The LAT‘s second day story on Robert “Ratso” Rizzo’s plea answers a few questions from yesterday.
His attorney said Rizzo would probably be required to pay between $1 million to $3.2 million in restitution to the city.
We already knew that Rizzo was rolling on his former assistant, Angela Spaccia. You may remember that the former Bell city council members who went on trial adopted the “throw Rizzo under the bus” strategy. Now that Rizzo is taking a plea and cooperating, his plan is to throw Spaccia under the bus:
[James] Spertus [Rizzo’s lawyer – DB] accused Spaccia of coming up with plans to boost the salaries and benefits of Bell administrators while persuading other officials that the increases were proper. He said she also acted as Rizzo’s bookkeeper and hatched a plan to file fraudulent tax filings for Rizzo and for herself. Spertus said he expected federal prosecutors to file charges against Rizzo and Spaccia in connection with the alleged tax scheme sometime in the next several weeks.
I don’t think Spaccia has anyone left to roll on. Possibly the council members, but if Rizzo’s already rolling on them as part of his deal, why does the prosecution need Spaccia?
And how do the people of Bell feel, now that Ratso’s pled guilty? Relieved and disappointed, according to the paper.
This entry was posted on Friday, October 4th, 2013 at 6:52 am and is filed under California Über Alles, Clippings, Law. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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