business owners say the city arbitrarily requires them to make payments and in at least one case threatens to shut down a business for failure to comply. City records show that one tire shop owner pays at least $144,000 over a four-year period. Another tire shop owner is required to pay $13,000 a year. Car wash owner Gerardo Quiroz (right) is so outraged at paying his $300-a-month fee that he writes "bribe" in Spanish on the memo line of some of his checks to the city. |
 Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times |
| Jan. 1, 2005 |
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In many ways, the Bell scandal starts with a little-noticed special election that turns Bell into a charter city. Fewer than 400 voters turn out. Only 54 people cast ballots in opposition. The measure itself gives no hint what is at stake. Because Bell becomes a charter city, its council members are exempt from a new state law that would otherwise limit their salaries. The election essentially opens Bell's wallet to Rizzo (right) and a few others. |
 Nick Ut / Associated Press |
| Jan. 1, 2006 |
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Council members' salaries start to jump after Bell becomes a charter city, soaring to $96,996 in 2010. Had Bell remained a general law city, state law would have cemented council salaries at about $400 a month. On paper, it appears the part time council members are making only $150 a meeting, similar to what most of their counterparts around the state are paid. Most of their money -- nearly $8,000 a month -- comes from various boards and commissions. Agendas show that many of those agencies rarely meet. When they do convene, meetings often wrap up in just a few minutes. |
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| March 24, 2006 |
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The city buys a piece of land for more than double its assessed value as part of a highly unusual redevelopment deal that requires seller Albert Neesan (right) to donate $425,000 to the city. That money later cannot be accounted for, according to records and interviews. Experts later call it a real estate deal run amok. "Essentially they cooked the books on this," says Larry Kosmont, a Los Angeles real estate consultant and former city manager and director of community development for Burbank, Santa Monica and Bell Gardens. |
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| Jan. 1, 2007 |
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Bell readjusts property taxes, leaving residents paying the second-highest tax rate in Los Angeles County, largely because of a special "retirement tax" in the city and hefty bond debt. The city’s tax formula means that the owner of a home in Bell with an assessed value of $400,000 pays about $6,200 in annual property taxes. The owner of the same house in Malibu, whose rate is 1.10%, would pay $4,400. |
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| May 1, 2008 |
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Without approval from the City Council, Rizzo lends $300,000 of the city’s money to a local Chevrolet dealer, one of the city’s last big tax generators. There’s no public notice or discussion of the deal and the loan is made directly to car dealer Randy C. Sopp. When the deal becomes public two years later, several experts say the secret loan violates basic tenets of municipal government and appears to violate Bell's charter, which requires that all contracts be approved by the City Council. |
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| Sept. 18, 2008 |
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With rumors swirling about exorbitant salaries for Rizzo and other city officials, Bell resident Roger Ramirez files a public record request. The city responds to his request but vastly low-balls the true payouts. |
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| Jan. 1, 2009 |
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In emails between assistant city administrator Angela Spaccia and Randy Adams, soon to be hired as police chief, Adams writes, "I am looking forward to seeing you and taking all of Bell's money?!" Spaccia responds: "We will all get fat together ... Bob has an expression he likes to use on occasion," she continues, referring to Rizzo. "Pigs get Fat ... Hogs get slaughtered!!!! So as long as we're not Hogs ... All is well!" The emails later become public. |
 Gina Ferazzi and Al Seib / Los Angeles Times |
| Aug. 1, 2009 |
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Bell Councilman Victor Bello abruptly steps down and takes a full-time job running the city’s food bank. He continues to draw the $96,000-a-year salary he earned as a council member. Bello’s replacement, Lorenzo Velez (right), doesn’t fare as well. The newly appointed councilman gets only $673 a month and is unaware that his colleagues are making so much. "I was under the impression that I was being paid just like everyone else," Velez says later. |
 Al Seib / Los Angeles Times |
| May 6, 2010 |
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Rizzo is arrested for drunk driving after crashing into a neighbor’s mailbox in his upscale Huntington Beach neighborhood.
Police says Rizzo's blood-alcohol level is tested at 0.28%, more than three times the legal limit. Rizzo later pleads guilty and agrees to perform community service. "He's taken steps to better himself, and he's moved on," says his attorney Katherine McBroom. |
 Huntington Beach Police Department |
| June 15, 2010 |
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Officials in Maywood -- which neighbors Bell -- announce plans to lay off nearly all city employees and disband the Police Department. City services will be turned over to Bell. The move comes after Maywood loses its insurance. "We want to help our neighbor," Bell Mayor Oscar Hernandez tells The Times. But the arrangement leads to questions: Is Bell the right city to fix Maywood’s problems? |
 Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times |
| June 23, 2010 |
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Bell is facing problems of its own. The Times learns that the Los Angeles County district attorney's office is inquiring into why Bell council members are paid nearly $100,000 a year for a part-time jobs. Mayor Oscar Hernandez defends their pay: "In a troubled city, the city council should get paid a little more." |
 Al Seib / Los Angeles Times |
| July 15, 2010 |
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So if the City Council is earning $100,000, how much are top administrators being paid? Rizzo tells The Times he’s earning $700,000. A review of Rizzo’s contracts shows that he actually makes $787,637 annually. Assistant City Administrator Angela Spaccia makes $376,288 and Police Chief Randy Adams earns $457,000. When the news hits the front page under the eye-catching headline "Is your city manager worth $800,000?" it sparks widespread outrage. |
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| July 23, 2010 |
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Rizzo, Spaccia and Adams resign under intense pressure and loud protests at City Hall. Their salaries become the focus of state and local investigations.
