Grand Jury Indictment handed down in Palm Springs Scandal at City Hall Case
District Attorney Mike Hestrin has announced that a Grand Jury indictment has been handed down in the case against former Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet, and developers Richard Meaney and John Wessman.
They three defendants will appear in court next on September 12th for an arraignment.
This case has had numerous delays since it was originally charged on February 16th of 2017.
A thirty count indictment includes the same charges including nine counts of accepting bribe of an executive officer, nine counts of bribing an executive officer, eight counts of conflict of interest, three counts of perjury and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery.
Pougnet faces 21 counts and Meaney and Wessman each face 10.
The Palm Springs City Council responded to the Grand Jury Indictments with the following statement signed by Mayor Robert Moon, Mayor Pro Tem Geoff Kors and City Councilmembers Christy Holstege, Lisa Middleton and J.R. Roberts.
“After nearly four years of our community waiting for a resolution, the
Palm Springs City Council is pleased the Riverside County District
Attorney requested this procedural change to have the Grand Jury,
made up of Riverside County citizens, review the evidence in this
matter to determine if there is probable cause that a crime may have
been committed. The Grand Jury came to the same conclusion that the
District Attorney previously came to, issuing indictments against the
former mayor and developers John Wessman and Richard Meaney. As
a result, a trial should now proceed more expeditiously through our
criminal justice system and continuous delays will cease. No other
individuals, including City Staff, were found by either the District
Attorney or the Grand Jury to have committed wrongdoing. Each of us
was elected after the events that led to the indictments occurred and we
are proud of the work our Council, Staff and resident led Task Force
have done to enact and implement new, ethics and transparency laws
and policies that far exceed the requirements of state and federal law,
making Palm Springs a leader in open government.”
News Channel 3 also reached out to Malcolm Segal, the attorney for Stephen Pougnet who supplied this statement in response:
“This is another step in the process that will bring this case to a trial. We look forward to an opportunity to show that Steve Pougnet is not guilty of the charges that have been filed against him and the sooner that happens the better it will be for him and for the process itself.”
More: I-Team and Stands for You investigations
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