Bribes in San Bernardino
Two Los Angeles area businessmen are accused of bribing a San Bernardino County supervisor's chief of staff. Bob Page, former chief of staff for Supervisor Josie Gonzales, is accused of being in a secret partnership with brothers Arshak and Vartan Kouladjian for at least a year, shepherding the development of their Bloomington auto auction business in exchange for cash and nearly $20,000 in home improvements before the two brothers were arrested outside the Black Angus restaurant in San Bernardino in February 2008.
Bob Page is now the principal management analyst for special projects for the county, District attorney's investigators said they found a white envelope stuffed with 150 $100 bills - $15,000 in Vartan Kouladjian's back pocket at the time of his arrest.
The cash, prosecutors allege, was intended for Page, whom the Kouladjians were expecting to meet at the restaurant for lunch but were instead met by district attorney's investigators.
The two brothers are each charged with two felony counts of bribery and one felony count of attempted bribery.
The jury began deliberating May 24, 2011.
Vartan Kouladjian lawyer claims he never intended to bribe Page.. The $15,000 in cash he gave Page during a lunch meeting in January 2008 was a gift for Page's help in trying to get the brothers an occupancy permit and the county to pay for the widening of Slover Avenue, the attorney said.
RIVERSIDE COUNTY Divides the City of Riverside
The national census, conducted every 10 years, triggers requirements to reapportion districts so residents are equally represented. During the past decade, the county's population has soared nearly 42 percent, to 2,189,641. That means the five supervisorial districts each should have about 437,928 people.
A Riverside County committee helping to draft new supervisorial districts will forward two proposals to the Board of Supervisors after failing Tuesday to reach agreement on how best to divide the city of Riverside.
The city of Riverside currently is divided between the 1st and 2nd Districts, represented by supervisors Bob Buster and John Tavaglione, respectively.
At the state level, an independent commission oversees redistricting, but here, supervisors have the final say on how to redraw their boundaries. They established the special committee to help draft proposals.
The committee reached consensus on how to reapportion the vast majority of the county.
POLITICS
Inland Empire politics
MAY 2011
APRIL 2011
