Four men, including a La Jolla developer, face charges involving the alleged embezzlement and misappropriation of millions of dollars connected to a solar farm, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said Friday.
The developer, William Barkett, joins a former city manager for the City of Industry, an ex-state legislator and an attorney as defendants in a case concerning funds intended to be used to study whether the solar venture was suitable for land to be bought by the city.
Barkett, 63, former state Sen. Frank Hill, R-Whittier, attorney Anthony Bouza, 60, are due in court Tuesday for arraignment.
Barkett is charged with four counts – misappropriation of public funds, embezzlement, money laundering and grand theft.
Former city manager Paul Jule Philips, 70 – now the top administrator in the city of Bell, according to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, which first reported the charges – made his first appearance Friday in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom.
He faces one count of misappropriation of public funds. He is due back in court on Sept. 10 for arraignment.
Former Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley, who is representing Phillips, told the newspaper his client is “innocent and wrongly charged.”
Hill, 67, is charged with two counts of having a financial interest in a contract or purchase made in an official capacity, while Bouza is charged with one count of misappropriation of public funds and eight counts of having a financial interest in a contract or purchase made in an official capacity.
The charges were filed Aug. 24, court records show.
“Public corruption erodes the trust of our citizenry and hampers progress. There is no place for it in Los Angeles County,” District Attorney George Gascon said in a statement announcing the charges.
The City of Industry entered into a land lease agreement between 2016 and 2018 with San Gabriel Valley Water and Power LLC – which was owned by Barkett – to examine a potential solar farm for land known as Tres Hermanos Ranch.
The city also agreed to advance certain costs that had to be repaid if construction began.
Philips and Bouza, an attorney hired by the city and a private contractor who allegedly helped draft an agreement, handled the funds, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Roughly $20 million in public funds was allegedly routed to an account controlled by Barkett during that time, in which some of the money was paid to other vendors.
About $8.3 million was allegedly spent by Barkett on personal items, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Bouza and Hill are accused of having a financial conflict when they allegedly drafted or influenced contracts with the city, according to the District Attorney’s Office, which noted that the case remains under investigation.
In a statement to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, City of Industry Mayor Cory C. Moss said, “For years, the city has alleged that SGVWP and related parties submitted false and fraudulent invoices to the city for work that was never performed. It is my hope that the matter moves swiftly and that those who are responsible for this misuse of taxpayer funds are brought to justice.”
A civil case brought by the city – in which former Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas represents Hill – is still pending, the newspaper reported.
Hill served a 46-month prison sentence for his 1994 conviction on federal extortion and money laundering charges. The case stemmed from a $2,500 payment he took from federal undercover agents in an FBI sting operation.
– City News Service
