Commerce City Councilman Faces Prison After Pleading Guilty To Conspiracy
LOS ANGELES (CBS) — A city councilman from Commerce could face up to five years in prison after pleading guilty to a federal conspiracy charge.
KNX 1070's Brian Ping reports Robert Fierro admitted reimbursing some of his campaign contributors with cash in order to hide the funds.
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Court documents allege Fierro recruited family and friends to make contributions to his 2005 campaign, with Fierro secretly reimbursing the value of the contributions in cash.
The 40 year-old reportedly failed to disclose the contributions or reimbursements to the state of California or on his campaign's finance records.
The case marks the second time a city official from Commerce has been convicted of corruption charges since 2010, when Councilman Hugo Argumedo plead guilty to charges of obstruction of justice and subsequently resigned, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Fierro's sister-in-law Ana Perez made a similar plea in the case and is expecting the same sentence. His wife Linda is scheduled to go to trial next month.
Fierro is set to be sentenced in April.
