Bribe

At some schools in Chicago, very few parents show up for their conferences with teachers, a situation that Mayor Rahm Emanuel (Chicago is one of the cities with mayoral control of schools) proposes to fix with, let's face it, a bribe . Parents at 70 schools who show up in person to pick up their child's report card and have the related conference with the teacher will receive a Walgreens loyalty card, preloaded with enough points to provide them with $25 worth of free merchandise.

The former mayor of Santa Fe Springs who shook down a medical marijuana dispensary for $11,500 in bribes - leading to a widespread corruption probe in nearby Cudahy - was sentenced Monday to two years in federal prison. "This was pure greed," U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson said as he sentenced Joseph Serrano Sr. Serrano continued to take cash bribes even after FBI agents twice interviewed him. A day after talking to the agents, he met with the dispensary owner outside a Sizzler in La Mirada, where he accepted a $1,700 bribe.

I want to tell you a secret: I might know who is going to win Literary Death Match on Wednesday night. That's because Antoine Wilson told me he wants to bribe Molly Ringwald to vote for him, and then I saw them talking. OK, I introduced them. It was after the PEN Center USA's awards dinner last month; Ringwald and her husband, Panio Gianopoulos, were headed out the door. Wilson said he wanted to meet Ringwald, because she'd be judging him in the upcoming Literary Death Match . Conversation ensued.

Supporters of Los Angeles County Assessor John Noguez, who was arrested last month in a sweeping corruption case on suspicion of taking bribes to reduce property assessments, are now being asked to donate money so he can make bail. An email sent Friday afternoon from Noguez's personal account — signed by "Friends of John Noguez" — asked for contributions to the assessor's legal fund. "As you may know, our friend John Noguez is in trouble and needs our support more than ever," the email said.

Los Angeles County Assessor John Noguez, who has spent the last six days in jail after his arrest on suspicion of taking bribes to lower property tax bills, will stay behind bars a while longer. On Monday, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Shelly Torrealba refused to reduce Noguez's bail below $1.16 million --the amount the county allegedly lost in tax revenue because of the scheme, prosecutors claim. Noguez's attorney, Michael Proctor, said Noguez would not be able to make that bail.

Los Angeles County Assessor John Noguez and the tax consultant accused of bribing him, Ramin Salari, pleaded not guilty to a long list of corruption charges Thursday. The men, who were arrested Wednesday, are being held on more than $1-million bail each. They are scheduled to be in court again Monday to argue for lower bail and to prove that any money they use to pay it was not acquired through criminal means. Prosecutors allege that Noguez took $185,000 in bribes to illegally reduce the values of properties represented by Salari so their owners would pay lower taxes.

Re "Assessor jailed in bribe case," Oct. 18 If the charges are true regarding the corruption of Los Angeles County Assessor John Noguez, then quite simply he should resign. I personally know many of the honest clerical and professional employees within the department, who are the majority. They should not be judged by the actions of a few bad apples. Certainly, the assessor's office doesn't engender warm and fuzzy feelings from most county taxpayers, but the vast majority of the department's personnel are honest and dedicated to their job of accurately and fairly establishing a property's value.

What a guy: Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.), arguing on behalf of proposals that would enrich his oil-slicked state by directing the federal government to hand over more royalty money from offshore drilling, said Louisiana deserves the cash because it bears the brunt of the risks from oil production. "So that's a sacrifice that we make for people [in places like] California to be able to turn on their lights," he said during a House debate. Thanks, congressman, but really, you needn't trouble yourself.

A federal corruption investigation spread to a second city Thursday when a Santa Fe Springs councilman agreed to plead guilty to receiving bribes from the owner of a medical marijuana store. Joseph Serrano Sr. will admit to one federal count of felony bribery in connection with allegations that he repeatedly shook down a dispensary operator who was working as an FBI informant. According the plea agreement released Thursday, Serrano took a total of $11,500 in payments in 2010 and 2011 in exchange for promises that Serrano would work to stave off attempts by the city to shut down dispensaries.

As part of a criminal bribery probe, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office served search warrants at the homes and campus offices of two high-ranking Pasadena City College officials Thursday morning, authorities said. Investigators removed documents and computers belonging to Richard Van Pelt, vice president of administrative services, and Alfred Hutchings, the college's facilities services supervisor, said Dave Demerjian, head of the district attorney's Public Integrity Division.