The jury in the trial of six former Bell City Council members returned a mixed verdict Wednesday, finding five of the defendants guilty on some counts of misappropriating public funds, while acquitting the sixth on all charges.

Three of the defendants, Teresa Jacobo, George Mirabal, and ex-Mayor Oscar Hernandez, were found guilty on five of ten counts of misappropriating public funds connected to the city's waste management system.  George Cole and Victor Bello were found guilty on charges related to the same department, with Bello found guilty on four of eight counts and Cole found guilty on two of four counts.The sixth defendant, Luis Artiga, was cleared on all 12 counts of misappropriating funds. 

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However, despite 18 days of deliberations, the jury still remains undecided on 12 more counts related to the Community Housing and Surplus Property authorities. According to the Los Angeles Times, the jury told the judge it was 9-3 on the remaining counts, without indicating whether the majority was leaning towards a guilty or not guilty verdict.

"As much as I hate to do this, I think the court needs to inquire further," Judge Kathleen Kennedy said. "I know you thought this was going to be the end and I was going to be releasing you."

The jurors are currently discussing whether or not further deliberations will break the deadlock. If the judge declares a mistrial on the undecided charges, the district attorney would have the option to retry the defendants on those charges.  

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The convicted defendants were part of a scandal in working-class Bell, in which City Council members padded their salaries with public money by paying themselves for sitting on commissions that rarely met.  The leaders of the scheme, City Manager Robert Rizzo and his assistant Angela Spaccia, earned a combined $1.2 million annually and will be tried separately at a later date.

The Bell Association To Stop The Abuse applauded the convictions in a statement released Wednesday:

“It is BASTA’s position that this case is not about the 40,000 residents in Bell, but about sending a message to everyone watching that our Democratic Government is not broken and that we have a government that functions for everyone irrespective of their zip code. This guilty verdict further sends a message to everyone watching that predatory behavior will be sought out and prosecuted.”

“Until there are convictions of every councilmember and former administrator guilty of criminal actions against the citizens of Bell, Bell residents will not feel that justice has been met. We now look to the trial of Rizzo and Spaccia and hope that the judicial system continues to do its part.” 

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