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USAO/CDCA Press Release
November 21, 2002

CURRENT AND FORMER ELECTED OFFICIALS IN CITY OF CARSON CHARGED IN BRIBERY SCHEMES INVOLVING TRASH CONTRACT CASES SHOW EXTORTION ATTEMPTS AGAINST FOUR HAULERS  

The mayor of Carson, other elected city officials, “consultants” and insiders at one trash company have been charged in a wide-ranging corruption case involving the solicitation and eventual payment of bribes to secure a lucrative trash-hauling contract that was awarded by the Carson City Council.
A federal grand jury indictment and several criminal informations outline a scheme in which a majority of the Carson City Council conspired to solicit bribes in exchange for their votes to award the trash-hauling contract. The case charges the politicians, those responsible for paying bribes, and the middlemen who acted as conduits for the cash.
The indictment, which was returned yesterday by a grand jury in Los Angeles and unsealed this morning, names four defendants:
? Daryl Wesley Sweeney, the 45-year-old mayor of Carson;
? attorney Robert Dennis Pryce Jr., 52, of Tarzana;
? Douglas Allyn Moore, 38, of La Palma, who until recently was a general manager with Browning Ferris Industries, Inc. (BFI);
? David Duane Robinson, 42, of Inglewood, who until recently was a sales and marketing representative with BFI.
Three of the defendants named in the indictment were arrested this morning by agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and IRS-Criminal Investigation. Defendant Robinson is expected to surrender to authorities later today.
The indictment names three co-conspirators who have agreed to plead guilty to charges related to trash-hauling corruption schemes. Charging documents and plea agreements were filed this morning in relation to:
? Carson City Councilwoman Raunda Frank, 39;
? consultant and former Inglewood City Councilman Garland Hardeman, 46; and
? Michael Aloyan, 41, of Montebello, the owner of Hub City Disposal in Compton.
An eighth defendant – former Carson City Councilman Manuel Ontal, 38 – has been charged and has agreed to plead guilty to taking a bribe for supporting the extension of a bus service contract.
The charges against the eight defendants were announced this morning at a press conference by United States Attorney Debra W. Yang, FBI Assistant Director in Charge Ronald Iden, and IRS-Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Michael S. Kochmanski.
“Where corruption occurs and the public trust is abused, we will investigate and aggressively pursue any individuals connected to that criminal activity,” said United States Attorney Debra W. Yang. “Here, the citizens of Carson have suffered at the hands of several elected politicians, consultants and corporate employees for no reason other than greed.
“These corrupt politicians cast a pall over the good work done by the honest officials in the City of Carson and honest elected officials everywhere,” the United States Attorney continued. “It is absolutely paramount that we have integrity in government.”
The bribery schemes surround the trash-hauling contract that the City of Carson awarded to BFI in February 2002. The indictment alleges that in early 2001 Sweeney attempted to recruit Frank to join a conspiracy “to get paid” in relation to the awarding of the contract, one of the biggest and most lucrative awarded occasionally by the city.
In early 2001, Hardeman allegedly contacted Waste Management, Inc. to solicit “performance fees” if Carson awarded the contract to Waste Management. Later, Pryce proposed to Waste Management that it pay $600,000 if the contract was awarded. Waste Management refused to pay any money in relation to the proposals floated by Hardeman and Pryce.
Sweeney, in association with Frank and Ontal, allegedly used Pryce to solicit a $600,000 bribe from BFI in exchange for the three votes needed on the Carson City Council to award the contract. In late 2001, Pryce informed Ontal that he had secured an agreement from BFI to pay approximately $600,000 if the contract was awarded to BFI.
In January 2002, Pryce allegedly delivered $10,000 in “up-front” payments from BFI to Sweeney and Ontal, and a $5,000 payment to Frank.
On February 19, 2002, Sweeney, Ontal and Frank voted at a City Council meeting to award the trash-hauling contract to BFI. That contract would bring BFI approximately $60 million in revenues over the 10-year life on the contract.
Following the vote, Moore and Robinson of BFI allegedly arranged for two $15,000 payments that were split among the three councilmembers, the first two of a planned 36 monthly installments.
The contract with BFI was rescinded by the Carson City Council in April 2002, when Ontal joined the two City Councilmembers who were not part of the bribery scheme to overturn the contract in a 3-2 vote.
Sweeney and Pryce are charged with conspiring to commit extortion in relation to the Waste Management scheme. Sweeney, Pryce, Moore and Robinson are charged with conspiring to pay and accept bribes in relation to the BFI scheme. Pryce, Moore and Robinson are each charged with two counts of paying bribes. Sweeney, Pryce, Moore and Robinson are charged with six counts of “honest services” mail fraud in the scheme to deprive the people of Carson of the honest services of Sweeney, Frank and Ontal. Sweeney and Pryce are charged with conspiring to launder money for taking BFI checks and depositing them into an account at Pryce’s law firm, Pryce Parker Hill LLP. Sweeney and Pryce are also charged with six substantive counts of money laundering. (Pryce was also indicted yesterday on 32 charges related to corrupt activities as a trustee in United States Bankruptcy Court; see Press Release no. 02-163, “San Fernando Valley Lawyer Charged with Corruption for Taking Kickbacks While Bankruptcy Trustee.”)
All four of these indicted defendants are expected to make their initial court appearances this afternoon at 2:00 p.m. in Room 341 of the Roybal Federal Building and Courthouse, 255 East Temple, downtown Los Angeles.
If they are convicted of all charges in the indictment, the defendants face substantial prison sentences. For example, the charge of extortion carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and bribery carries a possible sentence of 10 years.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Frank was charged with conspiracy to commit extortion. In her plea agreement, she admits that she agreed to accept money in exchange for her vote on the trash-hauling contract, and she further acknowledges actually receiving $10,000.
Hardeman was charged with bribery. In his plea agreement, Hardeman admits he solicited as much as $1.8 million from Waste Management with the intention of paying Sweeney and Ontal for their votes. Hardeman also admits that he worked for another waste hauler, Klisthoff & Sons, and planned to pay Ontal as much as $50,000 in exchange for his vote in support of Carson awarding a portion of its commercial waste-removal contract to that company.
Aloyan was charged with bribery. In his plea agreement, Aloyan admits that he met with Ontal and offered him $1.5 million in exchange for his vote to award a trash contract to Hub City Disposal. Aloyan also acknowledges that as part of the agreement he gave $10,000 to Ontal in February 2002.
Ontal was charged with extortion and subscribing to a false tax return. In his plea agreement, Ontal admitted that he accepted a $5,000 bribe in exchange for making a motion and then voting in favor of the proposal to extend a contract with Transportation Concepts, a company that provided bus services to the City of Carson. Ontal also acknowledged that he failed to report $33,000 in income he received while working in 1997 as a consultant to L.A. Metromall, a large-scale retail development.
The four defendants who have agreed to plead guilty will be summoned to appear for arraignments in United States District Court next month.
The investigation into corruption in the City of Carson was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and IRS-Criminal Investigation.  Release No. 02-161

thom.mrozek@usdoj.gov