Ex-Baldwin Park councilman admits to taking bribes, the real reason he left post – San Gabriel Valley Tribune
A former Baldwin Park councilman has agreed to plead guilty to accepting bribes from a police officer – who was working for the FBI as part of a public-corruption sting – for voting in favor of a police union contract two years ago, federal prosecutors said Wednesday, Jan. 27.
Ricardo Pacheco suddenly retired last June after more than 23 years on the council. The 58-year-old faced numerous court battles over his long tenure, but insisted at the time that his retirement had nothing to do with any legal troubles.
The U.S. Department of Justice now says his resignation was part of his plea agreement.
Pacheco agreed on June 15 to plead guilty to one federal bribery charge for accepting $37,900 from the undercover police officer in return for voting in favor of the Baldwin Park Police Association’s 2018 contract with the city.
“The payments to Pacheco included a $20,000 cash bribe in October 2018, which the police officer provided to him in an envelope in a Baldwin Park coffee shop,” a Justice Department spokesman said in a statement.
“Pacheco also solicited and received $17,900 in checks that he directed be made out to his church and sham political-action committees he had set up using other individuals’ names but which he controlled,” the statement said.
Pacheco was also forced to turn over more than $83,000 in illegal proceeds to the FBI – $62,900 of which was buried in his backyard, the prosecutors said.
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