Yesterday’s developments:
Former councilman and assistant to the food bank administrator, Victor Bello, wasn’t just a rat. He’s also crazy, at least according to his lawyer.
It has been mentioned previously that Bello was banned from City Hall. But the reasons haven’t been discussed until now:
…an incident at a city affair at which Bello thought city manager Robert Rizzo made a derogatory statement about him, the defense attorney said.
“He came up to Mr. Rizzo and confronted him,” Moriarity said. “He got very, very angry. There was yelling back and forth.
“Some people say Mr. Bello grabbed Mr. Rizzo by the lapels. Others say that didn’t happen,” he added.
It could also have had something to do with the condom incident. Moving along, the first witness for the defense was Teresa Jacobo, one of the indicted council members.
…Jacobo testified she made $500 a month when she came onto the council in 2001 and continued selling real estate.
And then one magic day, according to Jacobo, Robert “Ratso” Rizzo and Edward Lee, the city attorney, called her in and told her…
“…I would be able work full time and devote all my time and effort to this community of Bell and I was now getting a full-time salary.”
But Jacobo testifies that Ratso didn’t tell her how much she’d be making. I’m sorry, but if someone told me I could devote all my time and effort to the community and I’d be making a full-time salary, I’d freaking ask what that salary would be.
Much of the defense has been that the council followed Rizzo’s lead, that the city attorney never said anything was wrong with their salaries, and that their positions were really full-time jobs. Jacobo bolstered the portrayal of Rizzo as a control freak who didn’t want council members to speak to city staff or to question him.
“He said I asked too many questions,” she testified.
This entry was posted on Friday, February 8th, 2013 at 8:12 am and is filed under California Über Alles, Clippings, Law. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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