President, Bell Police Officers' Association
President of the Bell Police Officers' Association, and a patrolman for 23 years
PROFILE
Kurt Owens
Guest
FROM Kurt Owens
Which Way, L.A.?
Hearings Continue for Current and Former Officials of the City of Bell When Randy Adams was negotiating for 770,000 thousand dollars to be the city police chief, he joked in an e-mail about “taking all of Bell’s money.” That’s just one of the ugly revelations emerging from hearings into a scandal that’s made Bell the national poster child for local corruption. Part-time council members were paid 100,000 a year for meetings they almost never attended—all arranged, says the District Attorney, by two principal defendants: former Chief Administrative officer Robert Rizzo and his former assistant, Angela Spaccia. Their compensation amounted to 1.5 million and 850,000 respectively. With all but one council member facing charges and no meeting since last year, who’s in charge?
Which Way, L.A.?
Bell City Council Cuts Pay, Public Wants Heads to Roll The Mayor of Bell, Oscar Hernandez, has claimed that City Manager Robert Rizzo earned his $800,000 a year by making the town "a model of financial prudence." City residents don't agree, as Which Way, L.A.? producer Gary Scott found out at last night's meeting of the city council. We also hear from a 23-year veteran Bell police officer who's filed suit claiming that he and others were required to pass out absentee ballots in city elections and tell citizens how to vote, and from a political scientist who headed the charter reform commission for the City of Los Angeles.
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