Inspector Pleads No Contest in Bribery Case

An employee of the Los Angeles Building and Safety Department has pleaded no contest to soliciting a bribe in exchange for issuing building permits, and a second department employee may soon face similar charges, officials said Wednesday.

Fardad Foroutanniaini, an engineer who checked plans for the city, faces up to a year in jail for soliciting a $700 bribe from an applicant who wanted to build a beauty shop in the San Fernando Valley.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Dennis Poey said Foroutanniaini told the applicant she could skirt the $2,000 in fees for building permits by paying him $700 in cash. Police caught the payoff on tape after the applicant alerted building officials.

Foroutanniaini remains on the city payroll but is no longer checking plans or working with the public, said department spokesman David Keim. He faces sentencing Aug. 20.

Meanwhile, Poey said he is reviewing a separate bribery case involving another plan-checker. But the prosecutor declined to comment on the details of that case, including the name of the employee and the timing and extent of the alleged wrongdoing.