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Police chief, city attorney, manager among 7 charged with corruption

June 2, 2016

moneyRiverside County prosecutors arrested seven Beaumont city officials last month including the chief of police, the city manager and the public works director for allegedly participating in an elaborate scheme that dates back more than two decades and cost taxpayers nearly $43 million. Arraignments have been continued to Aug. 19 so all seven defendants can enter their pleas on the same day. [LA Times]

The alleged scam involved the sale of municipal bonds for projects handled by an engineering group that contracted with the city. City officials also provided friends and family interest free loans from public funds.

The investigation dates back to April 22, 2015, when authorities from both the FBI and District Attorney’s office served search warrants at city hall and the home of former city manager Alan Kapanicas. Investigators also searched the offices of Urban Logic Consultants, a company that provided engineering and financial services to Beaumont for decades.

The investigation turned up evidence of an improper relationship with the city and Urban Logic Consultants, a firm that was paid with bonds funds for their engineering and financial services.

On May 17, the Riverside District Attorney’s Office charged former City Manager Alan Kapanicas, former Police Chief Francis Dennis “Frank” Coe Jr., former Economic Development Director David William Dillon, former Public Works Director Deepak Moorjani, former Planning Director Ernest Alois Egger, former Finance Director William Kevin Aylward and former City Attorney Joseph Sandy Aklufi with corruption.

Prosecutors charged Kapanicas with 33 felonies including embezzlement by a public official, misappropriation of funds and conspiracy; Coe with three counts of misappropriation of funds and conspiracy; Dillon with seven felonies including six counts of embezzlement by a public official; Moorjani with seven felonies including six counts of embezzlement by a public official and Aklufi with six felony counts of embezzlement by a public official.


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Take a moment and think about the legacy we are leaving our children. Corruption at every level and at every turn in the road. WHO, or what will our will our young people look to as parents, role models, mentors, leaders, educators, or politicians and advisors?

We as a country, a state, and a county, are in serious trouble. TEACH YOUR CHILDREN WELL


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Why is it that only buttheads run for office? Why are we always voting for the lesser of many evils?


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In this case the perps weren’t elected, they were employees.


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But if like many cities the criminal city manager is under the control of the “elected” city council, which I suspect knew something wasn’t right but did nothing about it, perhaps they had the same problem with their city council that we do in Arroyo Grande, too many hold overs from the corrupt previous regime, but hopefully we will take care of that this fall, and say goodbye to Guthrie and Barneich.


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Sad thing is I saw the headline and just assumed it was either Paso or another SLO county town.


Too bad stories like this illicit such a “yeah, not surprising” response nowadays. This stuff happens so often that we’ ve grown accustomed to it.


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We’ve grown use to everything and anything. That is the plan, everything is acceptable!


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Paso? Shoot, sounds just like the Marx/Lichtig city of SLO.


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Déjà vu all over again… another Bell.

Vote responsibly, and we won’t spiral down into the Hill-like abyss.


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There is no such thing as voting responsibly when the entire system and both parties are completely corrupt. Look behind the curtain of any local, state, and especially federal agency and thIs is what you will see…theft, corruption, self enrichment, all by mediocre men and women who can’t cut it in the real world.


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We are already there.


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Well, well, well. Amazing how fitting all of the titles were to be “filled in” by the South County Sanitation and Arroyo Grande City leaders. Geez, it took the DA and the FBI 20 years? I sure hope it does not take that long to investigate our players.


Who said it could never happen?


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Oh it will, as Shea was DA, as Daniel Dow is the new DA. They won’t investigate anything. Look how bad the court system bungled Jarmin, Gearhart, Kennedy, PG& E illegal dumping, Wallace, the list to long to continue. People would get bored reading it.

Nope, Dow isn’t a dimwit, he plans not to prosecute, at least he is forthright in the respect of no prosecutions. I’m getting bothered by all these crooks, but mostly our homegrown ones…


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When will the crooks downtown SLO get looked at? While bleeding us dry with taxes and overpaying incompetent manager and so called attorney there must be some dirt.


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When do we start in SLO County?


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Some of the replaced names would be John Wallace and Wallace Company, former mayor Tony Ferrara, former city manager Steve Adams, current law firm Carmel & Naccasha, including Tim Carmel, Trish McClish Community Development Director, and the list goes on and on.


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You can triple that with CSD people County Supervisor and our own City Council, Marx may get off on sounds of mental incompetence.


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Start June 7 by voting for Dan Carpenter for Supervisor! Go Dan!


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In all due respect, since Mr. Carpenter is a fine person, I believe that Debbie Peterson has earned her stripes in staying on top of the South SLO County Sanitation Districts’ apparent abuse of inside power. She has been involved in this request for investigation with just a few other ratepayers for many years, over 10 at least. This year has finally brought some awareness that the Sani District needs to be investigated, and resulted in a 166 page report of violations. It’s now with the District Attorney, State Attorney and FBI.


Kudos to Ms. Peterson for not bowing to the pressure of the local leaders, and seeing this through. And, I feel there will be some resolution in the near future. Thank you Debbie for saving the ratepayers a LOT of money!


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I too have applauded Ms. Peterson for her perseverance of the So SLO Co Sani District’s shenanigans. Given that, I can’t support someone who is willing to support increasing taxes (County “Self-Help Tax) because the State elected officials waste our tax dollars on things like the Bullet Train. And her naivete in saying at a local forum “the tax dollars will stay here in SLO County”, when in fact the money goes to Sacramento and they may change their mind about sending that money back to our County, is surely a sign she is not ready for a supervisor seat, at least not yet. I will cast my vote for Dan Carpenter for many reasons, most importantly is he can beat Adam Hill. We must clean up local government, one scumbag at a time.


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Maybe it’s already started, maybe it started some time ago. Successful investigations such as these usually take time and are kept very, very quite… So, Mr. & Mrs. Hill… Ya Never know! Now do ya?!!!


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If you find one termite, you can expect there are others. For this reason I’d support forensic house keeping throughout all California incorporated governments, including the State itself.


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Three words. Team Adam Hill.


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