The former mayor and the one-time city manager of the Southern California city of Cudahy have agreed to plead guilty to bribery charges for supporting the opening of a medical marijuana dispensary, authorities said.
Ex-Mayor David Silva and former City Manager Angel Perales will each plead guilty to one count of bribery and extortion, according to plea agreements filed Thursday. They each face up to 30 years in prison.
The two men, along with Councilman Osvaldo Conde, were arrested last month as part of an investigation into an alleged plan to approve a pot collective. In exchange, prosecutors say the three men solicited and accepted $17,000.
The case is the latest in a series of corruption scandals plaguing small cities south of Los Angeles. Most notable were the 2010 arrests of the former city manager and several other officials from neighboring Bell, who are accused of misappropriating funds to overpay themselves.
Federal authorities said in court documents that after weeks of soliciting bribes, Conde, Perales and Silva accepted $15,000 in February from an FBI informant who formerly owned a medical marijuana shop in a nearby city.
Conde later met with the informant and received $2,000, court documents show. The informant estimated the dispensary could generate up to $2.5 million within a year.
Both Silva and Perales will appear in court July 19. Conde remains free on $100,000 bail.
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