LOS ANGELES _ The former mayor of Palm Springs and two major developers in the city were charged Thursday with public corruption and other felonies in a scheme that netted the one-time city leader $375,000 in bribes, according to the Riverside County district attorney.
Former Mayor Steve Pougnet, 53, and developers Richard Meaney, 51, and John Wessman, 78, were charged with a combined 30 felony counts of corruption, including paying and accepting bribes, conflict of interest, perjury and conspiracy to commit bribery. Pougnet served as mayor for eight years before announcing in 2015 that he would not seek re-election.
Pougnet faces up 19 years in prison while the two developers face up to 12 years in prison.
"We simply cannot tolerate corruption in government at any level," District Attorney Mike Hestrin said at a news conference. "With all bribery it was about buying influence."
Wessman, the city's biggest developer, along with Meaney paid bribes to gain massive influence in city hall and beyond, Hestrin said.
"This was a bribe and not just business," the prosecutor said. "It was pretty brazen and it was pretty obvious."
The trio are expected to surrender within a week.
Hestrin said money was funneled to the former mayor through several shell companies from September 2012 to September 2014
The charges come 17 months after investigators from the FBI and Riverside County district attorney's office seized documents from city hall and the mayor's home as part of a public corruption investigation.
The Sept. 1, 2015, raids came after a series of stories in the Desert Sun newspaper showed that Pougnet while mayor worked as a consultant for Meaney when he voted to sell city property to the developer and another investor.
According to the Desert Sun, Pougnet received more than $200,000 _ now alleged to be $375,000 _ as a consultant for a firm run by Meaney. Pougnet claimed he'd been hired to educate the developer on local development laws.
In the wake of the public corruption probe, Pougnet said his vote to approve the sale of a 29,185-square-foot property called the Casa Del Camino to Meaney was a mistake. In addition, Meaney also received a $250,000 incentive from a city economic development grant _ a vote Pougnet abstained from, according to city records.
Among the records taken were those involving Pougnet and the city's best known real estate developer, John Wessman, who is a partner with the city in a $300 million downtown development project.
The city invested $43 million in the project, which remains partially completed. Meaney worked with Wessman in Palm Springs and for an Orange County firm.
Neither Pougnet, Meaney nor Wessman could be reached for comment.
Pougnet first joined the Palm Springs City council in 2003 before becoming mayor in 2007. Following the raids, he declared, "I am happy to cooperate with the inquiry going on at city hall, just as I have always been fully cooperative and open in all of my many years as an elected official in Palm Springs."
In an "open letter to the citizens of Palm Springs" that he posted online in May, Pougnet blasted the Desert Sun and defended his dual role as a consultant and public official.
"Like all my colleagues on council, I also work for a living," the letter said. "In Palm Springs, as in most cities, the mayor and councilmembers serve part time at the pleasure of voters. One reason I believe we've enjoyed such a renaissance in Palm Springs is because your council, like many of you, work full time in our community in addition to their service at City Hall."
City incentives in recent years have spurred hundreds of millions of dollars in investments that are transforming the landscape of the desert city in the heart of the Coachella Valley.
Two other developers have sued the city, alleging Pougnet cost them millions by favoring his friends in city-approved land projects.
Robert Weinstein, a local civil rights and personal injury attorney, said the probe was evidence of "tremendous corruption that's been going on for years."
"Some people here are using Palm Springs as a piggy bank, and it's got to stop," he said. "This is one of the most famous resort towns in the world. It's a disgrace."
