Former County Official Sentenced for Taking Bribe
SAN BERNARDINO — The county’s former investment officer was sentenced to federal prison Thursday for his role in a bribery scandal that has engulfed San Bernardino County government.
Sol Levin, 68, of Redlands received a one-year prison term for accepting bribes, a felony, said Assistant U.S. Atty. Edward Moreton. Along with three business executives, Levin and three former top county officials have pleaded guilty in the corruption case.
Last year, Levin admitted accepting a $4,000 bribe from a North Carolina financial consultant, who also paid to send Levin and two other top county officials to London in 1997.
In return, consultant Richard Tisdale received county contracts worth more than $372,000, prosecutors say. Tisdale’s work included advising the county on employee benefit plans and a study of court fee collections.
During a sentencing hearing in Los Angeles federal court, U.S. District Judge Dean Pregerson also fined Levin $5,000 and ordered him to pay $7,158 in restitution to San Bernardino County. Levin must also undergo two years of supervised release after he is out of prison.
Ronald Canham, a San Diego management consultant, was sentenced in April to six months in custody and ordered to pay $14,000 in fines and restitution. The other defendants are awaiting sentencing.
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