Beaumont City Councilman Mark Orozco pleaded guilty to one felony count of bribery and one felony count of perjury Thursday morning, Sept. 28.

Because of the plea, he’ll have to resign from his seat and cannot run for public office again.

Orozco, 40, is expected to be sentenced to three years of formal probation and six months of home confinement on Tuesday, Oct. 24. He also will be ordered to pay a $10,000 fine.

Orozco did not speak to the news media after the hearing in the Riverside courtroom of Judge Samuel Diaz Jr., but his attorney, David Greenberg, said he agreed to the plea agreement with prosecutors to avoid jail time.

“Mr. Orozco had the opportunity to plead and not get any jail time,” Greenberg said. “When push came to shove and all of the important things in his life were considered, the ability to be with his wife and children moved to the forefront.”

The plea

Orozco pleaded guilty to soliciting a bribe from Pardee Homes and to a new case of perjury filed Thursday, Sept. 28, for falsifying a campaign form.

On that form, prosecutors say he made it appear that fellow council member Nancy Carroll received a donation that she did not.

Riverside County District Attorney’s Office investigators said they found that Orozco inappropriately controlled the Move Beaumont Forward PAC and used it to support

candidates for the November 2016 Beaumont City Council election.

Carroll was elected and angered Orozco when she voted for Lloyd White as mayor and not him, a DA’s office news release stated.

So Orozco told the treasurer of Move Beaumont Forward that he was going to retaliate for Carroll’s vote and ordered the treasurer to falsify a campaign disclosure form to make it appear as if the purchase of political signs for Carroll’s campaign was actually a cash donation, according to the release.

Carroll’s campaign would not have had to report the signs but would have had to claim any monetary contributions, prosecutors said. After that falsification was made, emails circulated accusing Carroll of lying on her campaign disclosure forms resulting in the Fair Political Practices Commission receiving a complaint against her, prosecutors’ release stated.

“He was responsible for the change. He was trying to make it seem that Nancy Carroll committed perjury,” said Amy Barajas of the DA’s Public Integrity Team, who prosecuted the case along with Emily Hanks.

“This is how he retaliated against her,” Hanks said.

Carroll said she wasn’t going to be intimidated by Orozco.

“My name was dragged through this because I stood up for the right thing for the council and the city,” she said Thursday.

Bribe sought

The bribery conviction results from a grand jury indictment charging Orozco with soliciting a bribe from developer Pardee Homes.

After the death of Councilman Jeff Fox in January 2016, the Beaumont City Council appointed a replacement. Orozco solicited a $15,000 bribe from individuals at Pardee Homes. In exchange, Orozco promised he would vote for the pro-development replacement candidate that they favored, the District Attorney’s office alleged.

Representatives from Pardee Homes refused to pay the bribe and instead reported the crime to the DA.

The other charges Orozco faces, which are related to lying on campaign forms when he unsuccessfully ran for county supervisor in 2014, will be dropped, prosecutors said.

“I am relieved the legal process is coming to closure with Mr. Orozco receiving his due process and justice being served,” Beaumont Mayor Lloyd White said in a statement. “This has been a distraction for our community but not for our council. We have continued to move forward with the important issues that need to be addressed to continue the recovery of Beaumont and lay the foundation for a bright future for our community.”

‘Rebuilding Beaumont’

White said the scandal-scarred city — where seven former officials are accused of misspending city money — takes complaints of malfeasance seriously.

“In the coming weeks, a process to fill the vacated council seat will begin and our Council will soon be back to full strength,” White said. “Until that time, we will remain focused on the business of rebuilding Beaumont.”

Orozco was indicted in May by a grand jury on bribery and perjury charges and has been free on bail. He was indicted on one count of soliciting a bribe and nine counts of perjury and was accused of falsely identifying campaign funds on his required disclosure document – the Fair Political Practices Commission Form 460.

The indictment accused Orozco of falsely listing a $50,000 loan from himself related to his run for the seat on the Board of Supervisors

He also was accused of one count of bribery, which was alleged to have occurred Jan. 13, 2016.

The accusations against Orozco were not related to the corruption case against seven former city officials accused of misspending city money.

Orozco, who was in court Thursday for a hearing, could have faced four years in prison on each count.

It is unclear how his conviction will affect his employment as a teacher in the Pomona Unified School District, from which he is on paid administrative leave, the district’s spokesman said.

“Mark loves the city of Beaumont and Mark loves his family,” Greenberg said. “Under all of the circumstances, we thought this is the best plan for him and the city and his family.”

RECENT INLAND CORRUPTION CASES

Agency: San Bernardino County

Allegations: Four former county officials were accused of accepting bribes from a Rancho Cucamonga developer who received a $102 million settlement in a civil case he filed against the county.

When: A grand jury returned a 29-count indictment in May 2011.

The players: Developer Jeff Burum of Colonies Partners; former county Supervisor Paul Biane; former Supervisor and Assessor Bill Postmus; Mark Kirk, former top aide to former Supervisor Gary Ovitt; and James Erwin, former assistant assessor and former top aide to former Supervisor Neil Derry.

Result: Postmus pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against the other four defendants. In late August, a jury acquitted Burum, Kirk and Biane of all charges. A different jury deadlocked this month on Erwin’s case and a judge dismissed all charges.

Status: Prosecutors announced last week they won’t retry Erwin.

Agency: City of Moreno Valley

Allegations: Investigators from the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, FBI and IRS raided the offices of developer Highland Fairview and the homes of four Moreno Valley City Council members and a real estate broker with political connections as part of what they described as a political corruption investigation. In a related investigation and sting operation, one council member, Marcelo Co, was arrested on charges of accepting a $2.36 million bribe.

When: Bribery sting in January 2013, searches in April 2013

The players: Highland Fairview President and CEO Iddo Benzeevi, then-Moreno Valley Mayor Tom Owings, then-Councilwoman Victoria Baca, Councilman Jesse Molina, then-Councilman Marcelo Co and real estate broker Jerry Stephens

Result: Co was sentenced last year to five years in federal prison. Owings and Baca were both recalled from their council seats, but no charges were brought against them or others in the case. The FBI and District Attorney’s Office announced in April 2015 that they had concluded their investigation, but they offered no explanation.

Status: Inactive, but both agencies said they would reopen the case if new information came to light.

Agency: City of San Jacinto

Allegations: A 155-count indictment alleged a yearslong corruption scheme between developers and elected officials in San Jacinto. It included charges of bribery and laundering of campaign money that extended from City Council elections and votes to a 2006 Assembly race.

When: Charges filed in November 2009

The players: Four council members, James Potts, John Mansperger, Dale Stubblefield and Jim Ayres; developers and businessmen Stephen Russell Holgate, Scott Douglas Shaull and Robert Edward Osborne, Byron Jerry Ellison Sr.; and seven relatives of the elected officials

Result: All but one eventually took plea bargains, with some serving jail time. Osborne died before his case went to trial.

Status: Case concluded