County Official Faces Bribery Charges

A longtime Los Angeles County administrator was charged Wednesday with soliciting more than $10,000 worth of bribes--from computer equipment to golf clubs--from companies with county contracts.

The seven-count felony complaint against Rudy Alvarez, 48, of Montebello, charges him with bribery, perjury, filing a false claim and grand theft over a two-year period.

Alvarez, who was arrested Monday at the offices of the county auditor-controller, was released on $70,000 bail and placed on administrative leave from his job as chief of the county’s risk management division, a post that pays about $80,000 yearly.

A call to his home for comment about the charges was not returned.

While the case remains under investigation, officials familiar with the allegations said it did not appear that the county had lost any money or overpaid in connection with the awarding of contracts. Officials said they suspect that the only direct loss may be about $1,400 the county paid to Alvarez to reimburse him for conferences that, according to the complaint, also were paid for by vendors.

But even if the monetary losses do not rise to significant levels, county officials said they were concerned at the mere possibility that a trusted employee, who has worked for the county for almost 25 years, could have bilked a system he was paid to protect.

“Everyone is innocent until proven guilty and he certainly deserves that same courtesy,” said county Chief Administrative Officer David E. Janssen. “But we obviously want to take a look at all the contracts we have to make sure everything is on the up and up.

“I am very concerned about the seriousness of the charges,” Janssen added. “We cannot tolerate in public service behavior of this sort by anyone.”

The allegations against Alvarez, authorities said, surfaced last month when a private insurance claims administrator complained to officials that it might unfairly lose its longtime county contract to a company owned by a friend of Alvarez.

After that complaint, Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard Rosenthal said, authorities learned that Alvarez had demanded gifts from vendors with contracts to administer insurance claims for the county. The gifts allegedly included lunches, dinners, a computer, a printer, golf clubs, golf fees and tickets to sporting events.

“The . . . vendors complied with his demands because they were concerned Alvarez would disrupt their contractual relationships with the county,” said Rosenthal, who is assigned to the district attorney’s Special Investigation Division.

In addition, Rosenthal said, Alvarez was charged with billing the county for lodging and registration fees at several conferences after those expenses had been paid by vendors.

“That’s outrageous, if true,” Janssen said.

While it was unclear whether additional charges might be filed against Alvarez, authorities said the county auditor-controller is looking into another contract that Alvarez allegedly tried to redirect to a friend.

Alvarez is on administrative leave until his arraignment, scheduled for Aug. 4. After that, Janssen said, county policy dictates that Alvarez will be suspended from his job pending resolution of the charges.

If convicted on all seven counts, Alvarez could be sentenced to a maximum of eight years in prison fined up to $70,000.