But their resignations do little to placate the city’s furious residents. |
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| July 26, 2010 |
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Before an angry crowd at a packed meeting, Bell City Council members unanimously agree to a 90% pay cut – putting their salaries on par with the pay of the fifth and newest member, Lorenzo Velez, who earns $673 a month. Hernandez, the mayor, apologizes for the high salaries, a reversal from the defiant tone he struck the week before. |
 Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times |
| July 27, 2010 |
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Authorities and government agencies turn up the heat on Bell. In addition to Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown's probe of the city, Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley (right) launches a wide-ranging investigation into allegations of voter fraud and conflicts of interest. Cooley describes the effort as "multifaceted, rapidly expanding and full-fledged." State Controller John Chiang announces that his office will audit the city’s finances. He describes city salaries and pensions as "unjustifiable" and vows to take "a hard look at the books." All three officials – Brown, Cooley and Chiang – are running for election to state office. |
 Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times |
| July 29, 2010 |
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How could Bell, a small, working-class city, afford to pay exorbitant salaries without going bankrupt? The Times reviews county tax records and finds that Bell residents pay the second-highest property tax rate in Los Angeles County, a finding later confirmed by Controller Chiang. "They’re robbing us of our money," said Juan Madrid, 64, who has owned his tidy yellow home in Bell for about 30 years. |
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| Aug. 1, 2010 |
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How does Rizzo's pay compare? A Times analysis of city manager compensation in Los Angeles County finds the average pay is about $209,000. But determining full compensation proves complicated, with benefits and other perks often adding up to more than the publicly-recorded base salaries. The state controller's office soon starts requiring cities to report salary, pension benefits and other compensation and, in October, launches a public database. |
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| Aug. 8, 2010 |
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For weeks, Bell refuses to turn over public records to The Times, community activists and even a sitting councilmember. When the city finally starts handing over documents, they show that Rizzo's true annual compensation is $1.5 million, more than twice what he has claimed. The documents show that he cashed out 107 vacation days and 36 sick days a year. The city also pays more than $70,000 into Rizzo’s deferred compensation and retirement plans. "This is extraordinary, it is outlandish," says Dave Mora, West Coast regional director of the International City/County Management Assn. |
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| Aug. 18, 2010 |
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Bell insiders say that as his tenure in the city lengthened, Rizzo took to quoting tough-guy lines from "The Sopranos" and tolerated no challenges to his expanding authority at City Hall. "He likes to be in control," says former Councilman Victor Bello. Part of that control plays out in loans he doles out without City Council approval. The loans go to him, to council members and nearly 50 of other city employees. |
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| Aug. 24, 2010 |
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"Basta!" – "enough" in Spanish -- becomes the rallying cry for residents. BASTA, Bell Assn. to Stop the Abuse, gathers 16,000 signatures in an effort to force a City Council recall election. "We want to ensure that the abuses we suffered from these dishonest so-called leaders can never happen again," Bell resident Marcos Olivas says. |
 Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times |
| Sept. 9, 2010 |
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Whether it is for property taxes or parking, Bell residents complain about how often they have to open their checkbooks. In the 2009-10, Bell counts on making $770,000 in towing fees. Bell Police officers say that top brass instituted what amounts to a daily quota. "Rather than being police officers and being proactive looking for crime, we were out there looking for vehicles to impound," says police Sgt. Art Jimenez. The U.S. Justice Department says it will investigate the city’s unusual towing practices for possible civil rights violations. |
 Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times |
| Sept. 15, 2010 |
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State Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown (right) files a lawsuit accusing eight current and former city officials of concealing their lucrative compensation and plotting to enrich themselves. Rizzo's attorney accuses Brown, who is in a close race for governor, of political grandstanding. Brown acknowledges that the lawsuit is highly unusual but says: "We're testing the proposition of what public officials can pay themselves…. The fact that someone is elected doesn't mean they get a license to steal, doesn't mean they get a license to line their pockets." |
 Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times |
| Sept. 16, 2010 |
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State Controller John Chiang (right) finds three instances of illegally collected taxes and orders the city to refund $5.6 million to taxpayers. Chiang says Bell illegally hiked business license taxes by more than 50% over the last decade. Chiang's auditors also find that Bell has illegally raised a "retirement tax" to fund pensions, costing taxpayers $2.9 million, and assessed improper sewer fees of more than $600,000. “It’s like the city wants us to close,” Alberto Alvarado, owner of Nuevo Mundo Super Market, says of the excessive fees. |
 Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times |
| Sept. 21, 2010 |
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One by one, six current and former council members are hauled away in handcuffs – as are Spaccia and Rizzo (right), the man many view as the ringleader. Dist. Atty. Cooley describes Bell as "corruption on steroids." He charges the "Bell 8" with looting more than $5.5 million in public funds. The night before his arrest, Councilman Luis Artiga says of his high salary: "I thought God had answered my prayers but it was a trap from the devil." |
 Robert Lachman / Los Angeles Times |
| Oct. 4, 2010 |
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At first, there is dancing and singing, then reality sets in. With four council members arrested, who will govern the city? Artiga resigns. And minutes before the next meeting, Mayor Oscar Hernandez and Councilwoman Teresa Jacobo call in sick, leaving the council without a quorum. Lorenzo Velez -- the only council member not under criminal investigation -- sits alone at the dais, facing the angry crowd. |
 Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times |
| Nov. 11, 2010 |
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State Controller Chiang says that over the years, the city's auditing firm Mayer Hoffman McCann has done little more than rubber stamp the books, failing to spot red flags and other problems. Hallye Jordan, Chiang's spokeswoman, said state auditors are baffled how a CPA firm could miss problems the state found "rather quickly." |
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| Dec. 12, 2010 |
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Seventeen people file candidacy papers to run for City Council. |
 Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times |
| Jan. 13, 2011 |
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Times' columnist Steve Lopez visits the International Surfing Museum in Huntington Beach where Rizzo (right) is doing security work in the parking lot, community service for his DUI. Lopez's column, titled "Robert Rizzo is serving time behind cars," deeply divides readers. Lopez responds: "To critics who say I was too harsh or unfair for attempting to interview Robert Rizzo, the reviled former Bell city official who is now guarding a parking lot in Huntington Beach, I've carefully considered the criticism ...First, I have no regrets. Second, I'm not sorry. I thought it was worth asking Rizzo if he had any regrets or would like to apologize for the fiasco in Bell." |
 Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times |
| Jan. 27, 2011 |
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As the city's legal bills mount -- along with the $5.5 million that must be refunded to taxpayers -- Bell's financial woes become a pressing problem. A county audit finds Bell could have trouble providing basic services by year's end with a projected $2-million budget shortfall. A report by interim city administrator Pedro Carrillo (right) is even more dire. Bell, he says, is on the brink of insolvency. |
 Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times |
| Feb. 1, 2011 |
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Preliminary hearings for the "Bell 8" get underway. A judge must decide if there is enough evidence to order them to stand trial. Bell council members turn down prosecutors' offer of a two-year sentence, which would have required restitution Residents are outraged by the offer, says Cristina Garcia, a spokeswoman for BASTA. "Two years isn't enough," she says. "The people of Bell are going to be paying for generations for what they have done." Pictured left to right: Rizzo, Spaccia, former Councilman Victor Bello and Mayor Oscar Hernandez. |
 Al Seib / Los Angeles Times |
| Feb. 16, 2011 |
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Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Henry J. Hall (right) orders six current and former Bell City Council members to stand trial on charges of looting the city treasury. "The allegations are, in my opinion, appalling," he says. "These people may not be involved in the running of that city in any shape or form." He orders them to stay away from City Hall, effectively stripping their authority to make decisions. During two other preliminary hearings, Hall also orders Rizzo and Spaccia to stand trial. He calls Rizzo's salary "obscene" and Spaccia's attitude "cavalier" and recommends prosecutors consider filing additional charges. |
 Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times |
| March 8, 2011 |
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Bell voters head for the polls. Election posters and lawn signs blanket the city. Voters turn out in droves for candidate forums. "There's energy here, there's hope here — look at this place," candidate Ana Maria Quintana says at one packed community forum. By the end of the night, there will be more dancing in the streets. Bell voters resoundingly cast out the entire City Council, with more than 95% voting in favor of recalls. |
 Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times |
| April 7, 2011 |
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After emergency state legislation allows the county Board of Supervisors to certify the election results, the new City Council is sworn in. "We are coming in with a clean slate," says new mayor Ali Saleh (right). |
 Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times |
| April 25, 2011 |
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Grand Jury transcripts reveal that $4.5 million is sitting in a special pension fund designed by Rizzo and Spaccia to boost already generous compensation to city employees. Rizzo tries to funnel $14 million into a second retirement plan for himself and Spaccia, but the city does not have the money, transcripts show. Even after disclosure of his enormous salary, Rizzo calls the city's finance director and tells her to move money into the account. When she balks, Rizzo tells her, "I'm still the CAO." |
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