From 2005 to 2012, South El Monte Mayor Luis Aguinaga had a routine: Every two to three weeks, he’d walk into the men’s restroom at City Hall or open a car door and reach for its passenger side pocket to retrieve an envelope. Inside was bribe money from a city contractor—all part of a long-running public corruption scheme.
But on Thursday, the chickens finally came home to roost for Aguinaga. As part of a plea deal with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the mayor will plead guilty to accepting $45,000 in bribes from a city contractor in exchange for the approval of city contracts, as well as taking bribe money during an FBI investigation. He now faces up to 10 years in federal prison for the quid pro quo.
"This long-running corruption scheme compromised the effective governance of South El Monte," said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. "The residents of South El Monte deserve better."
Aguinaga isn’t alone. The San Gabriel Valley Tribune has a troubling list of 13 other bribery scandals in recent years.
Read more about the charges against Aguinaga here.
Image Credit: Flickr User pictures-of-money, https://flic.kr/p/s6895e via (CC BY 2.0)