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Ex-Calif. Officials Each Get 2 Years In Pot Permit Bribe Row
Law360 (May 5, 2021, 10:52 PM EDT) -- Two former California city officials on Wednesday were each sentenced to two years in prison for accepting bribes in exchange for expediting a cannabis dispensary permit application, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Former Calexico Councilman David Romero, 37, and ex-economic development Commissioner Bruno Suarez-Soto, 29, took the cash bribe from an undercover agent who they believed was an investor looking to open a cannabis dispensary.
According to charging documents, Romero and Suarez-Soto accepted two payments of $17,500 from the FBI agent in restaurant parking lots in December 2019 and January 2020, promising the agent a "top...