Politics & Government

ER Building Inspector Sentenced to 18 Months in Federal Prison

Hugo Gonzalez pleaded guilty to accepting thousands of dollars in bribes for approving residential construction he never inspected.

A former building inspector from Eagle Rock who took thousands of dollars in bribes for approving residential construction on sites he never inspected or visited was sentenced Monday to 18 months in federal prison.

Hugo Joel Gonzalez, an inspector for the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Christina A. Snyder at the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, located downtown on 213 N. Spring St. An earlier sentencing was scheduled in August but it was delayed because prosecutors requested more time to tie up their case.

Gonzalez pleaded guilty on May 23 to accepting bribes in exchange for granting permits on residential projects in South Los Angeles, some of which he had never even seen. He had entered into a plea agreement with federal prosecutors earlier, admitting his guilt on one count of bribery. (See attached pdf for details of the plea agreement.)

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His hands and feet manacled, Gonzalez appeared in Judge Snyder’s court looking somber, wearing a flimsy green-colored jacket and dressed in white cotton trousers and a shirt. His beard and balding head made him look considerably older than his 49 years.

Sentence Effectively No More Than 13 Months

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Gonzalez will effectively serve only about 12 to 13 months in prison because he has already been in detention since the FBI arrested him in April, along with an Altadena building inspector, Raoul Joseph Germain, 60, following an undercover sting operation that began in the summer of 2010 to investigate charges that the inspectors accepted bribes to approve construction work on residential properties without inspections.

Germain, who had also entered into a plea bargain with prosecutors, was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison on September 19, a slightly higher term because “he had some minor criminal history—and that’s something that goes into factoring the sentence,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Cheryl O’Connor.

Gonzalez's Flight Risk a Factor in Sentencing

The prosecution had also factored in the fact that Gonzalez was twice denied bail because the court considered him a flight risk. During the FBI sting operation, in recorded conversation with an undercover agent, Gonzalez was heard saying that if he were to be arrested he would disappear in Mexico.

Judge Snyder said that during Gonzalez’s plea agreement negotiations, the prosecution as well as the defense recommended a sentence of 18-24 months. Snyder ordered Gonzalez to a three-year period of supervised release following his prison sentence, plus 80 hours of community service. In addition, he was ordered to pay $9,000 in restitution to victims of his crimes as well as to the FBI—of the sum, $6,000 is due immediately.

Case Symbolizes Government Graft

“This an example of how corruption threatens important government services and why such corruption is intolerable,” United States Attorney André Birotte Jr. said in a prepared statement. “Government employees at every level must know that if they betray the public trust for personal financial gain, as Mr. Gonzalez did, then they will be held accountable for their conduct.”

If you happen to have information about building inspectors or other officials who have accepted bribes in Los Angeles, the FBI urges you to call its local Field Office at (310) 477-6565 or by e-mailing reportbribes@ic.fbi.gov.


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