Angela Spaccia, former Bell assistant city manager under Robert Rizzo, was sentenced to 11 years in prison on Thursday for her significant role in bilking the working-class city she served.
According to the Los Angeles Times, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge branded Spaccia a “hog” for padding her own salary while the City of Bell faced the threat of insolvency.
Judge Kathleen Kennedy has ordered the former official to pay more than $8 million in restitution to the city.
“It was all about the money,” remarked Kennedy. “Ms. Spaccia likes to portray herself as somehow a victim of Mr. Rizzo. She is no victim… She got unbelievable amounts of money.”
One of the trial’s most colorful moments occurred when prosecutors brought forward an email between Spaccia and one Randy Adams, Bell’s then police chief.
“You can take your share of the pie just like us!!!” she wrote. “We all will get fat together … Bob has an expression he likes to use on occasion … Pigs get Fat … Hogs get slaughtered!!! So long as we’re not Hogs … all is well!!”
Kennedy has been reviewing the cases since 2011. Her quip that Spaccia should be considered “a hog, not a pig,” is the first time to date she has offered up her opinion on the cases.
Rizzo and the five former councilmembers in question face sentencing later this year.
Read the full story at the Los Angeles Times.