LOS ANGELES COUNTY : Ex-Deputy Gets 5 Months in Money-Skimming Case
An ex-Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy was sentenced Friday to five months in prison and five months of home confinement for his role in a corruption case involving a drug investigative unit.
Richard Ballestros, who hid $150,000 that a former colleague stole, was found guilty at his retrial of obstruction of justice. The 34-year-old Norwalk resident will remain free on $25,000 bond pending his appeal. U.S. District Judge Mariana Pfaelzer denied his motion for a new trial and acquittal.
Ballestros was the 23rd of 26 deputies assigned to the sheriff’s elite narcotics investigations teams to be convicted in a money-skimming scandal. He initially was charged with conspiracy, obstructing justice, money laundering and being an accessory after the fact. He was acquitted of most of those charges this year and was retried on the obstruction of justice count.
Deputy John Hurtado, who stole the cash and gave it to Ballestros to conceal, has pleaded guilty and is cooperating with prosecutors.
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