Ex-Compton Mayor Omar Bradley “understood the rules [of public spending] and that his spending had no public benefit,” said prosecutors last Friday, when for a second time, Bradley was convicted of misappropriating taxpayer funds. This is his second misappropriation conviction. The first, came in 2004 but was thrown out by a state appellate court panel in 2012.
A jury reached the verdict on July 27. If upheld, Bradley will never be eligible to hold public office again. The earlier thrown out conviction allowed him to run for mayor again in Compton twice, albeit unsuccessfully.
Bradley served as the Hub City mayor for eight years, from 1993 to 2001. Robert J. Hill, Bradley’s attorney, told the jury, that his client believed money spent on certain clothing, hotel rooms, golf fees, etc., were legal because they were all connected to city business. He argued that prosecutors had not proven that, that was not the case.
Not so, said prosecutors. That spending was purely personal, they said. They described a time when spending accountability in Compton became very lax after the city council approved a resolution authorizing the issuance of city credit cards to council members without any public comment on the issue.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge George Lomeli scheduled sentencing for Aug. 30.
