At a press conference in Sherman Oaks this afternoon, Luis Artiga said resigning from the Bell City Council was in the best interest of his family and his church, given his arrest last month on charges of corruption.

Artiga, a church pastor, was one of eight Bell city officials charged with inflating their salaries using $5.5 million in public funds.

He defended his year and half of service, saying "When the case plays out, people will see my level of involvement was not that great." [LA Times]

The Bell city clerk's office is issuing refunds to Bell residents who were overcharged on property taxes in order to fund the City Council's salaries.

UPDATE: Meanwhile, Bell residents wonder who's running their council meetings?