COMPTON – Former Lynwood City Council members Louis Byrd and Fernando Pedroza were sentenced today to state prison for misappropriating nearly $500,000 in city money, including charging personal expenses on city credit cards, the District Attorney’s Office announced.
Compton Superior Court Judge Eleanor Hunter sentenced Byrd, 80, to five years in state prison and Pedroza, 47, to four years following a lengthy hearing in which both men begged for leniency but refused to apologize for their actions, said Deputy District Attorneys Ed Miller and Sean Hassett, who prosecuted the case.
After Pedroza apologized to his family, Judge Hunter asked if he was also apologizing to the people of Lynwood.
“No,” he said.
Both men were convicted in July of one count each of misappropriation of public money along with an allegation that they took in excess of $65,000. Prosecutors argued that Byrd took about $330,000 for personal use and Pedroza took more than $160,000.
Under one scheme, they paid themselves up to $40,000 a year in addition to their council pay for participating on two city agencies, the Lynwood Public Finance Authority and Lynwood Information Inc. Prosecutors argued that the work council members performed in connection with these agencies was nothing beyond the normal responsibilities for a council member and they were not entitled to additional pay.
They also charged personal expenses on city credit cards. For example, during a May 2002 trip to Guadalajara, Mexico to attend a sister-city conference, Pedroza charged $1,500 on a city credit card to pay for an evening at a gentleman’s club that included a dancer and private room.
The D.A.’s Public Integrity Division discovered the crimes through a four-year investigation launched on April 15, 2003, following a tip by a former Lynwood city manager. Five current and former council members were charged in May 2007. Charges against two, Armando Rea and Ricardo Sanchez, were later dismissed. Another former councilman, Arturo Reyes, pleaded guilty to grand theft and is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 12.
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Louis Byrd was inept principal. One of his many memorable quotes to the students was ” It’s good to be a racist because it just shows that you are good at your race like a pianist is good at playing the piano.” Too bad he wasn’t as inept at stealing funds
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