LOS ANGELES — Robert Rizzo, the former Bell, Calif., city administrator who masterminded schemes that diverted millions of dollars into corrupt city officials' pockets, was sentenced Wednesday to 12 years in state prison.
Superior Court Judge Kathleen Kennedy also ordered Rizzo to pay $8.8 million in restitution to Bell, according to the Los Angeles Times.
On Monday, Rizzo received a 33-month sentence in federal prison for a tax fraud scheme in which he claimed hundreds of thousands in dollars in losses on a horse farm near Seattle. U.S. District Judge George King ordered that the federal sentence run consecutive to the prison term in his conviction in the Bell case.
By the time he was forced to resign in 2010, Rizzo was collecting total annual compensation of $1.5 million a year from the city of 35,000. Released on $3 million in bail, he will begin serving his sentence on May 30.
Rizzo "abused his position to fleece the City of Bell of hundreds of thousands of dollars that he paid to himself in excessive salary — monies that could have been spent for the benefit of the people he served," according to a sentencing memorandum in the federal case. "But not satisfied with betraying the trust placed in him by the city and its residents, in an extraordinary display of greed, Rizzo also found it necessary to cheat the IRS."
Angela Spaccia, former assistant city manager, who colluded with Rizzo in draining the city's budget and nearly forcing it into bankruptcy, was sentenced April 10 to 11 years and 8 months in prison for misappropriating public funds. The judge ordered her to pay more than $8.2 million in restitution, according to Jane Robison, a spokeswoman in the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office.
Five former city council members pled no contest April 9 to charges involving the theft of city money. They were receiving $100,000 annual salaries as part-time city council members.
Restitution will also be ordered for the five former council members — Oscar Hernandez, George Cole, Teresa Jacobo, Victor Bello and George Mirabal — when they are sentenced, Robison said.
City leaders elected after the five named above were forced out in 2010 have been working furiously to right the city.
Josh Betta, the city's finance director, called restitution a question mark, because he wonders how much unspent money the convicted former city leaders have left to repay the city.
Even so, "fiscal 2014 is looking very good for us," Betta said. "We have experienced a tremendous series of events over the past 60 to 90 days."
Betta wasn't referring to the criminal cases against former officials; but to judgments in the city's favor that have closed a budget gap and the sale of a city property that helped it to defease defaulted bonds and repay holder Dexia.
The city anticipates a $13.5 million operating budget for fiscal 2015 with a $21 million surplus.
One of the positive events for the city was the $4.8 million received March 31 as a result of a summary judgment on a retirement plan Rizzo and his people had set up for themselves.
Within the last few weeks, the city has finally been able to catch up on four years' worth of audits. It also is putting together a new computerized accounting system that will enable it to publish comprehensive annual fiscal reports in two years.
"We published audits for fiscal 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 over the course of 16 months," Betta said.
Now, the city is turning to economic development efforts like growing its retail base.
"All of the surrounding communities have a lot of retail," Betta said. "Possibly the worst thing Rizzo did was to leave us without an infrastructure for retail sales."
