Some charges dropped in Calif. pay scandal

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LOS ANGELES, Feb. 28 (UPI) -- A Los Angeles judge Tuesday dismissed felony charges against a former Bell, Calif., mayor and a city council member for taking cash loans from Robert Rizzo.

However, Former Mayor Oscar Hernandez and former council member Luis Artiga still face felony charges related to collecting excessive pay for jobs that were rarely performed, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Rizzo, the city administrator accused of bilking Bell of more than $6.7 million, allegedly awarded himself 12 percent raises each year, culminating in a salary of $1.5 million in 2010, the year the scandal broke.

Hernandez and Artiga and four other council members were charged in the corruption and pay scandal that brought the city to the brink of bankruptcy, the Times said.