NORTHRIDGE : Workers Plead Not Guilty to Bribery

Two Los Angeles city recreation and parks employees pleaded not guilty Thursday to bribery charges, one day after their arrest for allegedly offering a convicted offender a chance to buy his way out of court-ordered community service work.

Gardening Supervisor Willard M. Stone and gardener Manuel Galvin Perez were arrested Wednesday while doing work at a city Department of Recreation and Parks maintenance yard in Northridge, where authorities allege a bribe took place last fall.

Stone and Perez were charged with two counts each of bribery. Stone also was charged with two counts of preparing false documents, for allegedly doctoring time sheets to show that the offender had spent time gardening at city parks. The offender went to police after allegedly being solicited for a $125 bribe, and paid the bribe on Oct. 5, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Reid Rose, who is handling the case.

Stone, 51, of Granada Hills, and Perez, 41, of Pacoima, were released on their own recognizance Thursday. Both men face more than five years in state prison and $10,000 in fines if convicted on all counts. A preliminary hearing has been set for Feb. 19.