Draft state audit says scandal-plagued Calif. city paid off $95,000 in city manager’s loans

Calif. city paid off $95,000 in city manager loans

BELL, Calif. — A newspaper report says the blue-collar suburb of Bell used $95,000 in public funds to pay off loans its then-city manager made to himself.

A draft state audit obtained by the Los Angeles Times on Monday says that the small city south of Los Angeles put money in Robert Rizzo’s retirement accounts, which experts say could be federal wire fraud.

The audit found that City Council members didn’t know about the repayments, which occurred in 2008 and 2009.

Auditors say the city had no system of internal control and all financial activities and transactions revolved around Rizzo, who had “complete control and discretion” over city funds.

The full audit of Bell records by Controller John Chiang’s office is expected to be released this week. Rizzo’s attorney says he did nothing wrong.