A former councilman for the city of Compton has been arrested on a federal grand jury indictment accusing him and a consulting client of paying $70,000 in bribes to another politician in exchange for for marijuana permits, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Isaac Jacob Galvan, 36, was arrested Monday at his Compton home on a 10-count indictment filed earlier this month.
Also arrested as part of the bribery scheme was Yichang Bai, 50, of Arcadia, the owner and operator of W&F International Corp., a Diamond Bar-based import-export business.
Galvan and Bai are charged with one count each of conspiracy and bribery, and eight counts of honest services wire fraud, officials said.
Galvan allegedly paid the funds to a “corrupt” member of the Baldwin Park City Council, identified as Ricardo Pacheco, for votes and to support commercial marijuana permits for Bai’s corporation.
Back in 2017, Baldwin Park began allowing the cultivation, manufacture and distribution of marijuana within city limits, officials explained.
Around then, Pacheco, 60, apparently began soliciting bribes from businesses seeking marijuana development agreements and related permits, court documents show.
In exchange for the payments, Pacheco then agreed to use his position in the Baldwin Park City Council to help companies get the needed permits, including voting in their favor, officials said.
Galvan allegedly first paid Pacheco $10,000 in August 2017 to…
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