The City of Industry, Calif., has accused a former mayor and his management company of "extensive public corruption and personal profiteering" in the management of its fleet vehicles in a civil lawsuit.
The lawsuit, which names former Mayor David Perez and his relatives, has been accompanied by separate investigations by the Los Angeles County district attorney's office and the state controller involving Zerep Management Corp., reports the Los Angeles Times.
Invoices Zerep submitted to the city suggest that the company routinely billed the machines for more hours than there were people available to operate them, according to a Times review.
During one week in 2012, Zerep charged the city for 683 hours for trucks and other equipment for the street crews, but recorded 328 hours of manpower. The city paid for nearly 300 hours for vehicles and machines that apparently were unmanned and idle.
