Seven former top Beaumont officials pleaded not guilty to a collective 94 felony counts of corruption Friday in an alleged scandal involving use of taxpayer money for financial gain. The defendants include former city manager Alan Kapanicas; former police chief Francis Dennis “Frank” Coe; former city attorney Joseph Aklufi; former finance director William K. Aylward; former public works director Deepak Moorjani; former planning director Ernest A. Egger; and former economic development director David W. Dillon. All are set to return to court on Nov. 4.
The charges, which range from conspiracy to embezzlement and misappropriation of funds, were handed down on May 17. Prosecutors have accused the seven of siphoning off $43 million from city coffers through a complex scheme involving bond sales and redevelopment fees.
In addition to the not guilty pleas, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Mac Fisher took up the issue of whether Aylward should have his CPA license revoked, as requested by the state’s attorney general. Fisher decided to leave the license untouched for the time being. A hearing on the defendants’ assets will take place at a later time.
Once considered a promising aberration in the troubled Inland Empire, the City of Beaumont now suffers from a level of fiscal insolvency that rivals even that of pre-bankruptcy Stockton. We covered its extensive fiscal problems in July.
Read more about Friday’s hearing here.
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