Four former public officials in Beaumont, California pleaded guilty to a series of corruption charges just before the Christmas Holiday.
Ex-Planning Director Ernest Egger, former Economic Development Director David Dillon, former City Manager Alan Kapanicas and William Aylward, who once served as the city’s finance director, admitted to a range of crimes in Riverside County Superior Court on December 19. Each of them will spend about one year on house arrest and three years of formal probation, plus a combined total of $8.1 million in restitution to be paid.
Last month’s guilty pleas leave one man standing, ready to face his own preliminary hearing in the corruption case that has rocked the Riverside County city. Former Beaumont City Attorney Joseph Aklufi is scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 22.
Seven former city officials -- the near entirety of Beaumont’s top leadership at the time -- were slapped with corruption charges in May of 2016. Two of the seven officials pleaded guilty to corruption charges in October. Together, they have been accused of stealing nearly $43 million in taxpayer funds. Prosecutors say public corruption had plagued the city for decades.
Read more at the Press-Enterprise and the Los Angeles Times.