LOS ANGELES — Robert Rizzo, Bell, Calif.'s former city manager, pleaded no contest Thursday to 69 counts that he defrauded the city of millions of dollars.
Rizzo is expected to be sentenced to the longest prison term for public corruption since the Public Integrity Division was founded in 2000, according to a statement from Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey.
"Although we were prepared to go to trial and felt confident we would convict Mr. Rizzo of all charges, we are pleased he chose to admit his guilt and accept full responsibility for the irreparable harm he caused the people of Bell," Lacey said in a statement.
The city achieved national notoriety in 2010 following news reports that Rizzo was collecting an $800,000 salary, assistant manager Angela Spaccia was receiving $400,000, and the part-time city councilmembers in the working-class city of 35,000 had rigged the system to receive $100,000 a year.
Five former council members were sentenced in March.
Rizzo will be sentenced to a minimum 10 year and maximum 12-year sentence when he returns to on March 12, 2014, for sentencing, Judge Kennedy said.
Rizzo's no contest plea was an open plea to Judge Kathleen Kennedy and was not a negotiated settlement with prosecutors, according to the district attorney's office.
Rizzo's plea comes just days before jury selection begins in the public corruption trial.
The trial for Rizzo's co-defendant, former assistant city manager Angela Spacia, will begin on Monday.
Rizzo was charged with a variety of schemes that defrauded the City of Bell of millions of dollars, including writing his own employment contracts that were never approved by the City Council, according to the district attorney's office.
