Whipped Cream Difficulties

The notoriously corrupt California city of Vernon is in the news again.

State pension officials have concluded that the city of Vernon improperly boosted the benefits of nearly two dozen employees, including some attorneys who were erroneously granted generous “public safety” retirement packages usually reserved for police officers and firefighters.

Specifically, the city is accused of classifying some of the attorneys on staff as “public safety” employees. This is typically a classification reserved for cops and firefighters, not lawyers – not even prosecutors. The city argued that the staff attorneys were “primarily engaged in the active enforcement of criminal laws.”

In fact, former Vernon Police Chief Sol Benudiz said he could not recall a single instance when Vernon’s city attorneys appeared in criminal court. He said those cases were always handled by the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

The city also has issues with their former administrator, Bruce Malkenhorst. Mr. Malkenhorst collects the largest pension of anyone in the California public pension system – according to the LAT, more than $500,000 a year.

When he was employed, Mr. Malkenhorst brought in $911,000 in 2006. It is not clear from the article exactly what he was doing at the time. The article does mention that at one point he claimed to hold 10 separate positions in Vernon’s city government, but it it not clear if he held these positions in 2006.

By the way, Mr. Malkenhorst pled guilty to a charge of “misappropriation of public funds” last year. His replacement, Eric T. Fresch, is one of the attorneys who were classified as “public safety” employees; he pulled in $1.65 million in 2008. Fresch is currently employed as a “special consultant” to the city at a rate of $525 an hour.

The former mayor of Vernon, Leonis Malburg, was convicted of perjury in 2009.