LOS ANGELES : D.A. Probing Bribery Reports

The district attorney’s office has confirmed that it is investigating two Los Angeles city employees suspected of taking bribes from convicted offenders to allow them to get out of sentences in which they were to help clean up city parks.

City and county authorities also said they are investigating a third employee of the city Department of Recreation and Parks suspected of helping offenders dodge the requirements of the community service sentences, a crucial element of the city’s efforts to clean up public facilities on a tight budget.

Authorities said the investigation focuses on three employees at the West San Fernando Valley District maintenance yard in Northridge.

Many court-ordered community service sentences are for 200 hours or more. Authorities have alleged that park workers charged offenders $1 per hour to buy their way out of doing cleanup work at several Valley parks.