3rd ex-Bell official sentenced in corruption scandal

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A former Bell city councilman convicted in the city's corruption scandal was sentenced on Wednesday to home confinement.

George Cole will be confined to his home with a GPS monitor for 180 days and must pay $77,000 in restitution to the city.

Cole will also be on probation for five years and must complete 1,000 hours of community service, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office said.

Attorneys were originally seeking a four-year prison sentence for Cole.

Cole was convicted last March on two counts of misappropriation of public funds. To avoid a retrial, he pleaded no contest in April to one additional count of misappropriation of public funds.

The corruption scandal nearly left the city of Bell bankrupt. Former chief administrative officer Robert Rizzo was sentenced in April to 12 years in state prison. He was also ordered to pay $8.8 million in restitution to the city. Former assistant chief administrative officer Angela Spaccia was sentenced to 11 years and eight months in prison and was ordered to pay $8.2 million in restitution.

Sentencing for three remaining city officials is expected to be completed by Aug. 1.