Ex-Building Inspector Accused of Bribery
A former Los Angeles city building inspector has been charged with bribery and grand theft for accepting at least $22,500 in kickbacks from a contractor to whom he funneled work on buildings that did not pass city seismic safety inspections.
Joel A. Dellon, 49, of Sun Valley, resigned from the city Building and Safety Department Feb. 15 after he was threatened with discharge, city records show.
The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office filed charges against Dellon on June 19 and he surrendered Wednesday in Los Angeles Municipal Court. He is charged with nine felony counts of bribery, one count of grand theft and one count of filing a false 1987 income tax return, said Sandi Gibbons, district attorney’s office spokeswoman.
Gibbons said Dellon appears to be the only city employee involved in the case.
Court documents show that all properties involved in the alleged bribery scheme were in the older mid-Wilshire, Hollywood, Los Feliz and central Los Angeles neighborhoods, where Dellon had worked since being assigned to the city Fire Safety Unit on Aug. 11, 1986.
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