A former California city councilman has been sentenced to federal prison after admitting to taking bribes in a sprawling public corruption investigation that included nearly $63,000 in cash buried in his backyard.
Ricardo Pacheco, 63, a former member of the Baldwin Park City Council, was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for accepting bribes connected to a police union contract and commercial marijuana permits. The case was detailed Saturday by Fox News.
Pacheco served on the Baldwin Park City Council for more than two decades before resigning in 2020 as part of his plea agreement with federal prosecutors.
U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright II also fined Pacheco $10,000 and ordered him to forfeit $219,755, according to the Justice Department.
The FBI seized $83,145 in cash proceeds from Pacheco, including $62,900 he admitted burying in two separate locations in his backyard.
The stunning discovery became part of a much broader corruption investigation involving public officials and California’s marijuana industry.
Pacheco pleaded guilty in June 2020 to federal program bribery after admitting that he solicited and received $37,900 from a Baldwin Park police officer between January and October 2018.
The officer was secretly working at the FBI’s direction after approaching federal authorities and agreeing to assist with an ongoing corruption investigation.
Prosecutors said Pacheco accepted the money in exchange for supporting a Baldwin Park Police Association contract worth at least $4.4 million over three years.
In one encounter, the officer handed Pacheco an envelope containing a $20,000 cash bribe inside a Baldwin Park coffee shop in October 2018.
Pacheco also received another $17,900 through checks that he directed to his church and political action committees established under other people’s names but controlled by him, prosecutors said.
The FBI caught the coffee shop exchange on video, according to the Los Angeles Times. After being caught, Pacheco began cooperating with investigators and wore a concealed recording device as authorities expanded their investigation.
His cooperation helped investigators build cases that ultimately produced six indictments involving more than 20 people connected to local government and the marijuana industry.
The investigation also centered on Baldwin Park’s decision to allow commercial marijuana cultivation, manufacturing and distribution beginning in 2017.
Prosecutors said Pacheco began seeking payments from businesses attempting to secure marijuana development agreements and permits soon after the industry was authorized in the city.
Former Compton City Councilman Isaac Jacob Galvan was also sentenced to 18 months in federal prison in connection with the scheme.
Galvan admitted facilitating $70,000 in bribes from Yichang Bai, the owner of W&F International Corp., to Pacheco in exchange for Pacheco’s votes and political support for commercial marijuana permits.
Pacheco ultimately voted in favor of W&F’s permit in June and July 2018 and later supported the company’s attempt to relocate its operations, according to prosecutors.
Authorities said some payments were concealed through third-party checks, including checks with blank payee lines.
Galvan separately admitted failing to report approximately $560,525 in income to the IRS between 2017 and 2020, resulting in a federal tax loss of $115,816. He was ordered to pay $323,557 in restitution.
Bai pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery and was sentenced in July to 20 months in federal prison and fined $3,000.
The investigation reached beyond Pacheco and Galvan.
The Los Angeles Times reported that cases stemming from the probe implicated several figures connected to local government and the marijuana business, including a former Baldwin Park city attorney, a Commerce city manager and a San Bernardino County planning commissioner, per Fox News.
Pacheco’s attorney, Glen Jonas, said his client accepted responsibility for his actions and regretted betraying the public’s trust.
“Mr Pacheco accepts responsibility and is profoundly sorry for betraying the public trust,” Jonas told the Los Angeles Times.
The FBI investigated the case, while IRS Criminal Investigation participated in the investigation involving Galvan. Federal prosecutors said additional proceedings will determine the amount of restitution Pacheco must pay.
