The Los Angeles Political Buzz Examiner by Jules Manson - November 13, 2011
On Thursday November 10, 2011, former Bell Police Chief Randy G. Adams served the City of Bell, CA, with a lawsuit for expenses incurred defending himself on a legal investigation of possible corruption related to the now infamous Bell scandal. The legal documents also expressed a 15-day time window for both parties to contact each other for the purpose of litigation that might result in possible resolution of this case outside of court. Adams' is the latest in four lawsuits directed at Bell from former administrators. In an email exchange with Councilman Nestor Valencia, he writes of the three prior lawsuits, "New lawsuits from the three administrators claims they were forced to resigned and they want their money." He does not name them but this reporter expects that this may be referring to at least a few former members of the council or top managers. It comes at a time when Bell is tightly strapped for cash because of their alleged illicit activities while employed by the city that nearly drove it to bankruptcy. In 2010, Bell became the focus of the nation when a scandal of unbelievable unrestrained corruption became public that was allegedly committed by its then mayor and nearly all members of its council, by its then chief administrative officer Robert Rizzo and other high officials including its then police chief, Randy Adams. It was reported that Adam's annual salary was an incredible $457,000. In addition to his compensation, a recent (Oct 2011) Los Angeles Times article, Former Bell chief wants strapped city to pay his legal fees, reported that, "...Adams and Bell's former chief administrative officer, Robert Rizzo, struck a deal that allowed the chief to file for a disability pension with the city's support. The agreement would amount to a 50% tax break on his retirement benefits." Such compensation far exceeds what is normal for a police chief for a city the size of Bell. It even far exceeds the salary of Los Angeles County Sherriff Lee Baca. Relentless public pressure compelled this most noble public servant (Adams) to resign his post. However, the aforementioned linked article also reveals that his attorneys claim that he was instead fired. What impact this might have on this case remains to be seen. If interested, please contact examiner reporter Jules Manson for a PDF copy of the legal documents that Bell was served with. Also, please visit Bell councilman, Nestor Valencia, speaks at Libertarian Party meeting for a recent prior article on the Bell scandal that is also by this reporter. Policial Buzz Examiner, Jules Manson, also wishes to gratefully acknowledge Bell Councilman Nestor Valencia for providing this breaking news information to him immediately after he received it.
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