The corruption of public officials in Bell, California is staggering. No, that’ s not my opinion; it’s fact. Five former city council members are now convicted felons due to their misdeeds. Another official, Robert Rizzo, will face a courtroom soon.
The Bell scandal broke after The Times revealed Rizzo’s outsized salary of nearly $800,000, which experts said almost certainly dwarfed that of any other municipal administrator in the country. Rizzo’s salary financed a lifestyle that included thoroughbred horses. He owned a gelding named Dependserdel’argent — French for “spend money.” Many of the city’s other administrators also drew hefty salaries.
And now, the city’s finances have been so mishandled that there may be no reimbursement of taxpayers.
Bell still owes more than $3 million in refunds to property and business owners, including more than $800,000 that the city overcharged residents for sanitation services. City leaders told the controller’s office it didn’t have the money to make refunds.
Unchecked power is an invitation to steal. And those who aren’t grounded in ethics and morality will accept the invitation, no matter who they hurt.
