Town Officials Arrested for White Collar Crimes in Bell, California

In Los Angeles, eight officials from an impoverished town in the state of California were arrested after police learned they paid themselves vast salaries at the expense of local taxpayers.

The eight defendants, including the former municipal manager of Bell, are accused of using roughly $5.5 million of taxpayer money to benefit themselves through illicit loans.

District Attorney Steve Cooley told reporters, "This was calculated greed and theft accomplished by greed and secrecy."

According to police, they had to use a battering ram to enter the home of 63-year-old Mayor Oscar Hernandez after he failed to come to the door.

Bell, a small working class Latino suburb six miles away from L.A., is one of the poorest municipalities in the county. While the locals lived in poverty, the town manager, Robert Rizzo, paid himself over $700,000 last year.  The police chief, Randy Adams, paid himself $457,000, which is double what the head of the Los Angeles Police Department makes annually.

If you have been charged with a major white collar crime, now is the time to obtain the services of a criminal defense attorney near you.