{"id":43932,"date":"2021-09-03T17:55:44","date_gmt":"2021-09-04T00:55:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=43932"},"modified":"2021-09-03T17:55:44","modified_gmt":"2021-09-04T00:55:44","slug":"ex-assemblymember-city-manager-charged-in-city-of-industry-for-involvement-in-corruption-scheme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=43932","title":{"rendered":"Ex-Assemblymember, City Manager Charged in City of Industry for Involvement in Corruption Scheme"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Los Angeles<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Four men have been charged in connection with the embezzlement and misappropriation of millions of dollars that were supposed to be used to study whether a solar farm was suitable on land to be purchased by the City of Industry, state officials stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPublic corruption erodes the trust of our citizenry and hampers progress,\u201d District Attorney George Gasc\u00f3n said. \u201cThere is no place for it in Los Angeles County.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

William Barkett, 63, Anthony Bouza, 61, Paul Jule Philips, 71, and Frank Hill, 67, were charged in a 12-count felony complaint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
William Barkett<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Barkett faces one count each of misappropriation of public funds, embezzlement, money laundering and grand theft. Bouza faces eight counts of having a financial interest in a contract or purchase made in an official capacity and one count of misappropriation of public funds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Philips faces one count of misappropriation of public funds, while Hill faces two counts of having a financial interest in a contract or purchase made in an official capacity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Between 2016 and 2018, the City of Industry entered into a land lease agreement with San Gabriel Valley Water and Power LLC to examine a possible solar farm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As part of the deal, the city agreed to advance certain costs that had to be repaid if construction began on a solar farm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Philips, the city\u2019s former city manager, and Bouza, an attorney hired by the city and a private contractor who allegedly helped draft an agreement, handled the funds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

During that time, roughly $20 million in public funds was allegedly routed to an account controlled by Barkett, who owned SGVWP, according to officials <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While some of the money was paid to other vendors, Barkett is accused of allegedly spending about $8.3 million on personal items. He also allegedly falsified or altered invoices to inflate the amount, according to state prosecutors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bouza and Hill, also a private contractor who was retained by the city and a former state assemblymember, are accused of having a financial conflict of interest when they allegedly drafted or influenced contracts with the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is an ongoing investigation by the District Attorney\u2019s Bureau of Investigation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Los Angeles Four men have been charged in connection with the embezzlement and misappropriation of millions of dollars that were supposed to be used to study whether a solar farm was suitable…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":43933,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nEx-Assemblymember, City Manager Charged in City of Industry for Involvement in Corruption Scheme<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Los Angeles Four men have been charged in connection with the embezzlement and misappropriation of millions of dollars that were supposed to be used to\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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