Beaumont Councilman pleads guilty to bribery, perjury
Beaumont City Councilman Mark Anthony Orozco pleaded guilty Thursday to bribery and perjury charges, and admitted to trying to frame a fellow councilwoman.
Orozco will be sentenced to three years probation on Oct. 24, and as part of his plea agreement, will resign from the City Council and pay a $10,000 fine, according to the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office.
The bribery charge stemmed from an alleged quid pro quo scheme in which Orozco offered to vote for a pro-development candidate to fill an empty council seat in exchange for $15,000 from employees of a residential home building company, according to prosecutors.
The home builders refused to pay the bribe and reported Orozco to the DA’s office.
Orozco will be disqualified from ever holding public office again due to the bribery conviction.
The perjury charge was filed today after investigators discovered Orozco used a political action committee called Move Beaumont Forward to try to frame Councilwoman Nancy Carroll, prosecutors said.
Carroll apparently angered Orozco by voting for another candidate instead of Orozco in December 2016 when the City Council voted for a new mayor.
In retaliation, Orozco ordered the PAC — which had previously supported Carroll’s council bid — to report in-kind donations it had given to her campaign as cash donations, according to Deputy District Attorney Emily Hanks.
The change caused Carroll’s financial disclosure form to appear falsified, and a complaint was lodged against her with the Fair Political Practices Commission. Further investigation revealed that Carroll was innocent of the charges.
More: I-Team and Stands for You investigations
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