Former Compton Councilman Isaac Galvan Sentenced to 18 Months in Federal Prison

Former Baldwin Park Councilman Ricardo Pacheco also received an 18-month sentence in the federal public corruption case involving bribes and marijuana permits.

LCCN Staff Report

LOS ANGELES — Former Compton City Councilman Isaac Galvan and former Baldwin Park City Councilman Ricardo Pacheco were each sentenced Monday to 18 months in federal prison, sources who attended the sentencing hearing told Los Cerritos Community News.

The sentences stem from a years-long federal public corruption investigation involving bribes paid in connection with Baldwin Park’s marijuana permitting process.

Galvan, 39, pleaded guilty in December to one count of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds and one count of tax evasion.

According to federal prosecutors, Galvan first paid Pacheco a $10,000 bribe in August 2017 to secure Pacheco’s support for a future consulting client seeking a marijuana permit.

After Galvan secured W&F International Corp. as a consulting client, he facilitated an additional $70,000 in bribes from W&F owner Yichang Bai to Pacheco.

In exchange, Pacheco provided political support for W&F, voting in favor of the company’s marijuana permit in 2018 and later voting to allow the company to relocate its operations.

Pacheco, 63, served on the Baldwin Park City Council from 1997 until his resignation in June 2020. He previously pleaded guilty to a separate federal bribery charge and agreed to cooperate with the government’s public corruption investigation.

Galvan also admitted failing to file federal income tax returns from 2017 through 2020 and failing to report approximately $560,525 in income. He agreed to pay $323,557 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.

Bai, 52, of Arcadia, previously pleaded guilty for his role in the scheme and was sentenced to one year and eight months in federal prison.

Galvan served on the Compton City Council from 2013 until 2022.

The 18-month sentences handed down Monday to Galvan and Pacheco were confirmed to Los Cerritos Community News by sources who were present at the federal court hearing.