Bell Corruption Case: Angela Spaccia Gets 11 Years
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Angela Spaccia, Bell former assistant city administrator, is at her sentencing hearing. (KTLA)
The former assistant city administrator of Bell, a tiny blue-collar community, was sentenced in downtown L.A. Criminal Courts Building Thursday to 11 years and 8 months in state prison and more than $8 million in restitution for misappropriation of public funds through exorbitant salaries and loans of taxpayer money.
Angela Spaccia, 55, has been in custody since December 9 on 11 corruption-rated counts convicted by a Los Angeles jury. In an orange jumpsuit and handcuffs, she was taken into the courtroom by two bailiffs and seated whispering with her defense attorney Harland Braun.
Angela Spaccia is among the eight former officials who were indicted in 2010 for giving themselves extraordinarily high salaries after Bell became a charter city in 2005. Spaccia was earning $564,000 a year, with 26 weeks’ paid annual vacation and sick leave, as well as 50 percent pay increase.
The attorney made a motion suggesting injustice of verdicts on his client and the former city manager, Robert Rizzo, who pleaded no contest to 69 counts. “He [Rizzo] has more or equal responsibilities, but he has never been called to tell what he did as the mastermind of corruption,” Braun said.
Braun argued that Spaccia “had no rights to authorize payment” as an assistant except for approval from her boss Robert Rizzo. Braun wanted to know why the press didn't tape-record and interview Rizzo. He also mentioned a letter the former deputy official wrote to the court saying she regretted her actions.
Supreme Court Judge Kathleen Kennedy “disagreed," however, calling Spaccia “con artist” and denied probation. Kennedy said that it was beyond doubt that Spaccia had been stealing Bell’s money repeatedly for years, and therefore should be responsible for Rizzo’s words. “The spotlight is on her today,” the judge said.
Deputy Dist. Atty Sean Hassett said the former official, who was earning more than the top administrator in Los Angeles County, deserves harsh punishment for “clear evidence of misappropriation.”
“Her testimony at trial was outrageous, and clearly shows that she has nothing but contempt for the judicial system,” a sentencing memo from prosecutors reads. “Defendant Spaccia has been lying and getting away with it for so long that it was inconceivable to her that she would ever be caught, let alone punished.”
Some Bell residents were present at the courtroom, saying they hope Spaccia receives the maximum prison sentences. “We trusted them, but we ended up paying billions of billions of taxes for their games,” said 57-year-old local activist Alfred Areyan. “It’s time to see justice.”
Long-time resident Gerardo Mayagoitia never missed anything about the case. Emotional, he said that while the former city administrator has admitted everything, Spaccia has just been “pointing her finger to Bob Rizzo.”
“As long as she says ‘I did it. I’m sorry,’ then we can move forward,” he said.
In the closing statement, Judge Kathleen Kennedy repeated three times the phrase “It was all about the money,” saying it is “an extraordinary case of greed, mismanagement and self-dealing.” She said Spaccia is not a victim but a criminal - “Her weapon is not a gun or a knife; it is the trust that people had in her.”
At the press conference after the sentencing, Spaccia’s attorney said she would appeal but may “remain behind bars for a couple of years as the appeals process goes forward.”
The sentencing came one day after five former City council members accepted plea agreements to avoid another trial, which cut their prison terms by at least half at four years. Former City manager of Bell Robert Rizzo is scheduled to be sentenced April 16 and may face 10 to 12 years in prison.
"Tthey didn’t meet a dollar they didn’t want to steal from the city of Bell," said Deputy Dist. Atty Hassett .
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Bell Scandal: Angela Spaccia Sentenced, Must Pay $8 Million
