Ex-Parks Workers Sentenced in Bribery Case

Two parks workers convicted of soliciting bribes from an offender who wanted to buy his way out of lengthy community service have been sentenced to 400 hours of community service, court officials said Tuesday.

Willard M. Stone and Manuel G. Perez were placed on three years probation and were ordered to perform 400 hours of community service for their convictions. Both men have been terminated by the city.

Stone, 54, of Granada Hills, was a senior gardener with more than 25 years experience with the city Department of Recreation and Parks. Perez, 41, of Pacoima, was employed by the city as a gardener-caretaker. Both worked at a maintenance yard in Northridge.

Prosecutors said Stone and Perez were approached last fall by an unnamed man who had been ordered to do volunteer work for Caltrans as a result of a misdemeanor conviction. The man, who had completed a substantial portion of his sentence, said he wanted to avoid the balance of the community service he owed, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Carol Straughn, who handled the case.

Stone and Perez “told him they could give him the hours” in exchange for payment, Straughn said.

The convicted man bargained the price down to $125, which was paid during two meetings that were recorded by authorities, she said.

“I don’t think this is the tip of the iceberg,” Straughn said. “I think this is an isolated incident.”

The pair pleaded no contest one month ago to the single felony charge of soliciting a bribe. Charges of actually accepting the bribe were dropped by prosecutors in a plea-bargain agreement negotiated at an early stage of the case.

In addition to losing their jobs, the men face prison terms “if they screw up,” Straughn said.