Corruption can leave cities with enormous legal bills

The costs can continue years after the accused have been ousted. And in some cases, the expenses exceed the amount of city money that officials are accused of stealing or squandering in the first place.

In 2005, former Lynwood mayor Paul Richards was convicted of funneling about $500,000 in city contracts to a company he secretly controlled. Two years later, five more then-current and former elected officials were charged with siphoning off hundreds of thousands of public dollars to boost their salaries and pay for personal expenses.

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