Bell, Calif.'s Ex-Mayor, 4 Other Officials Guilty In Huge Corruption Case

Updated


LOS ANGELES -- Five former elected officials of the tiny California city of Bell were convicted Wednesday of multiple counts of misappropriation of public funds, and a sixth defendant was cleared entirely. Former Mayor Oscar Hernandez (pictured below) and co-defendants Teresa Jacobo, George Mirabal, George Cole and Victor Belo were all convicted of multiple counts and acquitted of others.

Oscar Hernandez convicted
Oscar Hernandez convicted

The charges against them involved paying themselves inflated salaries of up to $100,000 a year in the city where 1 in 4 residents live below the poverty line, according to the 2010 U.S. Census.

Advertisement