A Glendale liquor store owner who could lose his liquor license for selling alcohol to a minor has pleaded guilty to attempting to bribe an official from the state Department of Alcohol Beverage Control.
Patana Ongpatanavutikun, 38, owner of M and M Liquor at 1951 W. Glenoaks Blvd., pleaded guilty last week in Pasadena Superior Court to one felony count of bribery solicitation. Ongpatanavutikun was placed on three years' probation and fined $1,000 by Superior Court Judge Sally Disco.
The store owner had been scheduled to stand trial on one felony count of bribery before he entered a guilty plea on the solicitation charge as the result of a deal negotiated between his lawyer and the district attorney's office.
Charge May Be Reduced
The solicitation charge, which involves anyone who solicits another to accept or offer a bribe, can be either a felony or misdemeanor. By pleading guilty, Ongpatanavutikun will be allowed to ask the court to reduce the charge to a misdemeanor after he successfully completes one year of his probation, said Brent Riggs, the deputy district attorney who handled the case. A bribery charge would have had to remain a felony on Ongpatanavutikun's record, Riggs said.
