As the criminal trial continues in state court against eight top Bell officials and city councilmembers, California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris awaits an upcoming preliminary hearing on March 17, when a judge will determine whether the officials will stand trial on civil charges filed last September.

The civil suit, filed on September 15 by former Attorney General Jerry Brown, charges the eight officials for fraud, civil conspiracy, waste of public funds and breach of fiduciary duties.

The lawsuit was filed against former City Manager Robert Rizzo, former Assistant City Manager Angela Spaccia, former Police Chief Randy Adams and Councilmembers Oscar Hernandez, Teresa Jacobo and George Mirabel, and former Councilmembers Victor Bello and George Cole.

“We are filing our lawsuit on behalf of the public to recover the excess salaries that Bell officials awarded themselves and to ensure their future pensions are reduced to a reasonable amount,” Brown said in a statement.

The lawsuit demands for the defendants to “return all excessive compensation and asks the court to establish appropriate salary levels for pension purposes.”

Twelve days after the Los Angeles Times published the first article breaking the Bell salary scandal on July 14, Brown subpoenaed hundreds of employment, salary and contract records from the city as the start of an investigation into city employee salaries, which in some cases rose to almost $800,000 a year.

The probe sought to examine “whether any illegality, self-dealing or other improper activity occurred in Bell, and whether any changes in California law are necessary to prevent similar abuses in the future,” according to a statement released July 26.

Brown called for specific legislative action to reform salary and pension practices across the state. A broader investigation, conducted jointly with CalPERS, the state public employee pension fund, continues in an effort to crack down on numerous local governments that have been reported to overpay public officials.

Reach reporter Vicki Chen here.