former Mayor Oscar Hernandez – using the moron defense
Oscar Hernandez, former Mayor of Bell, California, is on trial for taking a salary of just under $100,000 for a part time job.
His defense – he didn’t know it was illegal because he wasn’t educated enough to know and no one told him.
He and his cronies inflated their salaries with no-show jobs and non-existant commissions.
via CBS News
In prosecutors’ closing arguments on Wednesday, they said the six officials facing charges of misappropriating funds felt they were above the law and collected paychecks for jobs that didn’t exist.
Legally, the officials could have paid themselves $673 a month for what was a part-time job, since they didn’t actually run the city, Deputy District Attorney Ed Miller said. But in addition to their inflated council salaries, the officials appointed each other to commissions that did nothing and often met yearly just to increase their pay, he said.
In the midst of a national economic meltdown, the council members were drawing salaries 3 1/2 times that of the median income of a resident in the blue-collar town, he said.
This is sad, funny but sad. How ironic, this is what attending government schools will do for some people. Teach one to lie and steal.
I just don’t see in God’s name someone can sit there and constantly lie. These asshats should do significant time in prison and forfeit everything they own until the money stolen is returned. That, of course, will never happen.
What is the problem? It is California for Gods sakes! They even pay life guards at the beach $200,000.00 per year. All on the taxpayers dime. No wonder this state is a lost cause. Between crooks like this and the taxes on everything, you can’t get anyone to move there anymore. It is a dying state and will remain that way for another 25 years.
This Mayor is symbolic of what is wrong with our country. As Mayor, he didn’t even run anything. He was a figurehead.
Tatersalad I can’t see California lasting another 25 years, but then, I said that 25 years ago. When things get bad enough, we taxpayers will be forced to bail them out.
But I agree with your point, they have done it to themselves. And I believe this is, as in the case of the US government, a deliberate attempt to overload the system and destroy us economically. I don’t wish to sound like a “conspiracy nut” but I do feel this is all by design.
And Ms. Sara I couldn’t agree more, no one accepts responsibility for their actions anymore. These usurpers are so arrogant, it’s incredibly infuriating.
You are right in my opinion Dell. Everything has been put in place to protect the criminals in government. Who, in their right mind, believes these people would be convicted even IF they were charged with a crime.
OMG, they have an “ethics committee” to police themselves for crying out loud. The inmates are running the asylum!
Yes I agree Sir, that will never happen.
How often does the ethics committee do more than put a letter in their colleagues file? They do whatever they want. We’d be in jail for things they get “reprimands” for.