Bell California Corruption Trial Analysis

The Bell, California corruption trial pertains to a group of city officials who misappropriated more than five million dollars of public funds (CNN Wire Staff, 2010). These officials were receiving compensation for conducting phantom meeting, wrote their own employment contracts without the approval of the City Counsel, and authorized approximately two million dollars in loans to their selves (CNN Wire Staff, 2010). To grasp the corruption of the city officials we need analyze the median annual income of the residents of Bell. The median annual income for the residents of Bell is less than thirty-five thousand dollars annually, and Bell’s City Manager Robert Rizzo annual base salary was 787,638 (CNN Wire Staff, 2010). Additionally, Bell’s Chief of Police Randy Adams earned 457,000 annually, and the council members of Bell earned 96,000 annually when the average salary for council members in similar-sized cities is 4,800 annually (CNN Wire Staff, 2010). Ultimately, this lead to the conviction of five elected officials for
I believe the primary factor, which allowed this level of corruption to occur, was due to majority of Bell’s residents were immigrants from Latin America and this was considered a governmental norm (McGrath, 2013). My recommendation for the city of Bell would include electing a mayor that would engage the public in decisions. Additionally, the city officials need to be transparent with their salaries to rebuild trust with the community. Also I feel independent investigations should be conducted for elected city officials to ensure they are qualified and trustworthy for the position. Just like police officers, we do not become public servants to become wealthy, but we serve out of altruism for our fellow