Mistrial in Bell, Calif. corruption case

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Saying she feared "all hell" had broken loose among jurors, a judge declared a mistrial Thursday on dozens of remaining counts against five former elected officials accused of looting a working-class Los Angeles suburb.

Superior Court Judge Kathleen Kennedy took the action after the 12-member panel struggled to decide 42 counts against the former mayor and four former members of the Bell City Council.

On Wednesday the panel convicted the five defendants of a total of 21 counts of misappropriating public funds and acquitted them on 21 other counts.

Things quickly went downhill Thursday after the judge asked jurors to keep deliberating.

One juror sent a note that read: "Your honor, I respectfully ask if you could please remind the jury to remain respectful and to not make false accusations or insults to one another."

Another juror indicated the group had reached a dead-end when it came to most of the remaining counts.

After receiving the notes, Kennedy told attorneys in the courtroom, "It seems to me all hell has broken loose."

She then called the jurors back into court and asked them to try one more time.

After one more short session, they said they could not agree and the judge declared the mistrial.

Jurors said they did not want to speak to the news media or attorneys and asked to be escorted privately from the courthouse.

Earlier in the day, a juror sent the judge a note expressing misgivings about the previous day's verdict, but Kennedy ruled that decision was final and would not be revisited.

A hearing was set for April 23, when the judge could determine a sentencing date and prosecutors will disclose if the deadlocked counts will be retried.

The case involving the modest 2?-square-mile city has become a national symbol of political greed. Authorities allege a salary-inflating scheme that drove the city to the brink of bankruptcy was masterminded by former City Manager Robert Rizzo, who is expected to go on trial with his former assistant on similar charges later this year.

The city of Bell has about 36,000 residents, with one in four people living below the poverty line.

In a separate note sent Wednesday, a different juror, identified as No. 10, said she thought the panel was straying from the judge's instructions.

Defense attorneys argued Thursday that the notes might indicate there was misconduct in deliberations.

"There may be horse-trading to give up one verdict to get another," said attorney Alex Kessel, who represents former Councilman George Mirabal.

Kennedy said pressure is placed on juries in all cases.

"That is not tantamount to misconduct," she said.

Defense attorneys also questioned whether Kennedy's jury instructions were prejudicial to their clients.

At one point, attorney Ron Kaye, who represents ex-Councilman George Cole, suggested jurors hear more evidence about the case, drawing an angry rebuke from the judge.

"You are not going to reopen evidence," she said. "That is not provided. No!"

Former Mayor Oscar Hernandez and former City Council members Teresa Jacobo and Mirabal were each convicted Wednesday of five counts of misappropriating public funds. Former Councilman Victor Bello was convicted of four counts and former Councilman Cole of two.

Former Councilman Luis Artiga was acquitted of all 12 counts filed against him.

The convictions were the first to come after revelations more than a year ago that Bell's leadership had illegally raised taxes, business license fees and other sources of income to pay huge salaries to the city manager, police chief, City Council members and others.

The six former City Council members were each paid about $100,000 a year.

Following the three-week trial, deliberations began on Feb. 21 and had gone on for only four days when one juror was replaced for misconduct and the panel was ordered to start over. The new group was in its 20th day of deliberations on Thursday.

The convictions all related to the defendants being paid for sitting on Bell's Solid Waste and Recycling Authority, an entity they could not prove had been legally established or did any work.

Records show the authority met only one time between 2006 and 2010 and there was no evidence any waste was ever collected or recycled.

The charges resulting in the mistrial involved their work on three other government entities that prosecutors said were also created only to boost their salaries and hide them from the public.

The defendants, many of whom took the witness stand during the trial, insisted they earned those salaries by working around the clock to help residents. They and their lawyers blamed Rizzo for creating the fiscal mess in Bell.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mistrial-declared-california-corruption-case-230630380.html

selection sunday NIT Tournament clay matthews Ncaa Tournament 2013 2013 NCAA Bracket leprechaun ufc