After nearly two years serving as the example of what not to do, and serving as the punching bag for the media and government watchdogs, Bell is fighting back. Only a few days removed from another lawsuit alleging that it owes a former employee severance pay, the beleaguered City has filed a suit demanding repayment from its former police chief.
In a lawsuit filed against former Chief Randy Adams, the City is alleging that his willful disregard of evidence of corruption in the city is grounds to forfeit his salary. At the peak of his earnings, Adams was being paid $457,000 and was the highest paid police chief in the country.
The City isn’t only demanding that Adams pay back his salary, but they are also asking for a share of the estimated $20 million that the city lost as a result of the corruption there. Also part of the restitution sought by the city is $400,000 that was paid to the city’s former assistant chief of police who settled a whistle blower lawsuit. According to that suit, Adams fired the man after he went to the FBI to report the corruption in the city.
Adams was not indicted with the other conspirators in Bell, however his name continues to be associated with the scandal.
Read the full article at the Los Angeles Times.