James Hlawek

James Hlawek, San Bernardino County's former chief administrative officer, was sentenced this week to three years' probation and community service for accepting thousands of dollars in bribes in a corruption scandal that roiled the county in the mid-1990s. Hlawek, who pleaded guilty in 1999 to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery, could have received up to five years in prison. However, prosecutors sought leniency because of Hlawek's assistance with other cases stemming from the scandal.

James Hlawek, San Bernardino County's former chief administrative officer, was sentenced this week to three years' probation and community service for accepting thousands of dollars in bribes in a corruption scandal that roiled the county in the mid-1990s. Hlawek, who pleaded guilty in 1999 to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery, could have received up to five years in prison. However, prosecutors sought leniency because of Hlawek's assistance with other cases stemming from the scandal.

A civil trial is scheduled to begin today in a Ventura courtroom to determine whether several former San Bernardino County officials and the businessmen who allegedly conspired with them on bribery and kickback schemes must pay the county more than $3 million in damages and restitution. The defendants include former Chief Administrative Officers James Hlawek and Harry Mays, who have pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges.

Thomas O'Donnell, San Bernardino County treasurer-tax collector from 1987 to 1998, was sentenced Wednesday to a year and a day in federal prison for accepting bribes. O'Donnell, 67, of Carlsbad, is the latest defendant to be sentenced in a San Bernardino County corruption case involving four former top officials and three businessmen. U.S. District Judge Dean Pregerson also fined O'Donnell $5,000 and ordered him to pay $7,158 in restitution.

The San Bernardino County chief administrative officer has resigned, and county officials said he is being investigated by the FBI. Details of the investigation were not available, and the FBI refused to confirm or deny any investigation. James Hlawek resigned Tuesday as the county's top bureaucrat after four years in the post. His resignation made no reference to the FBI probe.

Citigroup Inc.'s Salomon Smith Barney Inc. and one of its brokers are being sued by San Bernardino County, which alleges that they defrauded the county and mishandled investments. The suit claims that Salomon bribed officials in exchange for county business in the mid-1990s. The county paid unnecessary commissions to Salomon for some mutual fund purchases, said Dick Larsen, the county's treasurer-tax collector. The county alleges breach of fiduciary responsibility, bribery and fraud.

Two former San Bernardino County officials and a landfill executive must pay a total of $1.75 million in punitive damages for participating in a scheme to trade bribes and kickbacks for lucrative county contracts, a Ventura County Superior Court judge tentatively ruled Wednesday. The punitive damages levied against former County Administrative Officer James Hlawek, his county predecessor Harry Mays and former landfill executive Kenneth James Walsh are in addition to $4.

A judge has awarded San Bernardino County a total of $10.6 million in damages against former county officials and contractors who traded bribes and kickbacks for profitable contracts, the county announced Tuesday. Judge Vincent J. O'Neill Jr. last week officially approved two preliminary judgments in favor of the county, including $1.

A federal judge on Monday threw out bribery charges against San Bernardino County Supervisor Jerry Eaves but kept in place mail fraud charges. U.S. District Court Judge Manuel Real also dismissed all bribery charges against billboard company owner William Shepardson McCook, the businessman Eaves and others allegedly conspired with and received bribes from, according to a federal indictment.

An arraignment was postponed Tuesday for a Colton businessman and a San Bernardino County supervisor accused of bribery charges in an alleged billboard construction scheme that led to corruption convictions against several government officials in the Inland Empire. Supervisor Gerald "Jerry" Eaves, a former state assemblyman, faces state felony charges alleging he accepted campaign contributions and free trips to Las Vegas from William "Shep" McCook.

A Superior Court judge on Wednesday dismissed state bribery charges against Orange County billboard company owner William "Shep" McCook, the last major figure to face charges from a mid-1990s corruption scandal that rocked San Bernardino County. The five felony counts of bribery and conspiracy were too similar to the federal bribery charges McCook had been acquitted of in August 2004 and so amounted to double jeopardy, Judge Marsha G. Slough said.