The former Bell city manager accused of bilking the community out of about $6 million says he is owed money.
Robert Rizzo's reasoning: He hasn't been convicted of a felony and hasn't resigned his post.
In a lawsuit, Robert Rizzo claims he is owed his $1.5 million salary, plus interest, and benefits. Rizzo hasn't been paid since July 2010, according to the lawsuit.
That's when Bell's residents learned that city council members were raking in about $100,000 per year for meeting once per month. Rizzo was earning about $787,000, but several perks bumped his annual compensation to about $1.5 million.
The revelations in a series of LA Times reports led to outrage at a series of council meetings.
"In response, the City Council locked Rizzo out of his office and stopped paying Rizzo his salary and benefits due to him under his employment agreement,'' the lawsuit states.
Bell Mayor Ali Saleh said he'd leave it to lawyers to talk about the legal merit of Rizzo's lawsuit.
"Rizzo's lawsuit is just another example of the gross disregard he has had towards all the working families in Bell and is just another distraction from the injustices Bell residents suffered under Rizzo,'' Saleh told the Associated Press.
Rizzo and seven other Bell city officials face charges of fraud and misappropriation of public funds. Rizzo has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors say Rizzo orchestrated a scheme to bilk the Los Angeles suburb out of more than $6 million.
Attorney James Spertus, who is defending Rizzo on fraud and other charges, said Monday that Rizzo's lawsuit is righteous, even if the public is outraged over the case.
"Thank God judges are not guided by emotion,'' said Spertus.
Rizzo filed the lawsuit on his own behalf.
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