On Tuesday, May 17, the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office charged seven former officials with the city of Beaumont with 94 felonies and misappropriation of $43 million in taxpayer funds.
Public records show how Beaumont city officials tapped into millions in bond money.
The more bond debt the city incurred, the more money the men made, according to public records.
Former City Manager Alan C. Kapanicas, who also served as executive director of the entity the city created to take bonds, repeatedly approved payments to his own company, General Government Management Services, city records show. (After he left Beaumont, ex-council members, and the indicted former police chief, aided his job search.)
Meanwhile, Ernest A. Egger; David W. Dillon and Deepak Moorjani served respectively as the city planning, economic development and public works directors as well as being the principals behind Urban Logic Consultants, the firm that was originally hired to help with financial and infrastructure planning. At least $43.2 million went to Urban Logic between 1994 and 2012.
Court documents outline how investigators believe some of the seven defendants set up a system that kept their deals and millions of dollars in alleged illicit money diversions out of the public eye.
And yes, the city’s handbook warns against conflicts of interest.
Around Beaumont on Wednesday, residents talked about the alleged corruption. There were some mixed emotions in the city.
But activist Judy Bingham was lauded for bringing attention to what was going on in Beaumont.
However, Tuesday’s charges don’t close the book on ongoing probes and legal woes in Beaumont:
-The city is appealing a suit that could cost them $60 million because of unpaid regional transportation fees.
-The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission served the city with subpoenas on April 22, which the city released on Wednesday.
-The State Controller’s office reviewed the city’s finances and said the accounting controls didn’t exist.
-In the wake of the State Controller’s report, Beaumont also sought for the California Attorney General to investigate Union Bank’s role as trustee in the sale of $200 million in bonds.
Beaumont Mayor Mike Lara released a statement about the city’s commitment to transparency and accountability and also named steps it was taking to meet that commitment.
While the work of DA investigators led to 94 felony charges in the Beaumont case, a two-year political corruption probe of Moreno Valley ended with no indictments.
What’s next in the case? Four of the seven defendants will be arraigned in Riverside County Superior Court on Thursday.l
Here’s the current legal status of each of the defendants, who is still in jail, who bailed out, who’s in court Thursday and who’s assets the DA’s office is trying to freeze.